Jeff Gordon made his presence known in 1995 with a championship win in an old driver and fan favorite, the Chevrolet Monte Carlo. With four winning seasons between 1990 and 1994, the Lumina had served NASCAR drivers well, but the production model, the one that you and I could buy, was ready for an update. For 1995, Chevy offered a Lumina with all-new, rounder styling, and only four doors – two-door versions of the same car wore the Monte Carlo badge and were powered by either a 160-horsepower 3.1-liter V6 or a 210-horsepower 3.4-liter V6. With that reintroduction, a NASCAR veteran nameplate found its way back to the track.

What Jeff Gordon unwittingly started in 1995 would become a string of Monte Carlo championships spanning four years. Terry Labonte followed through with his Monte Carlo in 1996, with Gordon back to receive the prized cup in the 1997 and 1998 seasons.