Jeff Gordon

Jeffery Michael Gordon (born August 4, 1971) is an American stock car racing executive and former professional stock car racing driver who currently serves as the vice chairman of Hendrick Motorsports. He raced full-time from 1993 to 2015, driving the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports in the former NASCAR Winston Cup Series and Sprint Cup Series (now called NASCAR Cup Series), and also served as a substitute driver for Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the No. 88 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports in select races during the 2016 season. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential drivers in NASCAR history, helping the sport reach mainstream popularity in the 1990s and 2000s.

Gordon started his professional racing career in the Busch Series with Hugh Connerty Racing, followed by Bill Davis Racing, winning three races, and began racing full-time in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series for Hendrick Motorsports in 1993. He is a four-time Cup Series champion, having won the title in 1995, 1997, 1998, and 2001, the only driver to have won more than 3 championships that has won less than 7. He also won the Daytona 500 three times in 1997, 1999, and 2005. Gordon has completed three career Grand Slams and has won a total of sixteen Crown Jewel races (three Daytona 500s, four Talladega 500s, three Coca-Cola 600s, and six Southern 500s), both of which are all-time records.

Gordon is third on the all-time Cup wins list with 93 career wins, while having the record for the most wins in NASCAR's modern era (1972–present) and the most wins in one modern era season, with thirteen during the 1998 NASCAR Winston Cup Series. Gordon's 81 pole positions led all active drivers and are third all-time, and also a modern era record; Gordon won at least one pole in 23 consecutive seasons, making this a NASCAR record. Other records include the most restrictor plate track wins with twelve and the most road course wins with nine, and he was the active "iron man" leader for consecutive races participated in with 797 through the 2015 season.

In 1998, NASCAR named Gordon to its 50 Greatest Drivers list. Ten years later in a 2008 article, ESPN's Terry Blount ranked him tenth in the 25 Greatest Drivers of All-Time. Foxsports.com named him as the fifth best NASCAR driver of all time. He was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2019. As of 2016, Gordon was considered the highest-paid NASCAR driver ever and the 18th highest-paid athlete of all-time with $515 million in career earnings, per Forbes.

Gordon is of Scotch-Irish descent, and was born in Vallejo, California to parents Carol Ann Bickford (née Houston) and William Grinnell Gordon of Vacaville, California. Gordon's mother and biological father divorced when he was six months old. His stepfather, John Bickford, married his mother in the 1970s. He has a sister, Kim, who is older by four years. His younger cousin, James Bickford, competed in the K&N Pro Series West. Gordon attended Tri-West Hendricks High School in Lizton, Indiana and was on the school's cross country team; he graduated in 1989.

When he was four years old, Gordon rode a BMX bike that his stepfather bought for him and began racing quarter midgets at the age of five. The Roy Hayer Memorial Race Track (previously the Cracker Jack Track) in Rio Linda, California is noted as the first track Gordon ever competed on. By the age of six, Gordon had won 35 main events and set five track records. In 1979 Gordon won 51 quarter midget races. When he was eleven, Gordon won all 25 of the karting races he entered. At the age of twelve, Gordon became bored with cars and decided to start a career in waterskiing before switching back to driving one year later. In 1986, Gordon began racing sprint cars, winning three races. The next year, Gordon was awarded a USAC license at the age of sixteen, the youngest driver to do so.

During the 1980s, Gordon and his family had to overcome an insurance hurdle. The minimum age for driving the sprint cars was sixteen, and his persistence paid off with an all Florida speed weeks. Supporting his career choice, Gordon's family moved from Vallejo to Pittsboro, Indiana, where there were more opportunities for younger racers. In the late '80s, he drove in the World of Outlaws series and picked up some feature wins. He became the youngest driver in the World of Outlaws at the time. He also won races at Bloomington and Eldora Speedways. After graduating from high school in 1989, he quickly changed and went to Bloomington to race that night. Before the age of 18, Gordon had already won three short-track races and was awarded USAC Midget Car Racing Rookie of the Year in 1989. That season was highlighted by winning Night Before the 500 midget car race on the day before the Indianapolis 500. During the decade, Gordon also ran sprint cars in Australia and New Zealand. In 1990, Gordon won his second consecutive Night Before the 500, the Hut Hundred, and the Belleville Midget Nationals on his way to winning the USAC national Midget title. In 1991, Gordon captured the USAC Silver Crown, and at the age of 20 became the youngest driver to win the season championship. He also won the 4 Crown Nationals midget car race that season. In his midget car career between 1989 and 1992, he finished in the Top 3 in 22 of 40 USAC midget car events. In 1992, Gordon competed in the Slim Jim All Pro Series' Winchester 400, but finished 24th after crashing on lap 172. The following year, he ran a Featherlite Southwest Tour race at Sears Point Raceway, finishing 29th after suffering an engine failure.

In the early 1990s, Gordon expressed interest in IndyCar racing, but was not able to find a ride due to low funding. However, former Formula One driver Jackie Stewart offered Gordon a test drive in Europe, in what Gordon assumed was Formula Three or Formula 3000; Gordon did not perform the test due to being in contact with NASCAR.

In 1990, Gordon met Hugh Connerty, who owned some Hooters restaurants and was also a partner in Outback Steakhouse. Connerty secured some sponsorship for a car through Outback, and they tested for the last few Busch Grand National races left in 1990. Ray Evernham was called in to work with Gordon in his stock car debut. His first Busch race came on October 20, 1990, at North Carolina Motor Speedway in the AC-Delco 200. Gordon drove the No. 67 Outback Steakhouse Pontiac for Connerty. Gordon ran the second fastest lap during qualifying and started on the outside of the front row of the field. Gordon would, however, get involved in a wreck on lap 33. He ended up with a 39th-place finish.

In 1991 and 1992, Gordon began racing in the Busch Series full-time, driving Ford Thunderbirds for Bill Davis Racing. In his first year as a Busch driver he won Rookie of the Year. In 1992, Gordon set a NASCAR record by capturing eleven poles in one season. He was sponsored by Carolina Ford Dealers in 1991 and Baby Ruth in 1992.

In 1999, Gordon along with Cup crew chief Evernham formed Gordon/Evernham Motorsports (GEM) in the Busch Series with Gordon and Rick Hendrick's son Ricky Hendrick as drivers, the Rainbow Warriors as pit crew and Patrick Donahue as crew chief. The co-owned team received a full sponsorship from Pepsi and ran six races with Gordon as driver and Evernham as crew chief. GEM only survived one year as Evernham left Hendrick Motorsports, citing tension between him and the team, ending one of the most dominant driver/crew-chief combinations in NASCAR history. Gordon extended his Busch experiment one more year, through 2000 as co-owner, with Rick Hendrick buying Evernham's half, and GEM becoming JG Motorsports. In two seasons, Gordon won twice, in 1999 at the Outback Steakhouse 200, the inaugural race at Phoenix, and 2000 at Homestead.

In 1992, Roush Racing owner Jack Roush planned to sign Gordon, but Gordon's stepfather John Bickford had insisted that Roush hire Ray Evernham; due to Roush's policy of hiring his own crew chiefs, Bickford declined. Later in the year, Rick Hendrick watched Gordon race in a Busch Series event at Atlanta Motor Speedway, and Gordon joined Hendrick Motorsports two days later. Gordon made his Winston Cup debut in the season-ending race, the Hooters 500 at Atlanta, finishing 31st after a crash.

The following year, Gordon began competing full-time in the Winston Cup Series, driving the No. 24 car for Hendrick. He was originally supposed to race the No. 46, but complications with licensing related to Days of Thunder forced Gordon to the 24. He opened the season with a win in the Gatorade Twin 125's race, while also recording his first-career pole position at the fall Charlotte race, and concluded 1993 with a fourteenth-place points finish and the Rookie of the Year Award. Gordon's early success in the sport reshaped the paradigm and eventually gave younger drivers an opportunity to compete in NASCAR. However, during the 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. His last-place finish at the 1993 First Union 400 was a firm example of this theory. Additionally, driver Darrell Waltrip wrote he told Hendrick during the season that Gordon had "hit everything but the pace car that year."

When Gordon made the decision to step back from full-time driving at the conclusion of the 2015 Sprint Cup Series season, he reportedly put out feelers to television networks about the possibility of joining the broadcast booth. On January 25, 2015, USA Today writer Jeff Gluck reported that Gordon was hired by Fox Sports to work as a guest analyst for NASCAR on Fox broadcasts of Xfinity Series events alongside full-time announcers Adam Alexander and Michael Waltrip; the news was officially announced by Fox Sports the following day. On February 3, Gordon made a guest appearance on the Fox News Channel morning show Fox & Friends, where he stated his plans to call three races for Fox Sports.

On April 10, 2015, Gordon made his broadcasting debut on Fox Sports 1 during the network's coverage of the O'Reilly Auto Parts 300 at Texas Motor Speedway. Gordon returned to the broadcast booth for the Drive to Stop Diabetes 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway on April 18, and the Winn-Dixie 300 at Talladega Superspeedway on May 2. Gordon was one of five active NASCAR drivers to serve as a guest analyst for Fox Sports during the 2015 Xfinity Series season; the other four were Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Clint Bowyer, and Danica Patrick.

On May 21, 2015, Gordon announced on NASCAR Race Hub that he would join Fox Sports as a full-time analyst for Cup Series events, beginning with the 2016 Sprint Cup Series season. Gordon was paired with Mike Joy and Darrell Waltrip in the broadcast booth, replacing Larry McReynolds, who moved to the Hollywood Hotel.

On November 6, 2015, Gordon joined Joy and Waltrip in the booth for the first time at a dress rehearsal during the WinStar World Casino & Resort 350 at Texas Motor Speedway. The rehearsal was not shown during the Camping World Truck Series broadcast. Following his final scheduled race as a driver on November 22, Gordon quickly began the transition into his full-time role at Fox Sports.

Gordon made his debut as a Cup Series analyst as part of Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway in February 2016. To promote his first Daytona 500 as a broadcaster, he starred in the "Jeff Gordon Police Chase" advertisement, as part of the #DaytonaDay campaign. On the eve of the 58th Daytona 500, Fox aired Jeff Gordon's Daytona 500 Kickoff Celebration, a television special he hosted.

Early in his career, Gordon stated that he was a born again Christian. He talked about how in the early-1990s he became curious about Christianity and followed some drivers to the weekly chapel one week, which is how he first started to learn more about God. During this time, Gordon kept verses of the Bible taped to his steering wheel. By 2004, Gordon stated he had "a difficult time focusing on one particular faith." When asked again about his faith in a 2015 Sports Illustrated magazine interview, Gordon stated: "I wasn't brought up [with religion]. It was something I got introduced to when I came into the Cup Series. I explored it and learned a lot from that experience. I feel it's helped make me a better person, but I choose to do it more privately now."

Gordon has been married twice. He met Brooke Sealey, a Miss Winston Cup model, in victory lane at Daytona International Speedway after he won the first of two qualifying races for the 1993 Daytona 500. The pair began dating in secret due to an unwritten rule prohibiting drivers from dating the models. Sealey's role as Miss Winston concluded following the 1993 season, and the couple publicly revealed their relationship after the NASCAR awards banquet in December. Prior to the 1994 Daytona 500, a year to the day from their encounter in victory lane, Gordon reserved a banquet hall at a French restaurant in Daytona Beach, where Gordon proposed to Sealey. The couple were married on November 26, 1994. They owned a home on Lake Norman in North Carolina, but evacuated permanently due to fan intrusions. The couple then moved to Highland Beach, Florida. In March 2002, Sealey sued for divorce after alleging Gordon of marital misconduct, and Gordon eventually counter-sued. Gordon's wife, who also went by the name Jennifer Brooke Gordon, cited her husband's relationship with professional model Deanna Merryman in her divorce papers with the racecar driver. In court papers, she asked for "exclusive use of the couple's oceanfront home, valued at $9 million, as well as alimony, two cars and periodic use of their boats and an airplane." Though Gordon stated that Sealey did not deserve such a high amount of rewards, as he "risked life and limb" to gain the wealth, Sealey stated that "NASCAR is a relatively safe occupation." Sealey subsequently was awarded $15.3 million. The divorce was finalized on June 13, 2003. During the year, Gordon was seen with model Amanda Church on a beach in St. Bart's, and later moved in with her in New York City.

1990 Hoosier Auto Racing Fans Driver of the Year

1990, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2007 AARWBA All America Team

1994 Hoosier Auto Racing Fans Hall of Fame inductee

1995, 1998 Richard Petty Driver of the Year

1995, 1998, 2001 Jerry Titus Memorial Trophy winner

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

(key) Bold – pole position (overall finish/class finish).

(key) (Bold – Pole position. * – Most laps led.)