Remembering when Jeff Gordon won 1997 Daytona 500 -- and title
Jeff Gordon headed into the 1997 Daytona 500 feeling like he and his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports team had something to prove.
Namely, Gordon and his team -- dubbed the "Rainbow Warriors" -- wanted to prove that the NASCAR Premier Series championship they had won together in 1995 was no fluke.
That '95 title was the first of Gordon's four career titles. But the following season, in 1996, they failed to successfully defend it despite winning a series-high 10 races.
So it was that they headed into '97 wanting to prove they were still the best race team at the time in NASCAR. They did just that by winning the 1997 Daytona 500 and going on to win a second championship, which was followed by Gordon's third the very next year.
Take a look at the video above to relive Gordon's magical ride in 1997.
