Jeff Gordon
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| Born: | August 4, 1971 | |
| Birthplace: | Vallejo, California | |
| Awards: | 2001 Winston Cup Champion
Named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers (1998) | |
| 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 | 285 | 56 |
| 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 November 12, 2006. | ||
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. 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.
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[edit] Racing career
Jeff Gordon began racing at the age of five [1]and according to his step-father, John Bickford, racing 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 competiton.
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.
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 has accumulated 75 Nextel Cup victories, right behind Dale Earnhardt's mark of 76 wins (the most among active drivers) 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 advertizing 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 Gordons 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 raceteam was named JG Motorsports.
[edit] Public image and personal life
Fan reaction to Gordon's success has been sharply divided. 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 1990's, 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.
Gordon married Brooke Sealey in 1994. In 2003, Gordon's divorce from Brooke became tabloid fodder. Gordon distanced himself from the controversy by staying focused on the competition, winning races and contending for championships. 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. [2]
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.
A physical altercation with driver Mike Bliss in 2005 and a televised altercation with Matt Kenseth in 2006 have put a more hardened edge on Gordon's public image, further distancing himself from the "Wonder Boy" persona that was thrust upon him in the '90s.
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. [3] Gordon and Vandebosch were married in a small, private ceremony in Mexico on November 7, 2006.
[edit] Since his last 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 Nextel Cup car. The exhibition was broadcast live by SPEED Channel, in a special called, Tradin' Paint.
On February 20, 2005 Jeff Gordon won the Daytona 500 for the third time. He previously won "The Great American Race" in 1997 and 1999. Also, Gordon won the Brickyard 400 on August of 2004, obtaining his 4th Indy win. He claimed wins at the famed raceway in 1994, 1998, and 2001.
In 2004, Gordon finished 3rd in the NEXTEL Cup points 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 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 active driver leading 7th career victory at the 0.526 mile track. 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, 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.
On June 24, 2006 Gordon announced his engagement to model Ingrid Vanderbosch. The following day, Gordon won his ninth road race, the Dodge/Save Mart 350, at the Infineon Raceway - his first win of the season and fifth at Infineon.
On June 29, 2006, Jeff Gordon announced that he will he 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.[4]
On July 9, 2006, Jeff Gordon won his first race at the Chicagoland Speedway at the running of the USG Sheetrock 400. Jeff Gordon has 75 career Nextel Cup victories, just one short of tying Dale Earnhardt for the sixth most wins of all time.
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.
Jeff Gordon made the "Chase for the Nextel Cup" with his improvements on the intermediate 1.5/2-mile downforce racetracks from 2005. His consitency in the latter portions of 2006 made him competetive week-in and week-out, eventually finishing 6th in the NASCAR/Nextel Cup Series Standings.
Jeff Gordon will attend the awards ceomony at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City, NY for his top-10 finish in the Nextel Cup Standings.
[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 was also referred to in the Bernie Mac/Ashton Kutcher film Guess Who. In January 2003, Gordon became the first NASCAR driver to host "Saturday Night Live".
[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
| 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 |
| Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Nextel Cup drivers | Kyle Busch (#5) | Jeff Gordon (#24) | Casey Mears (#25) | Jimmie Johnson (#48) |
| Partnerships and affiliations | Ginn Racing | Haas CNC Racing |
| Other | Rick Hendrick | Ricky Hendrick |
de:Jeff Gordon fr:Jeff Gordon hu:Jeff Gordon pt:Jeff Gordon tl:Jeff Gordon
Categories: 1971 births | People from Vallejo, California | International Race of Champions drivers | Living people | NASCAR drivers | NASCAR Rookies of the Year | Daytona 500 winners | People from the San Francisco Bay Area | Scots-Irish Americans | People from Charlotte, North Carolina | People from Indianapolis
