How Jeff Gordon’s “T-Rex” Car Changed NASCAR History
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- Опубликовано: 3 дек 2023
- #nascar
Jeff Gordon and Ray Evernham were on an unprecedented run of dominance in NASCAR in the 1990s. No race exemplified that more than the 1997 Winston all-star race. Using an experimental chassis, nicknamed T-Rex, thanks to its Jurassic Park sponsorship and lead designer Rex Stump, the car was everything Hendrick Motorsports hoped it would be and more. Working in the gray area worked like a charm. However, claiming the big prize, NASCAR outright banned the chassis moving forward. This video highlights why it was banned, what it did differently than other cars, and why this level of ingenuity may not be seen again in modern stock car racing.
Dive into the world of NASCAR with us as we explore the story of Jeff Gordon's famous T-Rex car from the 1997 Winston All-Star Race. This video takes you on a journey through one of the most iconic moments in NASCAR Cup Series history. From the design and performance of the T-Rex car to its impact on stock car racing, we cover it all. Don't miss our exclusive NASCAR highlights from the race and insights into the emotions surrounding this unforgettable event. Subscribe for more exciting content from the world of motorsports.
Credit to NASCAR, FOX Sports, NBC Sports, TNN, Jeff Gordon Edits, Getty Images, and Hendrick Motorsports, as well as Dirty Mo Media and Dale Jr.
For all the best NASCAR news, including 2024 NASCAR news, NASCAR highlights, NASCAR stories, and more, check out the channel. For more information on your favorite drivers like Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, William Byron, Kyle Larson, and more, check out my other videos. 
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Fun Fact: GTA VI Will be The First Ever GTA game to be released without Jeff Gordon competing as a driver
I’ll take a gram of what your smoking!
And GTA 5 is the first ever GTA game was released without Michael Schumacher competing as F1 driver.
ok that is actually a really fun fact
This gta is gonna fall 😂 they gonna lose sooo much money bc they are lazy nowadays
@@sethaost4212are you living in the same reality as us buddy?
“It’s easier to kill Frankenstein than it is to figure out how to get along with him”
That is such a good quote and literally the definition of NASCAR anymore. They have completely taken innovation out if the game, all in hopes to “save money” (which we know they aren’t thanks to Denny Hamlin telling us as much). So, instead of letting teams innovate, they handcuff them with spec cars and wonder why the racing sucks so much. Well, when every car is the same, it’s really hard to pass
Ruined nascar over the last 20 years
I havent watched NASCAR for a long time (after DE passed and they started making all these changes for 'safety') and IMO took way too much out of the sport. So I watched bristol this past weekend.. And was so sad to see so many empty seats..
Why I don't watch Nas no pass car any more
As Jeremy Clarkson would say, “There was no rule saying we could do it, but more importantly there was no rule saying we couldn’t.”
Smokey started that. He almost quit the game because he hated the rules. Then he figured out that instead of building cars the way the rules said he could, he built them the way the rules didn't say he couldn't.
Back when teams could be creative in nascar
This is the biggest proof NASCAR hates any sort of innovation.
You heard them say it was the right move. If they allowed it it would have cost everyone a ton of money to build all new cars. That would have led to the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer.
You know what they say, “Rising tide lifts all ships”.
Like all american professional sports, its rigged. Enjoy it for the entertainment it is, but know there is no legitimate competition.
@@bradsanders407NASCAR cars cost a quarter of a million dollars on average. It's basically impossible for owner drivers to get in anymore and it's literally impossible for anyone to get in with multimillion dollar sponsors. It's already become a rich man's sport.
It was heading towards the best most expensive racing cars people could dream up for decades. Maybe since inception.
It feels weird to go and say "enough is enough" when the cars already cost as much as our severely inflated houses.
And the weakening viewership means it's very possible that this price won't be justifiable anyway in the coming years.
I was born in 01, and growing up, this car was talked about so much by my dad and his buddies during the races. Legendary car.
Wild. I had no idea that Chad Knaus worked on Gordon’s car in the 90’s. 0:32
Sure did!
It was basically Chad's job to chief for or whoever was most likely to be champion.
It’s if you ain’t t cheated, you ain’t trying. I was at Hendrick a week later climbed a tire rack and snap a photo of the car, before it went to the museum.
Ummm .. T Rex was not taken to a museum. The chassis was striped and rebuilt to the new rules NASCAR implemented and raced again with the rainbow Dupont and Pepsi color scheme. Crazy story tho... Lol
@@J.Knox46 serious? Seems like a lot of work because they frame was totally different. However I don’t know. When I climbed the tire rack to get picture they were taken the car apart.
@@J.Knox46 FALSE. The T-Rex car is still in the Hendrick's museum in the condition it was in for that one race.
@@sergeantmasson3669 well if I am wrong then I'm wrong. If so I apologize. I remember watching a interview with Ray Everham (spelling?🤔) Who was the crew chief at that time. He had spoke about T-Rex and tye information I relayed above was the info shared in that interview. So again if I am incorrect, my bad. However the source of what I said is pretty solid.
@@J.Knox46 Ray Evernham and Jeff Gordon times of cheating is well documented.
Honestly, I loved the older eras before the cookie cutter cars. I haven't been able to enjoy NASCAR in years which sucks because I loved watching the races as a kid.
3:00 it's "if you ain't cheating, you ain't trying."... Almost everyone was cheating, only 1 could win 👍.
Nascar went to shit when they introduced the COT Car. That’s when I gave up on NASCAR. It’s no longer stock car racing. F1, Supercar Racing and La Mans are way more interesting. Exp the Red Bull shit that’s going on now. What a story, But to each their own I suppose. And we all have opinions. If everyone was the same this planet would be so fucking boring. Nice video by the way and yes my favorite driver was Jeff. ✌️
Dad became a nascar fan in 93 going with grandpa (Sterling fan). Gramps told him to pick someone to cheer for. With dad being a rookie fan living in Indiana and Jeff a rookie driver from Indiana he picked the 24.....starting from his career he'd cheer for him while the rest of the crowd booed him. Fast forward 20 years his last year everyone cheered him while very few booed him.
Great video Bro.
Great editing.
Thanks
Glad you enjoyed it
It's this mindset, more than primadonna drivers that discussed me to the point I no longer give a rip about NASCAR racing. Stand or fold, whatever happens to them who cares.I sure don't.
I ask Ray few years ago why did Nascar ban the car was it something to due with the chassis or engine he Said we built a great race car that's all
Yeah he’s definitely tight lipped on what his crew actually accomplished, his tricks must still be used today
Then at the All-star race at North Wilkesboro earlier this year, Kyle Larson straight up busted the field and dominated the race after taking fresh tires during the first segment, and won it all. People were thinking that it may have been "Blue T-Rex" because no one was on the level Larson was that night
Kyle Larson is an outstanding driver, and I hate him for it. He makes every sprint car race I’ve ever seen with him in it so predictable that it’s not even worth rooting for your favorite driver to beat him.
Yeah, once Larson got in clean air he was GONE
@@NatediggetydogThat’s due to his starting position. The dude literally starts top 5 the majority of the sprint car races he enters. It’s old already.
I understand the whole story behind this car, but to my eyes it seemed like the 1995 & 1998 #24 Winston cars had a bigger advantage over the field in those respective races.
Well yeah they were running traction control and tampering with tires amongst God knows what else.
Good video, but no technical part at all. What exactly makes the T-Rex so special compared to other cars of that era?
If I remember right, it was the shocks, roll bars, and a few other bits?
@@randipoling635 Frame alterations as well.
The valence was1.5' higher than the other cars which created more downforce going into the corners, which made it stick much better than the other cars....its explaned in the video.
@@markherring3513 AND the chasses modified so there'd be far less flex for the corners plus the cowl tilted back some and the floor modified as well.
where they screwed up is that they made it too good. by making that design as effective as it was, they ended up making it too obvious... this ground breaking concept/design, even if executed in a much more subtle manner (and thus much less noticeable), it would of had a devastating effect on the competition. I often wonder if had they taken this approach, how long they could of 'fooled' them and racked up win after win after win... How would they (the officials) punished them if they hadn't truly broken any rules? (I believe that they would of eventually come to the same conclusion and with the same actions taken, but if hendricks would of implemented this concept in a much more subtle manner, they probbably could of gotten away for it for at the very least a few races... and maybe alot more.)
More proof that the biggest problem in NASCAR is the lower set the top making decisions.
That slow the progress of the sport
They certainly didn’t change the rules when RCR and DEI had the aero packed figured out on the plate tracks. They just let that go.
Ohh, that's true
Judging from how well they did
R.I.P original thumbnail
Haha true
F nascrp.
Now NASCAR runs a spec IKEA car with an ancient restricted engine.
True!
SMFH The phrase is, "IF you ain't cheating, you ain't trying." And Brian France screwed up Nascar and screwed Gordon by changing the points system.
seems like a very specific group of 8 drivers in the photo around 0:53. Turns out it was the drivers who had thus far won a race in 2000 as of that weekend prior to the Diehard 500
Yeah it probably was
@@JakeSimRacingi thought it was members of the Coca-Cola racing family.
jeff gordon remsay is one of my favourite nascar drivers of all time
The same can be said about the winged warriors powered by the 426 Hemi.
True 200 mph race cars. They WERE, however, very cool
Absolutely, those cars got banned quickly
NASCAR is basically the government lmao “yes it’s legal…but you can’t do it….if you do it we’ll arrest you….but it’s totally legal and we checked and you’re doing nothing wrong….but I mean it….prison, buddy”
Very true!
The competitive balance was in the innovation of the competitors.Nascar squashed it.
True!
Nascar wonders why the stands are half full now. They can point to this point in time and say "we messed up" but that will never happen. Stock car racing is now so boring
I miss the ingenuity
Wasn't this the first car to use coil binding in NASCAR? I know it didn't become popular until years later, but I'm pretty sure that's what this car used.
Essentially it was. They really sealed the valance off through the corner
But what was different?
This is the biggest difference between NASCAR and F1. The FIA lets the engineers go wild in F1. It's not always great for racing, but it's absolutely "run what you brung", and if your interests are piqued by what engineers can do with a giant budget, F1 is where it's at👍🏻
True. Sadly though it seems F1 wants to be a show like NASCAR, even with one team dominating
No, a lot of innovations have been shut down by the FIA. Renaults mass damper, Mercedes FRIC suspension, their Dual Axis steering. Ferraris trick motor in 2019. Ferraris flexible floorboard in 2007. McLarens split brake pedal. Etc etc etc. Go way further back, you’ll find Lotus’ dual chassis system banned. Brabhams fan car. This list goes on and on, this is just off the top of my head.
@@F2007KR Correct me if I'm wrong, but none of those were banned during the season, only after they were allowed to compete for the entire year with those innovations, right?
@@trevibmx the Renault mass damper was raced from 2005-2006 but was banned after arguments from McLaren that they were a movable aerodynamic device (when they couldn’t make it work on their car). The 2014 Mercedes FRIC was banned mid season. The 2020 Mercedes DAS was banned before 2021. Ferrari F2007 had a flexible floorboard during the opening round in Australia, but the loophole was closed when the rule was clarified (because McLaren knew they were cheating cause spygate). The 2019 trick engine was allowed to race the entire season, but they reached a private settlement with the FIA and the 2020 car was way down on power. The 1997 McLaren third brake pedal was discovered by a shrewd photographer was was banned immediately. The Brabham fan car lasted a whole season. The Lotus 88 twin chassis never even made it to the actual season.
The grocery carts are the Mustang Fox bodies.
Why dont we just get it over with and turn Nascar into the old IROC. Give every driver the same exact car that is prebuilt and have to race it. They have said it plenty of time, it is no longer Nascar. You can call the car chevy, ford or whatever, it is still just car that is created with a wrap on it. I can put a chevy wrap on my golf cart and call it a chevy, does not mean it is. Nascar has forgot their roots and the TV rating and track attendance show it. Last weeks Bristol race, stands were more than 1/2 empty!
"Any win obtained by cheating, is no victory. "
(Dale Earnhardt Sr)
Except they all cheated to some degree back then lol
@@joshuahbogus7056 FALSE. ZERO evidence that Dale Sr ever cheated.
@@joshuahbogus7056 Allegations, lacking proof, are invalid/worthless. Try again.
@@sergeantmasson3669 if your response is lacking proof you obviously are no fan of nascar.....go watch dale Jrs podcast where he has DW on and DW admits to it all lol so try again
@@joshuahbogus7056 That alters the stats/facts, how? DW's cheating does NOT prove that Dale Sr ever cheated. Zero evidence that he ever did. BTW, I've likely forgotten more about NASCAR than you ever will. I raced in NASCAR for many years and did fairly well. Also worked for NASCAR 1996-2006 as part of the security/safety teams at Daytona, Darlington, and Talladega NASCAR tracks. It is you that needs to TRY AGAIN.
This is why NASCAR isn’t fun to watch anymore. It hasn’t been since the COT days. Just look at the stands in the background. The “fights” between pretty boys is a joke.
and NASCAR wonders why their viewership has been going down ever since ......its not hard to figure out!!!
Common templates killed NASCAR!
The COT (car of tomorrow), Dale Sr. dying, Gordone and Dale Jr reitring, heat racing and forced diveristy and liberals injecting racial overtones to it is what killed NASCAR.
This is why I don’t like nascar I want to see teams innovate and make team push the rules
Rainbow warrior forever
True to that
Helps when you got nascar slowing the other cars on the field down with rules. Not real racing
I won't totally agree with that part.. While I dont like what they've done to it, last weekend there were over 50 lead changes at bristol.. So you cant say they arent racing..
@@DB-zp9un yep that’s nascar. Bunch the cars up so there’s tons of wrecks and excitement. But no real racing.
One of the many reasons NASCAR is losing fans
I miss when nascar was run by actual stock cars. Its boring now
One thing we can all agree upon: the Monte Carlo was ugly.
I don’t know how many people will agree with you on that one tbh lol
Neckcar and f1 just plain suck . the fun is gone
The Hendrix Motorsports team winsmore races because they're the biggest cheaters they look at cheating as being fair and their cars definitely have an advantage when it comes to being outside the rulebooks I find it difficult to sleep with myself knowing that I probably wouldn't have run One race had I not had a car that had an illegal advantage that doesn't make Jeff Gordon a great race car driver that just makes his team the best cheaters in a world where we know that it's not good to cheat in NASCAR it's inevitable that we cheat it's praised upon it's a little game they play and I can't find much respect for the teams that are the best cheaters they don't win honestly where's the glory in that victories by knowing your car's had a illegal advantage that other cars did not have but probably had better drivers but didn't have the cheating advantage I would not be proud of my win record knowing that I had to cheat to be the best we were taught that long time ago cheating is something we just don't do nobody likes a cheater😮
Guaranteed your favorite tried to push the boundaries as well.
Sorry you’re completely mistaken. The arrow package under the car was decent. But not really different than any other well built cup car at the time..
T-Rex was an optimization of chassis stiffness versus weight … I have seen spy photos that were sold to Ford motorsports in late 1997. Trust me, it was not an aerodynamic advantage
Thank you for the clarification, I appreciate it
Templates are boring. No interest in watching nascar...
Bring it back to 'stock' cuz we need a reason for manufacturers to make awesome cars again🤣
Couldn't agree more
One of the reasons I no longer watch NASCAR. Nothing but a gimmicked up glorified IROC series with NASCAR picking the winners.
Every rule Nascar makes is one more scoop out there grave... racing is about innovation, UNTIL YOU GET TO NASCAR... Than it's "follow the rules or else" THATS WHY NASCAR SUCKS BALLS!!!
Racing is supposed to be about competition in the garage as well as on the track. That’s why NASCAR is garbage today
They took it out of the teams’ hands for sure. I get why people are turned off by modern NASCAR
Fuck the rest 😂
This is why nascar sucks.
Garbage today haven't watched in yrs
Nascar is crap Iroc