Robby gets Jeff's goat post-turkey day 2001

The 2001 New Hampshire 300 is an unusual footnote in NASCAR history because it's the most recent example of Thanksgiving leftovers, although the ensuing battle between two drivers named Gordon made for a more-than-satisfying main course.

The race originally was scheduled for the weekend following the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, D.C., but NASCAR officials wisely decided to postpone. However, without a break in the schedule, the fall visit to New Hampshire was pushed back to the day after Thanksgiving.

Back when the racing season covered the entire 12-month calendar -- and sometimes even overlapped -- there were several instances of NASCAR races being held in late November. In 1951, Frank Mundy won at Mobile. In 1952, Herb Thomas captured the race at West Palm Beach. Ned Jarrett won at Columbia in 1959, although it counted toward the 1960 season points.

Tar Heel Speedway, in Randleman, N.C., hosted a 200-lap race on Thanksgiving Day in 1962, with Jim Paschal winning in one of the Petty Enterprises team cars. And in 1967 at Montgomery, Richard Petty beat Bobby Allison to the line to win the second race of the 1968 season in front of a crowd estimated at 6,000.

But since the advent of the modern era, NASCAR has never scheduled a race that late in the season, particularly at the northern-most track on the circuit. And there were worries heading in that the weather may play a major factor in the sanctioning body's ability to complete the race, one reason why it was scheduled for a Friday afternoon. However, those fears were unfounded, as the temperatures at race time were in the 50s.

The postponement also created an atypical schedule. The field was set by owners' points as of the original race date, putting Jeff Gordon -- who had already clinched the title -- on the pole. In addition, teams were given a 45-minute practice session that morning to figure their setups. And because track temperatures were expected to be much cooler than normal, Goodyear brought a much softer compound to the race.

"It just comes down to each one of us as drivers being a little more careful and taking our time getting the tires up to temperature before we really get to full speed," Bobby Labonte said before the race. "We have to do the best we can under the given circumstances. It should be interesting."

In addition, only 42 cars started as Eel River Racing had gone out of business from the time the original entry list had been posted.

The usual nature of the situation carried over to the race itself. Gordon immediately took command and went on to lead the overwhelming majority of the first two-thirds of the race. There were just seven cautions, two of which were NASCAR-mandated, and only two cars retired early -- Ward Burton with a blown engine and Buckshot Jones as a result of an accident.

Robby Gordon, who had replaced the injured Mike Skinner midway through the season in Richard Childress' No. 31 Chevrolet, moved his way up from his 31st starting position, and with less than 20 laps to go, was pressuring Jeff Gordon as the two worked slower traffic.

On Lap 284, Jeff slowed to avoid running into the back of Mike Wallace. Robby nudged the rear bumper of Jeff's car, who then washed up the track and wound up hitting Wallace's car. Jeff was able to regain control and, after the caution came out, raced around the track and made his feelings known by hitting Robby's car.

That piece of rough driving landed Jeff in NASCAR's penalty box for one lap, and on his radio, he said, "I ought to take him out right now."

Robby, not penalized for the bump-and-run which started the whole mess, then held off Sterling Marlin for his first Cup victory.

"I've struggled in Winston Cup, a lot of people doubted me," he said. "I had to do a lot of talking to Richard to convince him to take me and believe in me when I told him I could win races on an oval."

Jeff was livid when he climbed from the cockpit of his car.

"Everybody thought you couldn't make me mad, but he made me mad," Jeff said. "He should be embarrassed to win like that."

But Robby refused to feel apologetic for the incident.

"For Jeff to say I'm embarrassed, I think he should be embarrassed for retaliating the way he did," Robby said. "We could have had a little conversation after the race, but I'm not too worried about it."

For Robby Gordon, winning at New Hampshire was a bit of vindication. He had the best car at both Sears Point and Watkins Glen earlier in the season, only to have his days ruined by an incident with a lapped car at California and a freakish in-car camera box fire at New York.

Gordon's sponsor that day was Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse, which would go on the next season to sponsor a young driver by the name of Jimmie Johnson.

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