BRIEFLY : GORDON ENJOYS FEAST OF AWARDS.

Byline: Daily News Wire Services

The NASCAR awards banquet Friday night was a rainbow-colored affair for the fourth straight year, thanks to Jeff Gordon and the Hendrick Racing team.

Gordon's team, known as the Rainbow Warriors because of the multi-colored logo of primary sponsor DuPont, garnered most of the accolades and most of the money handed out during the ceremony in the grand ballroom of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York.

It was the fourth straight Winston Cup championship for the team owned by Rick Hendrick and currently run by younger brother John. Gordon has won titles in 1995, 1997 and 1998, while teammate Terry Labonte beat out the younger driver for the championship in 1996.

On the way to this latest title, the 27-year-old Gordon - the youngest three-time champion in NASCAR's 50 years - matched modern-era records with four consecutive wins and a total of 13 victories. In a 33-race season, The Kid had one stretch of 17 consecutive top-five finishes, coming within one race of David Pearson's record in that category.

For his efforts, Gordon collected $6,175,867 in race winnings, $2,632,272 in Winston Cup awards and another $135,000 in contingency money for a record total of $9,306,584.

He held the previous record of $6,375,658.

``I guess that just shows what kind of year it's been,'' Gordon said.

For the third year in a row, Rick Hendrick was unable to attend the dinner. The owner, battling leukemia, also is serving out a year's suspension from operating either his race team or his chain of car dealerships stemming from a conviction for mail fraud.

If his health allows, Rick Hendrick will be allowed to resume control of the race team prior to the season-opening Daytona 500.

Other awards Friday night included $25,000 to Kenny Irwin for winning the rookie of the year title and $25,000 to Kyle Petty as the True Value Man of the Year.

WINTER SPORTS: Christiane Mitterwallner, never better than 19th in four years of World Cup racing, became Austria's latest champion by winning a women's World Cup super-G from the 37th starting position at Mammoth Mountain.

``I always had trouble from training to the race. Now I know I can win,'' the 24-year-old racer said after giving Austria its fourth victory in eight women's races this season.

``I was only hoping I could be in the top 20,'' Mitterwallner, still visibly stunned, said. ``I never thought about winning, never. Am I surprised? Sure, I'm surprised. I can't believe it.''

Renate Goetschl, who won two downhills for Austria last weekend in Canada, was giving interviews and receiving handshakes and hugs from the other skiers when Mitterwallner moved into the gate as the 37th starter.

Skiing on a sun-baked course that remained fast throughout the day despite soft snow, Mitterwallner caught everyone's attention when she reached the midway point .20 seconds faster than Goetschl.

Mitterwallner crossed the finish line in 1 minute, 15.64 seconds, only .05 better than Goetschl, who was .04 better than Germany's Martina Ertl.

Mitterwallner seemed confused by the roar that greeted her arrival, then saw with unbelieving eyes that her name was atop the leaderboard. She seemed almost ready to faint as she held her hands to her head, then sank to her knees in the snow.

SOCCER: Meredith Florance scored with less than 20 seconds remaining in the second sudden-death overtime to give North Carolina a 1-0 victory over Portland in an NCAA women's soccer tournament semifinal match in Greensboro, N.C.

Top-ranked North Carolina, seeking its 15th championship in 17 tries, advanced to Sunday's title match against Florida, which defeated Santa Clara 1-0 earlier in the day.