Jeff Gordon
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| Born: | August 4, 1971 (age 35) | |
| Birthplace: |  Vallejo, California |
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| Awards: | 2001 Winston Cup Champion
Named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers (1998) |
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| NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Statistics | ||
| Car #, Team | 24 - Hendrick Motorsports | |
| 2006 NEXTEL Cup Position: | 6th | |
| Best Cup Position: | 1st - 1995, 1997, 1998, 2001 (Winston Cup) | |
| First Race: | 1992 Hooters 500 (Atlanta) | |
| First Win: | 1994 Coca-Cola 600 (Charlotte) | |
| Last Win: | 2006 USG Sheetrock 400 (Joliet) | |
| Wins | Top Tens | Poles |
| 75 | 291 | 58 |
| NASCAR Busch Series Statistics | ||
| 73 races run over 5 years. | ||
| Best NBS Position: | 4th - 1992 | |
| First Race: | 1990 AC-Delco 200 (North Carolina) | |
| Last Race: | 2000 Miami 300 (Homestead) | |
| First Win: | 1992 Atlanta 300 (Atlanta) | |
| Last Win: | 2000 Miami 300 (Homestead) | |
| Wins | Top Tens | Poles |
| 5 | 32 | 12 |
| All stats current as of March 25, 2007. | ||
Jeffery Michael Gordon (born August 4, 1971) is an American race car driver. He was born in Vallejo, California, raised in Pittsboro, Indiana, and currently lives in Charlotte, North Carolina. He is a four-time NASCAR Winston Cup (now NEXTEL Cup) Series champion and driver of the #24 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS/Impala SS. His primary sponsor is DuPont, though he occasionally drives a Pepsi-themed car or a Nicorette-themed car. His other sponsors include Quaker State, Haas, GMAC, Georgia-Pacific/Sparkle, and Nicorette. He, along with Rick Hendrick, are the co-owners of the #48 Lowe's sponsored team, driven by Jimmie Johnson, the 2006 NEXTEL Cup series champion. Gordon also has an equity stake in his own #24 team.
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[edit] Racing career
Jeff Gordon began racing at the age of five racing quarter midgets[1] and according to his step-father John, it was his idea. It may have been his idea, but his family fully supported him. Gordon's family moved from Vallejo, California to Pittsboro, Indiana, not just for the racing opportunities in general, but especially those for younger drivers. 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. The next year Gordon won the USAC Midget title. In 1991, Gordon moved up to the USAC Silver Crown and at the age of 20 became the youngest driver to win the title.
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 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.
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. Finally, in 1995, at the age of 24, Gordon won the first of four NASCAR Winston Cup Championships. There are only two other drivers with more than four Cup titles: Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt (both had seven titles). In 2004, Gordon also became the only NASCAR driver with four Brickyard 400 victories at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and one of only five drivers to have four victories at the historic track. Gordon also broke the domination that Dale Earnhardt, Incorporated's #8 and #15 teams held over the restrictor plate tracks in NASCAR since 2001, establishing himself as a favorite to win on the tracks where so many teams struggle to even finish races.
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 had 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 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. After the departure of Evernham, the race team was renamed JG Motorsports.
[edit] Public image and personal life
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. Still the main reason for his lack of popularity in the south seems to be the fact that Gordon was so successful at such an early age in his career. This angered many fans in the south who could not accept that their favorite drivers were no longer achieving the same amount of success as they once had.
During a February, 2007 appearance on the Bob & Tom radio program, Jeff Foxworthy joked that he had discovered why Gordon remained a controversial figure. "He enunciates," the comedian explained, "and people from the South ain't having it."
Jeff Gordon is a Christian, and has discussed his faith online, describing how he followed some drivers to chapel one day after being curious about it. [2]
Due to his hectic schedule Jeff Gordon owns a private jet,[3] a Raytheon Hawker 800 that he uses to fly to and from NASCAR events.
[edit] Relationships
Gordon married Brooke Sealey in 1994. In 2003, Gordon's divorce from Brooke became tabloid fodder. In court papers Brooke Sealey (formerly Brooke Gordon) 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." She also wished Jeff Gordon to continue to pay the salaries of their housekeepers, maintenance workers and chef, as well as her legal fees" during the divorce.[4]
On June 24, 2006, Jeff announced his engagement to Ingrid Vandebosch at a croquet event at Meadowood resort in St. Helena, California. According to Gordon, they had kept the engagement secret for the past 30 days[5]. Gordon and Vandebosch were married in a small, private ceremony in Mexico on November 7, 2006.
On December 13, 2006, Jeff and Ingrid announced that they were expecting their first child in early July of 2007. On, February 8, 2007 the couple announced they are expecting a girl.
[edit] Other drivers
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.
[edit] Since his 2001 NASCAR Championship
Gordon has also participated in some off-road events, including a winning drive with Team USA at the 2002 Race of Champions. He was slated to run it again in 2004 against Formula 1 Champion Michael Schumacher but was sidelined by the flu, and Casey Mears took his place. In 2005, Gordon competed in the Race of Champions event again, this time held in Paris, France, where he was partnered with famed motocross racer/X Games winner Travis Pastrana. Gordon was unable to qualify for the finals, as his car had trouble starting up in the quarterfinal round of the competition.
On June 11, 2003 at a special exhibition at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Gordon took laps in Juan Pablo Montoya's Williams BMW, while Montoya did laps in Gordon's Winston Cup car. The exhibition was broadcast live by SPEED Channel, in a special called, Tradin' Paint.
Gordon won the Brickyard 400 in August of 2004, obtaining his 4th Indy win. He claimed wins at the famed raceway in 1994, 1998, and 2001. He finished 3rd in the 2004 NEXTEL Cup points standing behind Kurt Busch and teammate Jimmie Johnson even though he scored the most total points throughout the whole season, a consequence of the new Chase system implemented in 2004.
Gordon started the 2005 season with a win in the Daytona 500, but inconsistency would plague him throughout the year. A late season (notably top 10s at Indy and Bristol) run put him in position to qualify for the Chase, but in the last race before the Chase at Richmond, Gordon made contact with the wall and failed to qualify for the chase. Despite this disappointment, on October 23 Gordon won the Subway 500 at Martinsville Speedway, his first win in 22 points races, and his 7th career victory at the 0.526 mile track, which leads all active drivers at the facility. He went on to finish 11th in the Championship and received a $1,000,000 bonus as the top driver finishing outside the Chase. It was Gordon's first time outside the top 10 in the point standings since 1993.
On September 14, 2005 Crew Chief Robbie Loomis resigned from the #24 team. Loomis stayed on with Hendrick Motorsports as a consultant for Jimmie Johnson's #48 team through the Chase for The NEXTEL Cup in 2005. Steve Letarte, Gordon's car chief for most of the '05 season and long time member of the 24 crew, replaced Loomis as crew chief effective at New Hampshire International Speedway on September 18th, 2005 and began his first full season as crew chief for Gordon in the 2006 NEXTEL Cup Season.
[edit] 2006
Gordon won his ninth road race, the 2006 Dodge/Save Mart 350, at the Infineon Raceway - his first win of the season and fifth at Infineon. The day before the race, he announced his engagement to Ingrid Vandebosch.
On June 29, 2006, Gordon announced that he would participate in the Rolex 24 endurance sports car event at Daytona International Speedway, teaming up with SunTrust Racing drivers Max Angelelli and Wayne Taylor, who won the 2005 Rolex 24 race.[6] His team went on to finish third, despite problems, two laps behind the winning team of Juan Pablo Montoya, Scott Pruett, and Salvador Durán.[7]
On July 9, 2006, Jeff Gordon won his first race at the Chicagoland Speedway at the running of the USG Sheetrock 400 (this was also the first win for Hendrick Motorsports at this track). He has 75 career NEXTEL Cup victories, just one short of tying Dale Earnhardt for the sixth most wins of all time.
Gordon made the "Chase for the NEXTEL Cup" with his improvements on the intermediate 1.5/2-mile downforce racetracks from 2005. His consistency in the latter portions of 2006 made him competitive week-in and week-out, eventually finishing 6th in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Standings.
Jeff Gordon attended the awards ceremony at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City, NY for his top-10 finish in the NEXTEL Cup Standings. While there he collected a check for his 2006 winnings of $7,471,447 which brings his career winnings total to $82,838,526.
[edit] 2007
Gordon started the 2007 Cup season off by winning his Gatorade Duel qualifying race. Due to rear shocks being mounted wrong on his car, he failed post-race inspection and had to start 42nd in the 2007 Daytona 500. He went on to finish 10th in the race despite being involved in a crash during a spectacular last-lap finish.
Following Daytona, Gordon took the pole for the Auto Club 500 at the California Speedway, his 57th of his career. He would finish 2nd to Matt Kenseth, continuing his run of strong runs and finishes at the intermediate tracks he had struggled on notably in 2005.
The 24 team was adorned with the Nicorette colors, but the performance of Gordon and company were as strong as ever. Despite a subpar 36th qualifying effort for the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Gordon led the most laps and took home a 2nd place result behind teammate Jimmie Johnson. It is the first time Gordon has started a season with three straight top ten finishes since the 1997 season.
Gordon continued his 2007 success with a 12th-place finish in the Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, even though he went a lap down from a fender rubbing the firewall – maintaining the second-overall spot in the Nextel Cup standings, just 8 points behind the leader Mark Martin.
On March 23, 2007, Gordon won the pole for the 2007 Food City 500 at Bristol, the first race for the Car of Tomorrow. He went on to a 3rd place in the race, giving him the points lead after Mark Martin did not enter the race, as part of a planned part-time schedule in the 2007 season.
[edit] Gordon in popular culture
Gordon has made cameo appearances starring as himself in Looney Tunes: Back in Action, Taxi, and Herbie: Fully Loaded. Gordon, referred to as "Jay Gordon," was mentioned in the Bernie Mac/Ashton Kutcher film Guess Who, and also Nelly's 2000 single "E.I." (I drive fastly, call me Jeff Gordon. In the black SS with the navigation). In January 2003, Gordon became the first (and so far, only) NASCAR driver to host NBC's "Saturday Night Live". He has appeared seven times on Live with Regis and Kelly.
In the show Blue Collar Comedy Tour, Jeff Foxworthy makes mention of why some fans do not like Gordon: he enunciates and "you want an interview with a driver where you have no idea what they're saying!".
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.nascar.com/news/headlines/cup/gordon.j.bio/index.html
- ^ http://www.vietchristian.com/gospel/JeffGordon.asp
- ^ http://jetjit.com/n24jg.htm
- ^ http://www.usatoday.com/sports/motor/nascar/2002-03-16-gordon.htm
- ^ http://www.thatsracin.com/mld/thatsracin/14901236.htm
- ^ http://www.speedtv.com/articles/auto/grandam/27817/
- ^ http://www.grand-am.com/Events/SessionResults.asp?SessionID=803
[edit] External links
- Official website
- Official Team website
- Driver's statistics at racing-reference.info
- nascar.com driver's page
- The Jeff Gordon Foundation
- Jeff Gordon Racing School
- Jeff Gordon In-Car Audio
- Jeff Gordon - Bio, Stats, Images, Links & more
| Preceded by Jimmy Hensley |
NASCAR Rookie of the Year 1993 |
Succeeded by Jeff Burton |
| Preceded by Dale Earnhardt |
NASCAR Winston Cup Champion 1995 |
Succeeded by Terry Labonte |
| Preceded by Terry Labonte |
NASCAR Winston Cup Champion 1997, 1998 |
Succeeded by Dale Jarrett |
| Preceded by Bobby Labonte |
NASCAR Winston Cup Champion 2001 |
Succeeded by Tony Stewart |
| Preceded by Dale Jarrett |
Daytona 500 winner 1997 |
Succeeded by Dale Earnhardt |
| Preceded by Dale Earnhardt |
Daytona 500 winner 1999 |
Succeeded by Dale Jarrett |
| Preceded by Dale Earnhardt, Jr. |
Daytona 500 winner 2005 |
Succeeded by Jimmie Johnson |
| NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Champions |
|---|
| Byron • Rexford • Thomas • Flock • Thomas • L. Petty • Flock • Baker • Baker • L. Petty • L. Petty • White • N. Jarrett • Weatherly • Weatherly • R. Petty • N. Jarrett • Pearson • R. Petty • Pearson • Pearson • Isaac • R. Petty • R. Petty • Parsons • R. Petty • R. Petty • Yarborough • Yarborough • Yarborough • R. Petty • Earnhardt • Waltrip • Waltrip • Allison • T. Labonte • Waltrip • Earnhardt • Earnhardt • Elliott • Wallace • Earnhardt • Earnhardt • Kulwicki • Earnhardt • Earnhardt • Gordon • T. Labonte • Gordon • Gordon • D. Jarrett • B. Labonte • Gordon • Stewart • Kenseth • Busch • Stewart • Johnson |
| Hendrick Motorsports | |
| NEXTEL Cup drivers | Kyle Busch (#5) | Jeff Gordon (#24) | Casey Mears (#25) | Jimmie Johnson (#48) |
| Busch Series drivers | Kyle Busch/Mark Martin (#5) |
| Development drivers | Landon Cassill |
| Partnerships and affiliations | Ginn Racing | Haas CNC Racing |
| Other | Rick Hendrick | Ricky Hendrick |
Categories: 1971 births | People from Vallejo, California | International Race of Champions drivers | Living people | NASCAR drivers | NASCAR Rookies of the Year | American Christians | Daytona 500 winners | People from the San Francisco Bay Area | Scots-Irish Americans | People from Charlotte, North Carolina | People from Indianapolis | American racecar drivers | Grand-Am drivers
