Jeff Gordon

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Full Name: Jeffery Michael Gordon NASCAR Starts: 520 Height/Weight: NASCAR Wins: 81 Birthdate: August 4, 1971 NASCAR Top 5s: 238 Birthplace: Vallejo, California NASCAR Top 10s: 322 Nationality:  United States NASCAR Poles: 65 Series: NASCAR Team: Hendrick Motorsports 1995, 1997, 1998, 2001 NASCAR Winston Cup Champion

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[edit] Biography

[edit] Early Years

Jeffery Michael Gordon was born August 4, 1971 in Vallejo, California. Raised in Pittsboro, Indiana, Gordon now has homes in Charlotte, North Carolina and New York City. He is a four-time NASCAR points champion, with DuPont as his primary sponsor. His other sponsors include Pepsi, Nicorette, Quaker State, Haas, GMAC, Georgia-Pacific and Sparkle. Gordon, along with Rick Hendrick, are co-owners of the 2006 Nextel Cup Series Champion car sponsored by Lowe’s and driven by Jimmie Johnson.

Jeff showed interest in racing around the age of four, when he began attending races with his step-father John Bickford, at Vallejo Raceway. Starting with a BMX bicycle, Gordon received his first “four-wheeler’” a Quarter Midget race car when he was five. "I ran Sunnyvale, Visalia, Pomona . . . mainly around the Sunnyvale-Fremont area, and Rio Linda, which was a dirt track we'd go to some weekends. In fact, the very first time I ever got into a race car was at Rio Linda," Gordon said.

Inspired at an early age by John to be the best he could be in everything he did, Jeff embraced racing with a natural talent and true humility. The young man from California jumped behind the wheel of a quarter midget and his competitive spirit quickly ignited. "He slipped around the track for days getting used to the car and how to drive it," John says. Jeff didn’t do so well in his first year of competition, but he knew he could do it. At just six years of age, Jeff won 35 main events and set five track records. Jeff was winning so frequently in quarter midgets that at age nine, he was beating drivers 17 and older. On and on he went, usually racing on dirt and always moving to a higher level of success.

Jeff later took an interest in sprint cars because of their size and power. There was one roadblock though—Jeff was only 13 and the rules stated the minimum age to drive the 650 horsepower machines was 16. But Jeff and his family appealed to the insurance companies and their persistence paid off when Jeff was allowed to run in the All Star Florida Speedweeks. Racing sprints was the first time Jeff had received national attention, partly due to his young age and partly because of his amazing driving abilities. Success came easily as Jeff captured several track championships at Bloomington Speedway and a title at Eldora Speedway.

But he didn't lose. And once it was determined that Jeff would be a racer, the family had a decision to make. By 1985, Jeff's parents knew that their son's future was in racing. Vallejo, California, was wonderful, but Jeff could get little competition racing other kids. He needed to race against adults, but he couldn't do that in his home state because of age restrictions. "It was one of those crossroads in life you come to where you're going to have to make a commitment to something, whether it's your life or your kid's life," says Bickford. "And I felt the potential in our family lied in our ability to do what it took to advance the kid." They moved from California to Florida. Then they relocated to Pittsboro, Indiana, near Indianapolis in 1986 for two reasons. Open-wheel racing was very popular in the Midwest and there were a lot of race tracks in the area. In addition, Jeff could legally race sprint cars in Indiana with his parents' permission.

Jeff joined the United States Auto Club (USAC) at 16 and was the youngest person to ever get a license with the group. Jeff won 3 sprint car track championships before he was old enough to get a drivers license. In the late-80's, he ventured over to Australia and New Zealand to compete in sprint car races on foreign soil. He was the 1989 USAC Midget Rookie of the Year. He went to Tri-West High School in nearby Lizton, Indiana (where he was voted prom king) and graduated in 1989. The day of his graduation, he got his diploma and quickly changed into his racing gear for a dirt track race in Bloomington that night. He joined the cross country track team in high school to stay in shape for racing. Often, he'd leave school early (or skip it entirely) on Fridays in favor of travel to tracks like Eldora and Winchester. By the time he graduated, he'd already won over 100 races. He won the USAC Midget championship in 1990. That year, Jeff ran 21 USAC Midget Car races. He was the fastest qualifier 10 times, won nine races and at age 19 became the youngest Midget class champion ever. The next year he moved up to USAC's Silver Crown Division (the cars are similar to Midgets and Sprints but are a lot bigger), and at 20 he became the youngest driver to ever win that championship. He won the USAC midget title in 1990 and his father suggested that Jeff go to Rockingham, North Carolina and attend the Buck Baker driving school. Not for sprint cars, but NASCAR stock cars. ESPN taped a story about Jeff's experience there and in return, Baker would teach Gordon free of charge. After taking his first lap in a stock car, Jeff realized that those were the cars he wanted to race... as long as he was racing.

When there were no opportunities available in open-wheel racing for Jeff to pursue, someone suggested that he try out the Buck Baker Driving School at Rockingham Speedway in North Carolina. When Jeff drove his first laps in a stock car, he declared to his parents that this was what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. What exciting times those were. It was a transition from the traditional open-wheel racing that Jeff was used to, something he had never done before—race a car that had fenders. Jeff met a man named Hugh Connerty, who owned some Hooters restaurants and was a partner in Outback Steakhouse. Hugh secured some funding for a car through Outback, and it went to a test for the Busch Grand National race in Charlotte in 1990. A then unknown figure in the motorsports community from New Jersey by the name of Ray Evernham was asked to come work with Jeff. They ran a few races together to end the 1990 Busch Grand National season.

[edit] Nascar Career Highlights

His breakthrough year was 1991 when he won the coveted USAC Silver Crown title and, in a year of frenzied racing, moved up to Busch Grand National competition driving the #1 Carolina Ford owned by Bill Davis and won rookie of the year honors. In 1992, Jeff signed the deal of a lifetime, putting him into the elite circle of NASCAR teams, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, along with capturing a NASCAR record 11 pole positions. Gordon then went on to spend two successful years in the NASCAR Busch Series in 1991 and 1992, driving for Bill Davis Racing (with whom he set a NASCAR record by capturing 11 poles in one season). Coincidentally, Gordon's first NASCAR Winston Cup Series race, the 1992 Hooters 500 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway, was also the final race for Richard Petty. He went on to finish 31st, crashing after 164 laps of competition.

In 1993, Gordon raced his first full season in Winston Cup for Hendrick Motorsports, in which he won a Twin 125 Daytona 500 qualifying race, the Rookie of the Year award and finished 14th in points. Gordon's success in the sport reshaped the paradigm and eventually gave younger drivers an opportunity to compete in NASCAR. However, during the 1993 season, many doubted Gordon's ability to compete at such a level at such a young age because of his tendency to push the cars too hard and crash. He came out strong in 1993, winning the Gatorade 125-mile Qualifying race for the Daytona 500. He noticed Miss Winston, Brooke Sealy, in Victory Lane that day. They married in 1994 and lived in Huntersville, North Carolina until 1998 when they moved to Highland Beach, Florida. Jeff won the Maxx Race Cards Rookie of the Year award in 1993 and finished second in NASCAR's longest race, the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Jeff finished 14th in the final points standings his first year and hoped to move into the top 10 in points in 1994.

In 1994, the critics were silenced when Jeff Gordon collected his first career victory at the Lowe's Motor Speedway in the Coca Cola 600, NASCAR's longest and most demanding race. Additionally, Gordon scored a popular hometown victory at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the inaugural Brickyard 400, passing Ernie Irvan for the lead late in the race when Irvan cut down a tire. Worldwide attention was thrust upon Jeff when he won the inaugural Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis in August 1994. He finished the 1994 season eighth in the points standings. Despite the improvement, hardly anyone was prepared for the events of 1995, in which Gordon enjoyed a dream season en route to his first Winston Cup Title. After a disappointing Daytona 500, the team rebounded with a wins at Rockingham, Atlanta, and Bristol in the first six races. Jeff proved he was more than just a Super Speedway racer by winning on the challenging half-mile of Bristol. Further on the road to the title, he won the Pepsi 400 at Daytona and followed up with a win the following week on the Loudon, New Hampshire one-mile oval. Instead of cracking under pressure late in the season, Jeff attacked the races and won the Mountain Dew Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway and the MBNA 500 at Dover, Delaware's maddening one-mile oval in September which propelled him to a 300 point lead over Dale Earnhardt. Gordon finished the ’95 season with seven victories, 17 top-fives, 23 top-10s and eight poles.

The 1996 season got off to a rocky start with last place finishes at Daytona and Rockingham. However, Jeff bounced back in week 3 with a win at Richmond which set the tone for the rest of the season. He won often and on some of the circuit's toughest tracks. Jeff won the Trans-South Financial 400 at Darlington and followed that up with a win the next weekend at Bristol in a rain shortened affair. In June, he won at Dover and Pocono, two of the circuit's most challenging tracks. Jeff notched a win in the Diehard 500 at Talladega in July but didn’t win again until September, when he won at Darlington, Dover, and Martinsville, and he won the final NASCAR race at the famed North Wilkesboro Speedway. An engine failure at Charlotte dashed his title hopes as teammate Terry Labonte put together a string of consistent finishes to take the title. However, 1996 was the first of three consecutive 10 win seasons, something most drivers never achieve and is a remarkable accomplishment in the modern era of NASCAR racing.

The 1997 season began with Jeff signing a deal with Pepsi to become his associate sponsor. Jeff kicked off the racing season by winning the Busch Clash and the Daytona 500, and followed up the next week with a win at Rockingham. After a few inconsistent weeks, Jeff rebounded with a win in the Food City 500 at Bristol highlighted by a last lap pass of race leader Rusty Wallace. Gordon dominated the following week at Martinsville as he captured the Goody's 500. Heading into the Winston Select and the Coca-Cola 600 in May, the team wanted to run well at Charlotte after disappointing results at the track in 1996. Jeff won the Winston Select all star race as he dominated the final segment of the race, he won the pole for the Coca-Cola 600, and he capped off a successful two weeks at the track with a victory in a shortened Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day weekend. In June, he won the Pocono 500 at Pocono Raceway becoming only the third driver to win back to back June races at Pocono. Later in June, he won the inaugural race at California Speedway running out of gas just as he took the checkered flag. Jeff won his first career road course race as he took the checkered flag at Watkins Glen in August. On Labor Day weekend, he became only the second driver in NASCAR history to win the 'Winston Million' as he won the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. In addition, he became the only driver to win the event three years in a row. After a win at New Hampshire, Jeff was inconsistent the rest of the way but hung on to win the Winston Cup title by 14 points over Dale Jarrett in Atlanta with a 17th place finish.

The 1998 season started with Pepsi kicking their Jeff Gordon advertising campaign into high gear with a commercial during the Super Bowl. He won at Rockingham but struggled in 3 of the first 5 races of the season before rebounding with a win at Bristol. After running strong at the Winston, he ran out of gas on the last lap but rebounded with a win in the Coca Cola 600 in late May. After a crash at Richmond in early June, Gordon put together a string of solid finishes that culminated with a victory in late June at Sears Point in his native northern California. In August, Gordon won the Brickyard 400 and became the first NASCAR driver to win twice at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The $1.6 million payday was the largest ever for a motorsports event, due in part to a $1,000,000 bonus for winning a race in the No Bull Five. He followed that up with wins at Watkins Glen and Michigan tying the record for consecutive wins in the modern era of Winston Cup racing. In September, he won his fourth consecutive Southern 500 and another $1,000,000 at Darlington. He won the inaugural running of the Pepsi 400 under the lights at Daytona and wrapped up the season by winning his second consecutive Winston Cup title.

Gordon started off 1999 with a bang by winning the Daytona 500 from the pole position holding off Dale Earnhardt in the closing laps. In early March, he introduced his new Busch Grand National team at Las Vegas. The first race for the Pepsi Chevrolet BGN team was a solid fourth place effort. In Gordon's sixth Busch event of the season, Gordon posted a win at Phoenix. Gordon's Winston Cup season was a year of transition. He posted seven victories, including the aforementioned victory at Daytona, but also had 7 DNF's. Inconsistency, coupled with the departure of longtime crew chief Ray Evernham in mid-September, relegated Gordon to 6th in the final points standings. The season began with a new crew chief in Robbie Loomis and a new pit crew. The DuPont team struggled from the outset with poor finishes at Daytona, Las Vegas, and Texas. The team also uncharacteristically struggled at places they had come to dominate- Darlington, Pocono, and Martinsville. After claiming his 50th career win at Talladega in April, the pieces began coming together. Gordon made a major announcement in May at Charlotte in which DuPont would remain as the team's primary sponsor through 2006. A victory at Sears Point in June was a boon to the team's confidence. However, a four race stretch in August in which Gordon failed to produce a top 20 finish was the low point. September brought renewed enthusiasm after a victory at Richmond and Gordon closed the year with ten top 10 finishes in the final eleven races. The team concluded the 2000 season in better shape than they had concluded 1999. The building blocks for a title run in 2001 were firmly in place.

Focused on a title run, the 2001 season got off to a tragic start with the death of Dale Earnhardt in the season-opening Daytona 500. Gordon rebounded from a 30th place finish at Daytona with a third place finish at Rockingham and a victory at Las Vegas. A runner-up finish at Atlanta entrenched Gordon firmly in the title hunt for the season. As spring gave way to summer, Gordon won The Winston (in a back-up car), dominated and won at Dover, and drove to victory at Michigan. A 37th place finish at Daytona and 17th at Chicago closed the points gap, but Gordon took a commanding lead with August victories at Indianapolis and Watkins Glen. Four top 10 finishes in the next five races followed before a victory in the inaugural race at Kansas Speedway in late September. Though Gordon didn't post a top five finish for the remainder of the season following the Kansas win, his challengers could not make strides toward catching him in the standings. He wrapped up his fourth Winston Cup championship with a sixth place finish at Atlanta.

Gordon began 2002 with a special paint scheme in recognition of DuPont's 200th Anniversary. He won the 125-mile Qualifying race at Daytona but an ill-advised block on Sterling Marlin late in the Daytona 500 sent him spinning through the grass. He started the season rather sluggish as he failed to post a top-five finish through the first six races. After an uncharacteristic spin at Bristol, he bounced back the following week with a second-place finish at Texas. Five straight top-tens from mid-May thru mid-June got him back into title contention. However, a broken gear at Sonoma and a flat tire at Daytona in July put him behind once again. As the summer progressed, Gordon finally scored a victory with a bump pass on Rusty Wallace at Bristol. He won again the following weekend at Darlington and picked up a victory in Kansas in late September. However, inconsistency lingered. Crashes at Dover and Martinsville, along with a blown engine at Talladega crippled his title hopes for 2002. He concluded the season with four straight top-six finishes and finished fourth in the final point standings. Following the season, Gordon joined his teammate Jimmie Johnson and Motocross ace Colin Edwards to represent the USA in the Nations Cup-- an annual rally-sprint style event off the coast of Morocco. The trio captured the coveted trophy as Gordon ended his racing season with a victory of a different sort.

The 2003 season began with Gordon hosting "Saturday Night Live." It was the first time a NASCAR driver had been asked to host the late night show on NBC. He performed in several skits, most notably as a fighter pilot on 'Career Day,' a snake handler, a waiter with a short fuse, and Rickeye Funk. The racing season began with a 12th place finish in the rain-shortened Daytona 500. A spin at Rockingham and a wreck at Las Vegas set him back to 20th in the points standings after three events. However, a strong runner-up finish at Atlanta provided the momentum for Gordon to score five top-ten finishes in the next six races. The stretch was highlighted by a dominating victory at Martinsville Speedway. Top-five finishes at Dover, Michigan, Sonoma, and Chicago pushed him up to second in the series standings. Just when he looked to be in position to make a run on Matt Kenseth for the points lead, the roof caved in on his season during a disastrous seven week stretch from mid-July through early September. A 24th place effort at Loudon was followed by a wreck at Pocono. A brief respite came with a fourth place effort at Indianapolis, but darker days were ahead. After running out of gas on the last lap at Watkins Glen, Gordon tried to coast to the finish line to finish third. Kevin Harvick came off the final turn and hit the rear of Gordon's car sending him spinning into the inside guardrail. Unable to restart the car due to the fuel issue, he was credited with a 33rd place finish. A week later, an ill-timed caution flag trapped him a lap down and resulted in a 30th place finish at Michigan. Wrecks at Bristol and Darlington closed out one of the worst summers of Gordon's racing career. Late September brought a rebirth of sorts as he put together five straight fifth place finishes. He won again at Martinsville in dominating fashion, and followed that up with a victory at Atlanta. He closed the season with eight top-ten finishes in the final nine races. For the second straight season he posted three wins and was fourth in the points standings. Gordon's 2004 season could be considered a championship season. After all, he did accumulate the most points in the 36-race season. But, in 2004, the "Chase for the Cup" put a premium on the final ten races of the season. Kurt Busch combined a victory at Loudon with consistent finishes to capture the championship. Gordon came up 16 points short in the final "chase" total. Victories at Talladega, Daytona, Sonoma, California, and Indianapolis thrust Gordon into title contention during the summer. Gordon held the points lead after the 26th race when the standings were reset. In the final ten races, Gordon struggled at Talladega, Kansas, and Atlanta. He was unable to overcome those performances to capture his fifth title. Though, considering the events of October 24, just being on the track at Atlanta was an accomplishment.

The 2005 season started off in dramatic fashion as Gordon won at Daytona for the third time. A late pass on Dale Earnhardt Jr. sealed the victory. After racking up wins at Martinsville and Talladega, Gordon had moved up to 2nd in the points standings by early May. But all was not right in his world. Crew chief Robbie Loomis expressed his desire to move onto other things following the season. The grind of being a crew chief had worn him down over the past 15 years. The DuPont team began grooming Steve Letarte to take over in 2006. On the track, the performance took a noticeable downturn. In 8 races from mid-May thru mid-July, Gordon posted 6 finishes of 30th or worse. The dry spell dropped him to 15th in the points standings. The frustration boiled over on a steamy July afternoon at Chicagoland Speedway. Gordon was struggling with the handling of the car from the outset of the race. While running 25th, he was taken out in a turn one wreck by Mike Bliss. After the race Gordon confronted Bliss at a local airport; the end result being a black eye for Bliss. After Gordon failed to qualify for the 'chase for the championship,' Loomis departed the team as Letarte took over. Gordon posted four top-10 finishes in the last 5 events-- including a win at Martinsville-- which raised their expectations for 2006.

[edit] Off-track highlights

In 2006, Gordon won races during the summer at Sonoma and Chicago, the latter punctuated with a bump to Matt Kenseth with 4 laps to go, which sent Kenseth into a spin. Off the track, Gordon filled in for host Regis Philbin on the Live with Regis and Kelly show in January, became a wax figure at Madame Tussauds at The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino in Vegas. It was a season where Gordon ran in the lower half of the top-10 in points for the majority. His results were punctuated with inconsistency, which ultimately doomed his chances in the 'chase for the championship.' He started the chase with back-to-back 3rd place finishes, but three straight sub-24th place efforts diminished his title hopes for another season. Nevertheless, Gordon will likely view 2006 as a success. In June he announced his engagement to Ingrid Vandebosch, which was followed by a wedding in Mexico in early November. A week before Christmas, Gordon and Vandebosch announced they are expecting their first child in the summer of 2007. Gordon is regarded as one of NASCAR's best drivers because he achieved so much at such a young age. At thirty five, midway through the 2006 Nextel Cup season, Gordon has accumulated 75 Nextel Cup victories, right behind Dale Earnhardt's mark of 76 wins and Darrell Waltrip's NASCAR-recognized Modern-Era record of 84, and is currently seventh on the all-time list. Many observers also credit Gordon with moving NASCAR from its regional southeastern roots to national level of popularity, both through his media savvy and through lucrative advertising deals that put Gordon's face, team, and brand into the public spotlight.

Ray Evernham was placed as Jeff Gordon's first crew chief and many say their chemistry is the reason for Gordon’s great early success. The way the two got along grew through the years and in 1999 the two went into business together. In 1999 Gordon/Evernham Motorsports (GEM) was formed. Though short lived, the race team enjoyed success. The co-owned team received a full sponsorship from Pepsi and ran six races with Jeff Gordon as driver and Ray Evernham as crew chief in the NASCAR Busch Series. GEM only survived one year as Evernham was pulled away by Dodge. Jeff Gordon extended his Busch experiment one more year, through 2000 as co-owner, with Rick Hendrick buying Evernham's half. Post Evernham his race team was named JG Motorsports.

Reaction to Gordon's success has been sharply divided among NASCAR fans. Gordon remains popular in his home state of Indiana and his birth state of California, and as indicated by the success of merchandising of #24 products, outside the Deep South, but is often booed by fans in traditional NASCAR venues.

Part of this schism in popularity is attributed to Gordon's "Madison Avenue" appeal, his apparent rivalry with Dale Earnhardt during the 1990s, and the resentment in the Deep South of perceived "Yankees." NASCAR for years had been a predominantly Southern sport, and many fans today attribute NASCAR's changes, not all of which are popular, to the influence of corporate sponsorships and the media. Following the death of Dale Earnhardt in 2001, many looked to Gordon as the leader of the sport. Gordon was never critical of NASCAR as an organization and led efforts to mandate new cutting-edge safety devices such as head-and-neck restraints. Now that the 2006 season has come to a close, Jeff Gordon and the #24 DuPont team are focusing on 2007. Jeff Gordon owns a racecar, the #48 Lowe's Monte Carlo SS, which won the 2006 NASCAR/Nextel Cup Series Championship. Jeff Gordon's team finished the year with 14 top-5's, 18 top-10's, 2 wins, 2 poles, and 7 DNF's.

[edit] Career Highlights:

• Three-time Daytona 500 winner (1997, 1999, 2005)
• Four-time Brickyard 400 winner (1994, 1998, 2001, 2004)
• Two-time Coca-Cola 600 winner (1994, 1998)
• Five-time Southern 500 winner (1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2002)
• 1997 Winston Million winner
• Four-time Winston Cup Champion (1995, 1997, 1998, and 2001) ranks third All-time, trailing Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt Sr., each with seven)
• Won 2006 owner points championship as the owner of Jimmie Johnson's #48 team
• Three-time champion of The NEXTEL All-Star Challenge (1995, 1997, 2001)
• Holds a record nine road course victories
• 1993 Rookie of the Year
• Named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers (1998)
• First to win $10 million in a season
• All-Time NASCAR Series money leader ($86,229,362)
• Has won consecutive races 21 times

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