NASCAR® Series® legend Jeff Gordon had plenty of dominant performances throughout his illustrious NASCAR Cup career. However, few were as unique as his 1996 victory at Dover Motor Speedway.
With his DuPont No. 24 Chevrolet Monte Carlo, Gordon won the pole in qualifying and led an incredible 307 of the 500 laps around the one-mile Dover oval. The win wasn’t an easy one, however. On a day where tire wear was a challenge for all teams, the No. 24 crew was out of new tires to put on for a late run to the checkered flag. Crew chief Ray Evernham made a gutsy call to borrow a fresh set of wheels and tires from another team that had already retired from the race. Those wheels, which were red and unlike the black wheels the Hendrick Motorsports team had been utilizing, were bolted on and helped lead Gordon to Victory Lane. The red wheels, plus the dominant performance on the track, made Gordon’s 13th NASCAR Cup Series® victory a highlight of his incredible career.