"You just saw a superstar born": Rick Hendrick and Jeff Gordon look back on 4x Cup champion’s legendary Brickyard win in 1994

With four Cup Series titles, 93 Cup wins, and 477 top-10s, Jeff Gordon has etched his name as one of the most dominant forces in NASCAR. The 2019 Hall of Famer has amassed a fortune in motorsports but recently picked the inaugural Brickyard 400 race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1994 as the one that will always stand out for him. Rick Hendrick has also acknowledged the importance of Gordon's victory.

Gordon stepped into the Cup Series for one race for Hendrick Motorsports in 1992, at the Atlanta Motor Speedway, where he finished 31st after succumbing to a wreck. However, his full-time rookie season saw the #24 Chevy driver bagging his first top-5 with a fifth-place finish at the season-opener Daytona 500 and ending the season in 14th place.

In his sophomore season, Jeff Gordon registered his first triumph at the crown jewel Coca-Cola 600 hosted by the Charlotte Motor Speedway. Seven races later, the #24 Chevy won at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The year marked the crown jewel race Brickyard 400's first running at NASCAR.

After kicking off his IMS run from third place, the Californian swerved past the frontrunners to bring home his second victory with a paycheck of $613,000. Despite having countless wins to his name, the inaugural Brickyard 400 is the race that "stands out" in the legendary driver's mind.

"Everywhere I go, when I get asked, 'What's one race that stands out in your mind,' I always say, 'The inaugural Brickyard 400,'" Gordon said (via NASCAR on NBC on X) [0:16].

Witnessing the newbie of NASCAR giving a tough time to veteran drivers like Bill Elliott, Dale Earnhardt Sr., and Brett Bodine, team owner Rick Hendrick pondered on the day "a superstar was born."

"That will go down in history for this company as one of the most important wins, the most exciting wins. You knew that you just saw a superstar born," Rick Hendrick said (0:35).

Jeff Gordon retired from NASCAR after being the winningest driver on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with his last Brickyard 400 win after a decade

After Jeff Gordon wrapped his rookie season in 14th place and secured two crown jewel wins in his sophomore year for an eighth-place finish, the HMS driver reigned supreme in 1995 and collected his maiden Cup Series title.

However, it took until the fifth edition of the Brickayard 400 in 1998 for Gordon to mark his second Indianapolis Motor Speedway win after upsetting the likes of Mark Martin, Bobby Labonte, Mike Skinner, and Dale Earnhardt. The former #24 Chevy driver's third victorious run at the Brickyard on IMS came in 2001 and the fourth in 2004.

But after a decade-long hiatus with four top-5 and three top-10s on the 2.5-mile oval, Jeff Gordon bagged his fifth and final Brickyard 400 win in 2014 before retiring from racing after the 2016 season. With that, the vice chairman of HMS is the winningest driver on IMS.