Sitting pole position at the Pepsi 400, the talented NASCAR driver No. 24, Jeff Gordon, has an impressive racetrack career and is working on adding to his race wins. With a resum highlighting his skills and abilities, such as four-time NASCAR Cup Series Championship winner, three-time Daytona 500 winner, four-time Brickyard 400 winner, and fourth all-time pole position award winner's list; all of which only briefly outlines his career. The 2007 season marks Gordon's 15th year racing in the NASCAR series. While at the 2007 Pepsi 400, the Daytona International Speedway was not all rubber and pedal-to-the-metal at the racetrack.
To add to all the Pepsi 400 race-weekend excitement, Daytona International Speedway's official high-performance recreational powerboat, Eliminator Boats, built a 27 Daytona with gelcoat graphics to match Gordon's No. 24 DuPont/Pepsi Monte Carlo SS. Jeff Gordon would not only be driving his No. 24 Chevrolet racecar at Daytona this year, but would get to test out the Eliminator boat on Lake Lloyd located in the infield of the Daytona International Speedway.
Towing the No. 24-themed Eliminator from California to Florida was a long haul, while the Extreme Engineering trailer was sporting a matching Pepsi-blue paintjob, making the cross-country journey with the precious load. Launching the boat into Lake Lloyd, the GMC dualie performed an effortless job of tow and presentation of lowering the boat into the water. Once the 27 Daytona was in the water, the real fun began.
The Eliminator 27 Daytona sport catamaran, upgraded with a 900hp supercharged Teague Custom Marine 900 EFI engine package had limited hours to test the boat before it was on the road to Daytona. However, while Gordon was on the throttle with a sizeable roostertail trailing, the boat easily reached 115 mph, according to the GPS. The 27 Daytona demonstrated great speed and maneuverability for a large boat on such a small lake. Additionally equipped with all sorts of upgrades, like the Teague Custom Marine Platinum XR drive with a 1.35.1 gear ratio spins lab-finished 32-inch pitch four-blade propeller.
Seating accommodations for the test drive included a NASCAR driver, a Gordon associate, an Eliminator staff member, a member of the Speed Channel film crew, and a microphone and sound crew member; though the 27 Daytona will seat as many as six adults.
There's storage below the bench seating, stainless steel handrails mounted, and stainless steel cupholders recessed in the gunwale. The interior is custom-stitched with "Eliminator" at the top of the custom bucket seats. Eliminator splurged when it came down to detail by adding the custom No. 24 bucket seat inserts. Acrylic windscreens are housed forward of the front-seat passengers, to knock down the wind while adding to the stealth look of the boat, as well. The 27 Daytona controls were provided by Livorsi, the Monster Racing Series gauges with chrome rims, blue outer ring and white faces for all the instrumentation needs, plus the tach and Speedo have a silk-screened Pepsi logo showing the attention to detail of this boat.
The gorgeous colors of gelcoat replicate the No. 24 NASCAR Chevrolet created by vibrant blue, white, red, and black hues with the striking flames, Pepsi logo, and all the sponsors matching the overall theme. The Eliminator eventually made it trackside to model itself in the Midway during the rest of the race weekend. This West Coast boat builder is recognized for building custom creations, including this No. 24 Pepsi recreation. Jeff Gordon seemed to enjoy the drive both on land and on water making the last year of the Pepsi 400 a memorable event and spectacular race weekend at the Daytona International Speedway.