Jeff Gordon racing career bio:
Jeff Gordon began racing at the age of five and according to his step-father John, it was his idea. It may have been his idea, but his family fully supported him. Jeff Gordon 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, Jeff Gordon had already won three short-track races and was awarded USAC Midget Car Racing Rookie of the Year in 1989. The next year Jeff Gordon won the USAC Midget title. In 1991, Jeff Gordon moved up to the USAC Silver Crown and at the age of 20 became the youngest driver to win the title.
Jeff 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, Jeff Gordon 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, Jeff 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. Jeff Gordon 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, Jeff 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, Jeff 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, Jeff 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.
Jeff 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 Jeff 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.
Jeff Gordon personal bio:
Reaction to Gordon's success has been sharply divided among NASCAR fans. Jeff 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 Jeff Gordon "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 Jeff 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.
Due to his hectic schedule Jeff Gordon owns a private jet, a Raytheon Hawker 800 that he uses to fly to and from NASCAR events.
Jeff Gordon bio since his 2001 NASCAR Championship:
Jeff 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, Jeff 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. Jeff 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, Jeff 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.
Jeff 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.
Jeff 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, Jeff 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, Jeff Gordon 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 Jeff Gordon in the 2006 NEXTEL Cup Season.
Jeff Gordon bio in 2006:
Jeff 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, Jeff 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.
Jeff 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.
Jeff 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, Jeff 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.
Jeff Gordon bio in 2007:
Jeff 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, Jeff 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 Jeff 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.
Jeffery Michael Gordon was born on August 4, 1971 in Vallejo, California. Jeff Gordon is an American race car driver. Jeff Gordon was born in Vallejo, California, raised in Pittsboro, Indiana, and currently lives in Charlotte, North Carolina. Jeff Gordon is a four-time NASCAR Winston Cup (now NEXTEL Cup) Series champion and driver of the #24 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS/Impala SS. Jeff Gordon primary sponsor is DuPont, though he occasionally drives a Pepsi-themed car or a Nicorette-themed car. Jeff Gordon other sponsors include Quaker State, Haas, GMAC, Georgia-Pacific/Sparkle, and Nicorette. Jeff Gordon, 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. Jeff Gordon also has an equity stake in his own #24 team.