The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart: ‘Glen’ warriors
A look back at an era of dominance at Watkins Glen
The period of 1997 to 2009 at Watkins Glen International belonged to two drivers: Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart. During this 13-year stretch, the two NASCAR Hall of Famers combined for nine wins to climb atop the all-time wins list at the New York track with four and five, respectively.
Here’s a look at each of their wins, a testimonial in road course domination:
Year: 1997
Starting position: 11
Laps led: 32
Notable: Gordon held off the previous year’s winner, runner-up Geoff Bodine, and fifth-place Mark Martin — who won three straight from 1993-95.
Year: 1998
Starting position: 1
Laps led: 55
Notable: After earning his first of three career poles at The Glen, Gordon didn’t give an inch, leading the most laps he ever did at the track and again holding off Martin.
Year: 1999
Starting position: 3
Laps led: 55
Notable: Rusty Wallace (pictured) earned the pole for the race, but was only out front for nine laps en route to a thirdplace finish. Gordon matched his previous year’s result — and his monstrous lapsled count.
Year: 2001
Starting position: 13
Laps led: 14
Notable: After a brief hiatus from Watkins Glen Victory Lane, Gordon had an intense battle with Jeff Burton (who led 30 laps) that came down to the wire. The four-time Monster Energy Series champion edged ‘The Mayor’ by a mere 0.172 seconds to seal his final victory at The Glen.
Year: 2002
Starting position: 3
Laps led: 34
Notable: Stewart interrupted Gordon’s reign at The Glen in 2002, romping the field by a 1.636-second margin of victory for his first of five victories there. Gordon finished 22nd.
Year: 2004
Starting position: 4
Laps led: 46
Notable: Stewart was able to stave off a brilliant, come-from-behind effort from road course ace Ron Fellows, who started 43rd and finished second — albeit 1.517 seconds behind a dominant ‘Smoke.’
Year: 2005
Starting position: 1
Laps led: 83
Notable: Perhaps the most dominant performance Watkins Glen has seen in the modern era, Stewart allowed just three other drivers to lead multiple laps (Gordon, Robby Gordon and Jimmie Johnson) — with two apiece, to Stewart’s 83.
Year: 2007
Starting position: 5
Laps led: 20
Notable: This one slipped away from Gordon and fell to Stewart, as the Hendrick Motorsports driver led a strong 51 laps from the pole before ceding the victory to his stellar counterpart.
Year: 2009
Starting position: 13
Laps led: 34
Notable: With an influx of talented road course aces in the full-time field, Stewart remained strong to stem a second-place Marcos Ambrose and sixthplace Juan Pablo Montoya for his final Watkins Glen win.