[prasad1]

Remember those martial arts movies that used to come on every Sunday morning? The ones from the 1970s that starred Bruce Lee or Chuck Norris, in which our hero always walked into an empty warehouse where a massive gang of fighters was waiting to ambush him?

They'd come at him in waves, each line of hoods that much bigger and badder than the last. But in the end, somehow, some way, Bruce or Chuck always ended up mowing them down like a weed eater.On Sunday, Feb. 14, 1999, one of those movies was on again. Only this time, the fighter on the defensive was Jeff Gordon, surrounded by a gang of 42."I have never felt so alone on a racetrack," the then-27-year-old admitted that evening. "At first, it makes you mad that no one wants to help you. Then you realize that it's actually the biggest compliment that you can get in this sport."Why the animosity from his peers? Consider this: The '99 Daytona 500 was the first race since the close of the '98 season. And what Gordon had accomplished during said season was only what amounts to the most decimating beatdown in NASCAR's modern era. In case you have forgotten (his rivals still have not), here's the damage report:

• 33 starts
• 13 wins (Still a modern era record)
• 26 top-5s (Yet another)
• 28 top-10s (Then a record, which he eclipsed in 2007)
• $9.3 million won, including the Winston Million bonus (Then another record)
• Seven poles
• Two DNFs
• Average finish for the season: 5.7
• He won four races in a row (Tying another record)
• He won his third Cup title in four years and second consecutive

To make matters worse, he had sent everyone off into the winter with two consecutive victories, including a drink-in-the-face romp at Atlanta, where he led 113 of 221 laps. He also led the league in commercials shot, merchandise sold and number of swooning female fans during prerace introductions.Wonder why everyone hated him?



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