RIDGEWAY, Va. – The roar was deafening.
As the white flag waved Sunday evening with Jeff Gordon in the lead, the cheers grew louder and louder until the driver of the No. 24 AARP Member Advantages Chevrolet SS had done it. He’d taken the checkered flag for his ninth career Martinsville Speedway victory, and earned the right to race for a championship.
“I don't know how to describe the sensation. It's just an amazing feeling,” No. 24 team crew chief Alan Gustafson said. “You can hear the crowd. You don't even have to really know what's going on. You can hear the crowd and you can kind of figure it out.
The crowd was so jubilant that it even altered Gordon’s post-victory celebration plans.
“I was going to do a burnout,” he smiled. “I was. I thought about it. First I'm going to stop here, get out, get the checkered flag. Then I saw that reaction. I'm not going to go anywhere. This is awesome. It was incredible. They didn't stop there. They just kept going.
That they did. Long into the night. They gathered just outside of Victory Lane, soaking in every second of a party the No. 24 team had been waiting all season to throw.
They chanted “Homestead! Homestead! Homestead!” And Gordon encouraged them, letting his mind drift to what it will feel like to race for a fifth career Cup championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Nov. 22.
“I mean, gosh, I wish everybody could experience what that was like from my standpoint,” Gordon said. “It was unbelievable. I don't know what it feels like to be a rock star, but that's as close as it can get I think. That's a rock-star moment right there.
After all of the Victory Lane celebrating was finished, after all of Gordon’s media obligations were taken care of, after the fans in all likelihood should have been long gone, the fans were still there.
So Gordon went to celebrate with them.
“That's why I went into the stands afterwards, because it just was non‑stop while we were in Victory Lane. People were just staying there,” he said. “Who knew if we were going to run this race today with the weather, then it getting dark. I mean, they saw a heck of a race, that's for sure. If they wanted drama, they had it today. They just kept chanting the whole time while we were on the stage. It was way cool. I wanted to go say hi to them.
It was moments like that one that Gustafson said “send chills down your spine,” and will be remembered for a long time to come.
Ultimately, Gordon said that in a career that now features 93 wins, this one stands out.
“This is one of the finest moments I think I've ever had in my career, I'll be honest,” he said. “It's just because what this year means, that this is my final year, my final race at Martinsville, punching our ticket to Homestead, having my family here, the hard work this team has put together, that reaction from the fans. This is one of my finest moments I've ever had.
With just one caveat.
“Not my most emotional one,” he countered. “I held that back. I've been holding it back. I'm not going to be able to hold it back at Homestead.
“I hope it's because we're doing something even more special than what we did here today.