Although William Byron now carries the torch for the iconic HMS No. 24, Jeff Gordon set a standard that still towers over the garage. With four Cup Series championships to his name, Gordon was one of the fiercest competitors of his era, but his first title in 1995 holds a special place in NASCAR history. It was not only Gordon’s breakthrough championship but also the first in Hendrick Motorsports’ haul of 14.
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In just his third full-time Cup season, Gordon wasted no time proving he belonged. He opened the year with great pace, winning three of the first ten races and posting seven top-five finishes. His primary target that season was Dale Earnhardt, who had come out swinging and sat atop the points standings with his own strong start.
By season’s end, Gordon captured seven wins, sparked a rivalry with Earnhardt that would polarize the fanbase for years, and helped launch NASCAR from its Southeastern roots into the national spotlight. His final win of the year came six weeks before the Atlanta finale, but a fifth-place run in the penultimate race at Phoenix kept him in control of the championship chase. Heading to Atlanta, Gordon only needed a calculated points day to win the championship.
That finale, however, was far from glamorous. Crew chief Ray Evernham bluntly called the No. 24 Chevrolet “a junk,” and with little speed to show, he decided to inject some fun into the tense afternoon. “Why couldn’t we find some volunteer to take over the seat for a while?” Gordon joked before Evernham hatched another plan.
Evernham confessed, “I said, ‘Anybody who has never gone over the wall to make a pit stop, raise their hand,'” as he later recalled. He then sent team owner Rick Hendrick over the wall to clean Gordon’s windshield. When Gordon pulled away and keyed the radio, he asked, “Was that Rick cleaning the windshield?”
Moments later, the No. 24 team celebrated one of its most memorable Championship wins. Gordon was officially crowned the 1995 NASCAR Cup Series champion, toppling Earnhardt and delivering Hendrick Motorsports its first title, a milestone that marked the dawn of a new era in stock car racing.
