Coordinates: 51°37′5″N 1°24′46″W / 51.61806°N 1.41278°W / 51.61806; -1.41278

Williams-Renault 175px Full name Williams F1 Base Grove, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom Team principal(s) Sir Frank Williams Technical director Mike Coughlan Website www.williamsf1.com 2012 Formula One season Race drivers 18. Pastor Maldonado[1] 19. Bruno Senna[2] Test drivers Valtteri Bottas[1] Susie Wolff[3] Chassis Williams FW34[4] Engine Renault[5] Tyres Pirelli Formula One World Championship career Debut 1978 Argentine Grand Prix Latest race 2012 Monaco Grand Prix Races competed 578 Constructors' Championships 9 (1980, 1981, 1986, 1987, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997) Drivers' Championships 7 (1980, 1982, 1987, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997) Race victories 114 Pole positions 127 Fastest laps 130 2011 position 9th (5 pts) Formula One portal

Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited (FWB: WGF1), trading as Williams F1, is a British Formula One motor racing team and constructor. It was founded and run by former team owner Sir Frank Williams and automotive engineer Patrick Head. The team was formed in 1977 after Frank Williams' two earlier and, compared with Williams F1's achievements, unsuccessful F1 operations: Frank Williams Racing Cars (1969 to 1975) and Walter Wolf Racing (1976). All of Williams F1 chassis are called "FW" then a number, the FW being the initials of team owner, Frank Williams.

Williams' first race was the 1977 Spanish Grand Prix, where the new team ran a March chassis for Patrick Nève. Williams started manufacturing its own cars the following year, and Switzerland's Clay Regazzoni won Williams' first race at the 1979 British Grand Prix. At the 1997 British Grand Prix, Canadian Jacques Villeneuve won the team's 100th race, making Williams one of only three teams in Formula One, alongside Ferrari and fellow British team McLaren, to win 100 races. Williams won nine Constructor's titles between 1980 and 1997. This stood as a record until Ferrari surpassed it in 2000.

Many famous racing drivers have driven for Williams, including Australia's Alan Jones; Finland's Keke Rosberg; Britain's Nigel Mansell, Damon Hill and Jenson Button; France's Alain Prost; Brazil's Nelson Piquet and Ayrton Senna, and Canada's Jacques Villeneuve, each of whom, with the exception of Senna and Button, have captured one Drivers' title with the team. After Senna died in a Williams car in a crash at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, Frank Williams, Patrick Head and designer Adrian Newey were all accused of manslaughter. The trial finally closed on 13 April 2007, when the Italian Court of Appeal stated in the verdict numbered 15050 that Head was guilty of the manslaughter charge. Even being found responsible for Senna's accident, Head was not arrested, because the final verdict was pronounced after the statute of limitations had expired.^[6]

Williams have worked with many notable engine manufacturers, most successfully with Renault: Williams won five of their nine constructors' titles with the French company. Along with Ferrari, McLaren, Benetton and Renault, Williams is one of a group of five teams that won every constructors' championship between 1979 and 2008 and every driver's championship from 1984 to 2008.

Origins[link]

Related Articles: Frank Williams Racing Cars & Walter Wolf Racing

Frank Williams started the current Williams team in 1977 after his previous outfit, Frank Williams Racing Cars, failed to achieve the success he desired. Despite the promise of a new owner in the form of Canadian millionaire Walter Wolf, the team's 1976 cars were not competitive. Eventually Williams left the rechristened Walter Wolf Racing and moved to Didcot to rebuild his team as "Williams Grand Prix Engineering". Frank recruited young engineer Patrick Head to work for the team, creating the "Williams-Head" partnership.^[7]

Ownership[link]

It was reported on 20 November 2009 by Reuters that Williams and Patrick Head had sold a minority interest in their team to an investment company led by Austrian Toto Wolff^[8] who has stated that it is purely a commercial decision.^[9]

In February 2011, Williams F1 announced their intention to float via an Initial Public Offering on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, from March 2011. Swiss-based Bank am Bellevue AG will act as sole global co-ordinator of up to 27.39% of existing shares, a total of 2,739,383 shares. The shares will be offered to the public in the UK, Germany, Switzerland and Austria; while private institutional investment will be available to organisations in other EU countries, plus the United States, Canada, Japan and Australia. Sir Frank Williams will remain majority shareholder and team principal after the IPO.^[10] The shares are valued at between 24 and 29 euros, which values the Williams F1 team at 265 million euros.

Racing history – Formula One[link]

Ford (1976–1983)[link]

1977

Williams entered a customer March 761 for the 1977 season. Lone driver Patrick Nève appeared at 11 races that year, starting with the Spanish Grand Prix. The new team failed to score a point, achieving a best finish of 7th at the Italian Grand Prix.^[11]

1978

The Williams FW06 being raced at Silverstone in 2007.

For the 1978 season, Patrick Head designed his first Williams car: the FW06. Williams signed Australian Alan Jones, who had won the Austrian Grand Prix the previous season for a devastated Shadow team following the death of their lead driver, Tom Pryce. Jones’s first race for the team was the Argentine Grand Prix where he qualified the lone Williams in 14th position, but retired after 36 laps with a fuel system failure. The team scored its first championship points two rounds later at the South African Grand Prix when Jones finished fourth. Williams managed their first podium position at the US Grand Prix, where the Australian came second, some 20 seconds behind the Ferrari of future Williams driver Carlos Reutemann.^[12] Williams ended the season in tenth place in the constructors’ championship, with a respectable 16 points, while Alan Jones finished 12th in the drivers' championship.

1979

Head designed the FW07 for the 1979 season. This was the team’s first ground effect car, a technology first introduced by Colin Chapman and Team Lotus. Williams also obtained membership of the Formula One Constructors Association (FOCA) which expressed a preference for teams to run two cars, so Jones was partnered by Swiss driver Clay Regazzoni.^[13] They had to wait until the seventh round of the championship, the Monaco Grand Prix, for a points-scoring position. Regazzoni came close to taking the team’s first win but finished second, less than a second behind race winner Jody Scheckter. The next round at Dijon is remembered for the final lap battle between René Arnoux and Gilles Villeneuve,^[14] but also saw both cars finish in the points for the first time: Jones was fourth with Regazzoni sixth. The team’s first win came at the 1979 British Grand Prix – their home Grand Prix – when Regazzoni finished almost 25 seconds ahead of anyone else. Things got even better when Williams cars finished first and second at the next round in Hockenheim, Alan Jones two seconds ahead of Regazzoni. Jones then made it three wins in a row at the Österreichring, finishing half a minute ahead of Gilles Villeneuve’s Ferrari. Three wins in a row became four wins two weeks later at Zandvoort, Alan Jones winning again by a comfortable margin over Jody Scheckter’s Ferrari. Scheckter ended the Williams winning streak when he won Ferrari’s home Italian Grand Prix, Regazzoni finishing third behind both Ferraris. Alan Jones managed another win at the penultimate race at Montreal to cap off a great season.

Williams had greatly improved their constructors' championship position, finishing eight places higher than the previous year and scoring 59 more points. Alan Jones was the closest driver to the Ferrari duo of Villeneuve and 1979 champion Jody Scheckter, the Australian scored 43 points, 17 behind the South African, while Jones’s team mate, Regazzoni, was two places behind him with 32 points.

1980

In 1980 Alan Jones partnered the Argentine Carlos Reutemann. The team started well in the championship, with Jones winning the first round of the season in Argentina. Jones won four more races: Paul Ricard, Brands Hatch, Montreal and the final round at Watkins Glen. Jones became the first of seven Williams drivers to win the drivers' championship, 17 points ahead of Nelson Piquet’s Brabham. Williams also won its first constructors’ championship, scoring 120 points, almost twice as many as second-placed Ligier.

1981

The duo won four races for the Williams team in the 1981 season. Alan Jones won at the first round at Long Beach and the final round at Las Vegas, while Carlos Reutemann won at the second round at Jacarepagua and the fifth round at Zolder. Williams won the constructors’ title for the second year running, scoring 95 points, 34 points more than second-placed Brabham.

1982

Alan Jones retired from Formula One, only to come back a year later for a single race with the Arrows team. The Australian was replaced by Finnish driver, Keke Rosberg, who had not scored a single championship point the previous year. He won the Drivers title that year; winning only one race, the Swiss Grand Prix at Dijon-Prenois. Rosberg’s teammate, Reutemann, finished in 15th place having quit Formula One after just two races of the new season. His seat was filled by Mario Andretti for the US Grand Prix West before Derek Daly took over for the rest of the year. The Williams team finished fourth in the constructors’ championship that year, 16 points behind champions Ferrari.

By the end of the season, Frank Williams realised that to compete at the top levels of Formula One he needed the support of a major manufacturer, such as Renault or BMW who could supply his team with a turbo engine.

Honda and Judd (1983–1988)[link]

Related Articles: Honda Racing F1, Judd (engine)

1983

Frank Williams looked towards Honda, which was developing its own turbo-charged V6 engine with the Spirit team. A deal between Honda and Williams was finally settled early in 1983 and the team used the engines for the 1984 season. For the rest of the 1983 season, Williams used the Ford engine except for the last race of the year in South Africa where Rosberg scored an encouraging fifth place. The team finished fourth in the constructors’ championship, scoring 36 points, including a win for Keke Rosberg at the 1983 Monaco Grand Prix.

1984

For the 1984 season Head designed the ungainly FW09. Keke Rosberg won the Dallas Grand Prix and managed to get second at the opening race in Brazil. Rosberg’s team mate, Jacques Laffite, came 14th in the drivers' championship with five points. The team finished sixth with 25.5 points, with Rosberg eighth in the drivers' championship.

1985

Nigel Mansell’s Williams FW10. This car was used during the 1985 season.

In 1985, Head designed the FW10, the team’s first chassis to employ the carbon-fibre composite technology pioneered by the McLaren team. British driver Nigel Mansell joined the team to partner Rosberg. The team scored four wins with Rosberg, winning in Detroit and Adelaide, while Mansell won the European Grand Prix and the South African Grand Prix. Williams finished third in the constructors' championship, scoring 71 points.

1986

In March 1986, Frank Williams faced the most serious challenge of his life. While returning to the airport at Nice, he was involved in a car accident which left him paralysed. He did not return to the pit lane for almost a year.^[15] Despite the lack of his presence in the team, the Williams team won nine Grands Prix and the constructors’ Championship and came close to winning the Drivers' championship with Nigel Mansell, but the British driver’s left-rear tyre blew up along the back straight at the Australian GP, the final round of the season, while his fellow championship rival, and teammate, Piquet made a pit stop shortly after Mansell’s retirement as a precaution. This left Alain Prost to defend his title successfully, despite being in an inferior car.

1987

Nelson Piquet’s championship-winning FW11B from 1987; this was the only Honda-powered Williams to win a drivers' championship.

The 1987 season brought Williams-Honda partnership its first and only Drivers' championship title in the form of Nelson Piquet, who scored 76 points – 73 after dropped scores (best eleven results counted) in relation to the Drivers' Championship – and won three races, while the Brazilian’s teammate, Mansell, was 15 points behind – 12 on dropped scores – him in second place with six victories during the season. The Williams team finished as constructors’ champions for the second year running, scoring 137 points, 61 points ahead of their nearest rivals McLaren. Despite this success Honda ended their partnership with Williams at the end of the year in favour of McLaren and Lotus.

1988

Unable to make a deal with another major engine manufacturer, Williams used naturally aspirated Judd engines for the 1988 season.^[16] This left them with a significant performance deficit compared with their turbo-powered rivals. Piquet left Williams to join Lotus who had retained their Honda engines for the 1988 season, mostly due to Satoru Nakajima. Williams brought in Italian Riccardo Patrese to replace him. The team did not win a single race that season and finished seventh in the constructors’ championship, scoring 20 points. The highlights of the season were two second places by Mansell, at the British and Spanish Grand Prix. When Mansell was forced to miss two races through illness, he was replaced by Martin Brundle and then Jean-Louis Schlesser.

Renault and Mecachrome (1989–1999)[link]

Related Article: Renault F1

The team secured an engine supply from Renault in 1989. Renault engines subsequently powered Williams drivers to another four Drivers' and five constructors’ Championships up until Renault’s departure from Formula One at the end of 1997. The combination of Renault’s powerful engine and Adrian Newey’s design expertise led to a particularly dominant period in the mid 1990s. Mansell had a record breaking 1992 season winning the title in record time and leading many races from pole to finish. Some maintain that the Williams FW14B and FW15C were "the most technologically advanced cars that will ever race in Formula One".^[17]

1989

Williams FW12C, the first Renault engine powered Williams

The Renault era started in 1989, with Italian Riccardo Patrese and Belgian Thierry Boutsen at the helm of the two Williams cars. The engine’s first grand prix in Brazil was one that the team preferred to forget, with Boutsen retiring with an engine failure and Patrese with an alternator failure after leading, although Patrese did qualify second. The Williams Renault team managed to get back on track with Boutsen coming fourth in the next race at Imola, earning the team three points in their championship campaign. Two races later at the Mexican Grand Prix, the team managed to achieve their first podium with the Renault engine, thanks to Patrese, who came second, 15 seconds behind the race winner Ayrton Senna. The next race saw Patrese come second again, having started from 14th on the grid, with Boutsen 6th. At the sixth round in Canada, Williams not only scored their first win with the Renault engine but also their first one-two: Thierry Boutsen came first followed by Patrese, resulting in 15 points for Williams' championship campaign. Williams came second in the constructors’ championship, scoring 77 points in total; 64 points behind winners McLaren. Patrese finished 3rd in the drivers' championship with 40 points, 41 points behind the 1989 world champion, Alain Prost. Boutsen finished 5th in the championship with 37 points after also winning in Australia. Boutsen's win in Australia gave Williams the distinction of having won the first and last Grands Prix of the 1980s.

1990

In the 1990 season, Williams kept Patrese and Boutsen as the team’s drivers. Although Patrese won the San Marino Grand Prix and Boutsen won pole position and the race at the Hungarian Grand Prix, the team scored 30 fewer points than the previous year and finished the constructors’ championship two positions lower, in fourth. In the drivers' championship, Boutsen finished sixth with 34 points and Patrese seventh with 23 points.

1991

1991 British Grand Prix: Nigel Mansell gives Ayrton Senna a lift back to the Paddock at Silverstone. Senna had run out of fuel and Mansell won the race.

Boutsen left Williams and joined Ligier at the start of 1991. His replacement was Britain's Nigel Mansell; Williams also recruited future 1996 world champion, Damon Hill, as one of their new test drivers. Williams failed to finish in the first Grand Prix of the season at Phoenix, both drivers retiring with gearbox problems. Patrese got back on track for the team in the next Grand Prix at Interlagos, coming second behind McLaren's Ayrton Senna. The 1991 San Marino Grand Prix saw both cars retiring again: Mansell after a collision and Patrese with an electrical failure after 17 laps. The Grand Prix at Monaco saw Mansell finally finish in a points-scoring position, coming second, 18 seconds behind race winner Ayrton Senna. At the next race, the Canadian Grand Prix, Williams locked out the front row only for Patrese to drop back with gearbox problems and Mansell to retire from the lead on the final lap with an electrical fault. At the following race, in Mexico, Williams finally broke their 1991 duck with a 1–2, Patrese finishing ahead of Mansell to score 16 points for the Williams team. Williams then had two consecutive further victories, with Mansell winning the French Grand Prix, five seconds ahead of Alain Prost’s Ferrari. Mansell then won again at the British Grand Prix; it had been four years since a Briton had won the grand prix, Mansell having won it in 1987. Three consecutive victories became four when Mansell won again in Germany, Patrese was about 10 seconds behind him in second place. Senna ended Williams' run of victories by winning in Hungary, finishing five seconds ahead of Nigel Mansell. Mansell later won the Italian Grand Prix and the Spanish Grand Prix, while Patrese won the Portuguese Grand Prix after Mansell's race was ruined by a botched pitstop in which only three wheel nuts were fitted. Williams finished second in the constructors’ championship, scoring 125 points in total, 14 points behind McLaren. Mansell finished second in the drivers' championship, scoring 72 points, 24 points behind Senna.
1992

The Williams FW14B of Nigel Mansell, which was used for the 1992 season. The team won the constructors' championship that year, and Mansell won the drivers' championship

Williams took a step up for the 1992 season, keeping their 1991 driver line-up of Patrese and Mansell. Mansell dominated the first round in South Africa, qualifying in pole position and winning the race by 24 seconds from his team-mate Patrese. Nigel Mansell won the next four rounds for Williams, at Mexico City, Interlagos, Catalunya and Imola, Patrese coming second in all but one (the Spanish Grand Prix, where he retired after spinning off). Mansell's five victories in the opening five races was a new record in Formula One. Senna won the next race in Monaco, ahead of both Williams cars, which finished second and third. In the next race, in Canada, both Williams cars retired: Mansell spun off on entering the final corner (he claimed that Senna pushed him off) and Patrese had a gearbox failure. Mansell went on to record four more Grand Prix wins, including at the British Grand Prix. (In the final round, in Adelaide, the two Williams again retired, Mansell after Senna violently crashed into the back of him, and Patrese with electrical problems.) Williams won the constructors’ championship with 164 points, 65 points more than second place McLaren. Mansell became World Champion, scoring 108 points, with Patrese finishing second with 56 points. In winning nine races in a single season Mansell had set a new record for the most wins by a single driver in one season.

Despite capturing the title and nine races, Nigel Mansell's seat was not safe for 1993. Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna were both trying to sign for Williams. Patrese's position looked to be under threat and he signed for Benetton before the end of the year. Ironically, only Prost was able to agree terms with Williams for 1993, leaving a seat free for Patrese had he remained with the team. Upon hearing that Prost had signed with Williams, Mansell departed for CART rather than be teammates with the Frenchman as they did not have a good relationship from their time together at Ferrari. Prost's contract with Williams included a clause that vetoed the signing of Senna for the 1993 season, and the Brazilian remained at McLaren.

1993

Nigel Mansell left the Williams team in 1993 for CART racing, the team hired triple champion Alain Prost, and promoted test driver Damon Hill to replace Riccardo Patrese, who had left to join Michael Schumacher at Benetton.

The Williams FW15C was the dominant car, with active suspension and traction control systems beyond anything available to the other teams.^[18] Prost won on his debut for the team in South Africa and, like Mansell, dominated the weekend, taking pole position and finishing a minute ahead of Senna, who was second. The next Grand Prix in Brazil saw Prost collide with Christian Fittipaldi's Minardi in the rain on lap 29, while Hill went on to his first podium finish: second, 16 seconds behind Senna. Prost won three of the next four Grands Prix for Williams, Senna winning the other race. Prost and Hill later scored a 1–2 in France: the only 1–2 of the season for Williams. The Frenchman won the next two Grand Prix at Silverstone and Hockenheim. Prost’s team mate Hill proved competitive especially in the second half of the season. Mechanical problems cost the Englishman leads in Britain and Germany, but he went on to win the next three Grand Prix at Hungary; Belgium and Italy which moved him to second in the standings, as well as giving him a chance of taking the drivers' title. After Italy, Williams would not win a Grand Prix for the rest of the season, as a young Michael Schumacher won the following race in Portugal, and Senna took Japan and Australia to overtake Hill in points. Williams retained their constructor’s title, 84 points ahead of second placed, McLaren. Prost clinched the driver’s championship in Portugal and finished the season 26 points ahead of second placed Ayrton Senna.

1994

Williams FW16B, used in the second half of the 1994 season. This was the first season Williams ran with Rothmans as its primary backer

During the 1994 season, Williams used version FW16 (developed still during the pre-season) and FW16B (with shorter sidepods and opened airbox rear).

From 1994 to 1997 the cars ran in the blue and white Rothmans livery.

Williams secured the signing of Ayrton Senna in 1994, causing Alain Prost to retire rather than partner his greatest rival, as the contract prohibiting the signing of Senna covered only the 1993 season.^[19] Given this was the same team that had won the previous two World Championships with vastly superior cars, Senna was a natural and presumptive pre-season title favourite, with second-year driver Damon Hill intended to play the supporting role. Between them, Prost, Senna, and Hill had won every race in 1993 but one, which was taken by Benetton's Michael Schumacher.

Pre-season testing showed the car had speed but it was difficult to drive. The FIA had banned electronic drivers aids, such as active suspension, traction control and ABS, to make the sport more "human". It was these technological advancements that the Williams chassis' of the previous years had been built around. With their removal in '94 Williams had not been a good-handling car, as observed by other F1 drivers, having been seen to be very loose at the rear. Senna himself had made numerous (politically careful) comments that the Williams FW16 had some quirks which needed to be ironed out. It was obvious that the FW16, after the regulation changes banning active suspension and traction control, exhibited none of the superiority of the FW15C and Williams FW14B cars that had preceded it. The surprise of testing was Benetton-Ford which was less powerful but more nimble than the Williams.

The first four rounds were won by Michael Schumacher in the Benetton-Ford. Senna took pole in the first three races but finished none of them. In the third race, the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix in Imola, Senna was involved in a fatal crash at the first corner after completing six laps.^[20] The repercussions of Senna's fatal accident were severe for the team itself, as the Italian prosecutors tried to charge the team and Frank Williams with manslaughter, an episode which was not over until 2005.^[21] At the next race in Monaco, Damon Hill was the only Williams on the grid, as a mark of respect to Senna,^[22] and the Brit retired on the first lap. Since Senna's death, every Williams F1 car has carried a Senna 'S' somewhere on its livery in his honour and to symbolise the team's ongoing support of the Ayrton Senna Foundation.^{[citation needed]}

The next race in Spain, Williams brought in test driver, David Coulthard, as Hill’s new teammate. In the race itself, Hill took the team's first victory of the season, by almost half a minute over Schumacher's Benetton, while Coulthard would retire due to an electrical problem. In Canada, both Williams cars finished in the points for the first time that season, with Hill finishing second and Coulthard finishing fifth. Two rounds later, Damon Hill did something his father, Graham, never did, which was winning the British Grand Prix. Hill closed the gap with Schumacher in the championship, after the German was disqualified from first at Spa after the Stewards found floorboard irregularities on his Benetton. He was banned for the next two races, in which Hill capitalised on with wins in Italy and a Williams 1–2 in Portugal. Schumacher would come back after his suspension for the European Grand Prix, which he won by about 25 seconds. By the penultimate round in Japan, Hill was 5 points behind Schumacher and if he did not finish ahead of the German, it would be very unlikely that he would take the title in the final round in Adelaide, however Hill did win the rain-soaked restart, by three seconds to Schumacher who finished second and so to the final round in Adelaide, where Schumacher led Hill by one point.

With four races left, Frank Williams brought back in 1992 champion Nigel Mansell to replace Coulthard. Mansell would get approximately £900,000 per race, while Hill was paid £300,000 for the entire season, though Hill remained as lead driver.^[23][24]

Mansell would take pole for Williams, however he had a poor start which gave way for Hill and Schumacher to fight it out for the lead and the 1994 title. Mid way through the race, Schumacher’s tactics for low aerodynamics, would cost him as he clipped the wall coming into the fifth corner and went wide. Schumacher and Hill would end up colliding on the next corner, and the double retirement that resulted meant Schumacher was the champion. This collision has been controversial. Some, such as Williams' Patrick Head, have suggested that this was a deliberate attempt by Schumacher to take Hill out of the race.^[25] However others, such as then BBC commentator Murray Walker, defended Schumacher, calling the accident a "racing incident". Williams would end the season as constructors champions for the third consecutive year, scoring 118 points, while Hill finished second in the drivers championship with 91 points.

1995

Damon Hill driving the Williams FW17 at Montreal. Hill had qualified 2nd for the race but retired after completing 50 laps due to a gearbox problem

In 1995, Nigel Mansell left Williams again, this time he moved to McLaren to leave Williams with Hill and Coulthard. At the first round in Brazil, Schumacher started off with a win, with Coulthard coming second. However, both were disqualified from the race after it was found that their fuel supplier, Elf, supplied the teams with a type of fuel that was different than the ones they gave to the FIA as samples. So Gerhard Berger and Ferrari were declared winners, until Schumacher and Coulthard had their positions reinstated after appeal, though Benetton and Williams were not awarded their constructors points. Hill won the next two races in Argentina and San Marino and would later win two more races, which were at The Hungaroring and in Adelaide, the latter where Hill won two laps ahead of the field in one of F1's most dominating victories. Coulthard would also record his only win for the Williams team, at Estoril, before moving to McLaren. Benetton would end Williams' four year dominance after they won the championship 29 points ahead Williams. Hill would come second for the second year running, 33 points behind Schumacher.

1996

Jacques Villeneuve driving the Williams FW18 at the 1996 Canadian Grand Prix

For 1996, Williams clearly had the quickest and most reliable car.^[26] Coulthard had left Williams to join Mika Häkkinen at McLaren, Williams replaced the Scotsman with Canadian Jacques Villeneuve, while Hill remained with the team. Schumacher left Benetton to join Ferrari. Williams won the first five Grands Prix, Hill winning all but one of them. Olivier Panis would take victory at the sixth round in Monaco after both Williams cars retired. Hill would retire for the second time in a row after he spun off in Spain, while his team mate, Villeneuve, took third place. Hill and Villeneuve dominated the next Grand Prix in Canada, with a 1–2 in qualifying and a 1–2 in the race. Williams made it a second 1–2 after Hill won the French Grand Prix. Villeneuve won his second race in F1 at Silverstone after Hill retired with a wheel bearing failure on lap 26. The Brit would be victorious in the next Grand Prix in Germany while Villeneuve would win the race after that in Hungary. Schumacher’s Ferrari would then take the next two Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps and Monza. Villeneuve mounted a title challenge going into the final race of the season at Japan, but Hill reasserted his dominance to take the race and the 1996 title, while Villeneuve lost a wheel and retired.

Williams' dominance was such that they had clinched the constructors' championship and only their drivers had a mathematical chance of taking the title, several races before the season concluded. Around that time, Frank Williams announced that Hill would not be re-signed after his contract expired, despite Hill's successes and eventual drivers' championship, so he joined Arrows for 1997. Also, Adrian Newey had ambitions to succeed Patrick Head as technical director, but this was blocked as Head was a founder and shareholder of the team. McLaren lured Newey away, though he was forced to take garden leave for the 1997 season.

1997

For what would be the final season of Williams-Renault and a car designed with Newey's input, Frank Williams brought in German Heinz-Harald Frentzen, under the impression that he could perform better than Hill. Frentzen, however, proved to be a disappointment and won only one race in his two year spell at Williams, which was at 1997 San Marino Grand Prix. Jacques Villeneuve won seven races during the season, with his main rival, Michael Schumacher of a resurgent Ferrari, winning five. Williams also achieved the 100 race win milstone at the British Grand Prix. Coming to the final round of the season at Jerez, Schumacher lead the Canadian by 1 point, however on lap 48, Schumacher and Villeneuve collided. Schumacher was disqualified from second place in the championship as the accident was deemed by the FIA as "avoidable",^[27] Williams won the constructors title for the second time in a row, scoring 123 points, while Jacques Villeneuve won the driver’s championship by three points to Michael Schumacher, who kept his points total despite being removed from second place, with Williams team-mate Frentzen a further thirty six points behind.

1998

Jacques Villeneuve driving the FW20 at the 1998 Italian Grand Prix.

After 1997, the team were unable to maintain their dominance in Formula 1 as Renault ended their full time involvement in Formula 1, and Adrian Newey moved to rival team McLaren. Williams then had to pay for Mecachrome engines, which were old; rebadged Renault engines.^[28] Both these meant that the car not only featured a very similar aerodynamic package to their 1997 car, but also virtually the same engine, leading to some to comment that they ran what was virtually the same car, adjust for the 1998 regulations. There were changes on the sponsorship front however as Rothmans opted to promote their Winfield brand, which ended the popular blue and white livery.^[29] For 1998, Williams kept the two drivers from the previous season, the first time since 1983 that a reigning world champion remained driving for Williams. While Ferrari and McLaren battled for the constructors' and drivers' titles, Williams fell to the mid of the field. The team won no races and took 3 podiums during the season, with Frentzen finishing in third at the first round in Australia and Villeneuve finishing third in Germany and Hungary. Williams finished third in the constructors championship, scoring 38 points, while Villeneuve finished fifth in the driver’s championship with 21 points and his German team mate, Frentzen, finished 4 points behind him in seventh.

1999

Alex Zanardi driving the FW21 at the 1999 Canadian Grand Prix.

In 1999, Williams employed a completely new driver line up; Villeneuve moved to new team, BAR and Frentzen moved to Jordan. Williams brought in German Ralf Schumacher and Italian Alex Zanardi. The team managed three podiums, all scored by Ralf Schumacher, with third place in Australia and Britain, along with a second place in Italy. The team finished fifth in the constructor’s championship, the lowest finish for Williams in the 1990s; the team finished behind Stewart and Jordan; scoring 35 points (all by Schumacher), 3 less than the previous season.

BMW and Cosworth (2000–2006)[link]

Williams returned to the winner's rostrum in 2001 with four Grand Prix victories, including one for Ralf Schumacher in Canada.

Schumacher driving for the WilliamsF1 team (chassis FW25) at the 2003 United States Grand Prix. The German qualified in fifth position before he retired after completing 21 laps.

Related Articles: BMW, BMW in Formula One

2000

During 1998, the team signed a long term agreement with BMW, with the German manufacturer supplying engines and expertise for a period of 6 years. As part of the deal BMW expected at least one driver to be German and Ralf Schumacher was signed. In 1999, the team had a Williams car with a BMW engine testing at circuits, in preparation for a debut in 2000. Williams sought the services of Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya as a proven racer for the upcoming season but he was initially unavailable, so Britain's Jenson Button made his debut instead.

BMW Williams' first season did not see a single victory during the season. They did, however, manage to get on the podium three times, with Ralf Schumacher responsible for all three. Williams finished third in the constructor’s championship, with 36 points, one more than the prior year. Ralf Schumacher finished fifth in the driver’s championship, while Button, in his debut season, finished three places behind in eighth. Button made some scrappy mistakes in early races (Monaco, Europe), but overall made an impressive debut in Melbourne, and continued to impress, notably at Silverstone, Spa and Suzuka.

2001

In 2001 Button moved to Benetton-Renault due to Montoya's arrival at the team. The FW23 won four races, three by Ralf Schumacher at Imola, Montreal, and his home Grand Prix in Germany. His teammate, Montoya, was victorious at Monza, and would have won a few more races if not for the FW23's unreliability and pit crew blunders. The car proved to be quicker than the Ferrari and McLaren counterparts in several races, but Williams' 2001 campaign only yielded third place in the constructor’s championship.

2002

For 2002, Williams kept their 2001 driver line up for the upcoming season. The team only won one race, which was at Malaysia, one of only 2 races not won by Ferrari in a year dominated by the Ferraris of Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello.^[30] Williams did improve on their constructor’s championship position, finishing in second. Montoya finished third in the driver’s championship, eight points ahead of Ralf Schumacher, who finished fourth.

2003

2003 would see BMW Williams reach their peak of success. During pre-season, Frank Williams was very confident that the FW25 would challenge for the title.^[31] The team won four races, with Montoya winning twice at Monaco and Germany, while Ralf Schumacher won at the Nürburgring and the following race at Magny-Cours. Montoya stayed in contention for the driver’s championship during the season, and the Colombian finished third in the championship, 11 points behind Michael Schumacher, while the younger Schumacher finished 24 points astern of Montoya in fifth. Williams finished second in the constructor’s championship, two points ahead of McLaren.
2004

Juan Pablo Montoya driving the Williams with the "Walrus-Nose" design FW26 during the 2004 United States Grand Prix. Montoya had qualified in fifth for the race, but he was disqualified for Illegally using the spare car

At the start of the 2004 season it was announced that Montoya would be moving to McLaren in 2005. The team began the season with a radical nose-cone design, known as the "Walrus-Nose", that proved uncompetitive and was replaced by a more conventional assembly in the second half of the year. Ferrari for the third time running, dominated the season, winning 15 of the 18 races. Williams did, however, pick up a win during the season at the final race in Brazil, with Juan Pablo Montoya winning the race by a second from Kimi Räikkönen's McLaren; this remained Williams' last F1 win until the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix. Another memorable part of the season was when both Williams and Toyota were disqualified from the Canadian Grand Prix after it was discovered that both cars had brake irregularities, the brake ducts seemingly not conforming to regulations. Williams finished the season in fourth, scoring 88 points and finishing on the podium six times, while Montoya was the highest placed Williams driver that year, finishing in fifth position; scoring 58 points.

2005

For the 2005 season, Schumacher moved to Toyota, while Montoya moved to McLaren. Taking their places were Australian Mark Webber and German Nick Heidfeld.^[32][33] Initially Jenson Button was to have driven for Williams in 2005,^[34] but an FIA ruling forced Button to remain with his current team BAR.^[35] Nick Heidfeld competed with Brazilian test driver Antônio Pizzonia for the remaining racing seat during December 2004 and January 2005, and Heidfeld was chosen,^[36] partly in deference to BMW’s wishes for a German driver. Pizzonia served as the test driver for the team during the 2005 season. Meanwhile, Button signed a contract to drive for Williams in 2006.

Nick Heidfeld driving the Williams FW27 during the 2005 United States GP.

During the course of the 2004 and 2005 F1 seasons, BMW Motorsport and director Mario Theissen increasingly became publicly critical of the WilliamsF1 team’s inability to create a package capable of winning the constructors championship, or even multiple victories within a single season.^[37] Williams, on the other hand, blamed BMW for not producing a good enough engine,^[38] Williams' failed attempt to prise Jenson Button out of his BAR contract may also have been an issue with Theissen. Despite Frank Williams' rare decision to cave in to commercial demands by employing German driver Nick Heidfeld when he allegedly preferred Antônio Pizzonia, the fallout between BMW and Williams continued through the 2005 Formula One season. Despite BMW's contract with Williams to supply engines until 2009, this public deterioration of the relationship between BMW and WilliamsF1 was a factor in the decision by BMW Motorsport to buy Sauber and rebrand that team to feature the BMW name.^[39]

Williams could have opted to continue with BMW engines in 2006, despite the fact that the engine manufacturer was about to set up its own team. In the end, though, Williams opted for Cosworth V8 engines for 2006.

This period (2000–2005) saw Williams depart from the standard livery scheme in motorsport, which consists of one colour scheme, either the teams' or the major sponsors', with smaller logos in their own scheme. BMW stipulated that, and paid for, the whole vehicle to be in blue and white, with other sponsors adopting this scheme. Also in 2000, Williams abandoned tobacco advertising in favour of Information technology companies, as the team’s second major sponsor became Compaq. That sponsorship lasted until Compaq’s acquisition by Hewlett-Packard. At the 2002 British Grand Prix, the team debuted the Hewlett-Packard sponsorship. After complaints about the HP logo on the rear wing it was replaced in 2003 with the sponsor’s tag line, "Invent".^{[citation needed]} One of the most memorable results of this technological partnership was a worldwide television commercial featured drivers Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya seemingly driving their BMW Williams cars around a track by radio control from a grandstand.^[40]

This "clean" image allowed Williams to sign a cigarette anti-craving brand, Niquitin,^[41] and Anheuser-Busch, alternating with the Budweiser beer brand^[42] and Sea World Adventure Parks,^[43] in compliance with trademark disputes or alcohol bans.

2006

Related Article: Cosworth

Nico Rosberg driving the Williams FW28-Cosworth at 2006 Canadian Grand Prix.

The 2006 season saw Nico Rosberg replace Nick Heidfeld, who departed for BMW Sauber, while Mark Webber stayed on with the team. Despite having signed a contract to race for Williams, Jenson Button decided to stay with BAR for 2006 as it was to become a Honda works team. In September 2005 a deal was reached to allow Button to remain with BAR, with Williams receiving around £24m, some of it paid by Jenson himself, to cancel this contract.

Williams and Cosworth entered a partnership agreement where Cosworth would supply engines, transmissions and associated electronics and software for the team.^[44] Major sponsors Hewlett-Packard (HP) concluded sponsorship agreements one year before their official end of contract. The Williams team also switched to Bridgestone tyres.

The season started well, with both drivers scoring points in the opening race of the season, and Nico Rosberg setting the fastest lap at the Bahrain Grand Prix. However, the rest of the season was very disappointing, with 20 retirements out of 36 starts for the two cars. The team failed to finish on the podium all season, the first time since Williams’ first season in 1977. The team eventually finished eighth in the constructors’ championship, with only 11 points.

Toyota (2007–2009)[link]

Related Articles: Toyota & Toyota Racing

Alexander Wurz driving for Williams at the 2007 Malaysian Grand Prix.

Kazuki Nakajima driving for Williams at the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix.

Nico Rosberg driving for Williams at the 2009 Turkish Grand Prix.

Following Williams' worst points tally since 1978, the Grove-based team announced that Japanese car manufacturer Toyota would be supplying the engines for the 2007 season.^[45] Along with Toyota supplying engines to the team, a number of other changes were announced for 2007: Alexander Wurz, who had been a test driver at Williams since 2006, became the team’s second driver to replace the outgoing Mark Webber; Japanese driver Kazuki Nakajima, son of Satoru, replaced Wurz as a test driver alongside Karthikeyan. Sponsorship also saw a change in 2007, as it was announced that AT&T would become the title sponsors for the team from the upcoming season.^[46] AT&T were previously involved as minor sponsors with the Jaguar and McLaren teams, but moved to Williams following McLaren’s announcement of a title sponsorship deal with Vodafone, a competitor of AT&T.^[47] On 2 February, the new FW29 was presented to the media in the UK. Soon afterwards the team secured a sponsorship deal with Lenovo who built the team's new supercomputer.

Rosberg and Wurz gave Williams a more productive season in terms of points and in Canada the Austrian scored the team's first podium finish since Nick Heidfeld's second place finish at the 2005 European Grand Prix. Over the course of the year Rosberg was consistently in the points, scoring 20 during the season, in comparison teammate Wurz who finished in the points three times. Following the announcement that Wurz would be retiring from the sport,^[48] Williams brought in their young test driver Nakajima to drive the second car for them in the final race in Brazil. The Japanese driver finished in tenth despite starting from near the back of the grid, while Rosberg enjoyed his best race of the season, finishing in fourth. Williams finished fourth in the Constructors' Championship that year.

For the 2008 season, Williams confirmed Nico Rosberg and Kazuki Nakajima as their race drivers. Rosberg was confirmed as staying with Williams until the end of 2009 on 9 December 2007, ending speculation that he could take Fernando Alonso's vacated seat at McLaren.^[49] During the Winter testing sessions, the team ran six different liveries to celebrate their thirtieth year in the sport and their 500th Grand Prix.^[50]

The 2008 season was a mixture of success and disappointment for Williams. While Rosberg managed to obtain 2 podiums in Australia and Singapore, the team struggled at circuits with high speed corners. The fact that the team was one of the first to switch development to their 2009 car (when new regulations came in) also hindered their season, and Williams finished a disappointing 8th in the constructors championship. Rosberg stated that unless the team was more competitive in the near future, he would look for drives elsewhere. Williams retained Rosberg and Nakajima for the 2009 season.

Frank Williams had admitted that he had regretted parting with BMW but stated that Toyota had tremendous ability to become a top engine supplier. Speculation had been surrounding Toyota's future on the Formula 1 grid. This was due to the fact that for a big budget team, Toyota had only managed 2nd place as their best result.

In December 2008 Williams confirmed their commitment to F1 following the Honda withdrawal announcement.^[51]

Ahead of the 2009 Brazilian Grand Prix Williams announced that it would be ending its three year partnership with Toyota and finding a new engine supplier for 2010.

Cosworth (2010–2011)[link]

Nico Hülkenberg driving for Williams at the 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix.

After the termination of their Toyota contract Williams announced that from the 2010 Formula One season they were to enter into a "long-term partnership" with Cosworth, and would be using an updated version of the CA V8 engine which powered their cars in 2006.^[52] Williams also announced a complete driver change for the 2010 season. Rubens Barrichello joined from 2009 constructors champion Brawn GP, whilst GP2 champion Nico Hülkenberg graduated from the test driver seat. Replacing Hülkenberg in the test seat was Finland's Valtteri Bottas, who finished third in the 2009 Formula Three Euroseries as well as winning the non-championship Masters of Formula 3 event at Zandvoort.^[53]

Their new 2010 car, the FW32 was unveiled for the first time at a shakedown test at Silverstone. Its first official test was on 1 February at Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia. Hülkenberg took the team's first pole position in over five years, in variable conditions at the Brazilian Grand Prix. Hülkenberg was dropped from the team ahead of the 2011 season, and replaced by Venezuelan newcomer and reigning GP2 Series champion Pastor Maldonado.^[54] The combination of Rubens Barrichello and Maldonado meant that 2011 would be the first time since 1981 that Williams would start a season without a European driver in their line-up. At the second pre-season test in Jerez, Barrichello posted the fastest time of the week on the last day.

Return to Renault (2012–)[link]

On 4 July 2011, Williams announced they would be reuniting with former engine supplier Renault who will supply the team's engines from 2012 onwards.^[55] On 1 December 2011, it was confirmed that Maldonado would be retained for the 2012 season; along with reserve driver Valtteri Bottas, who will take part in 15 Friday practice sessions.^[1] According to a range of sources, it was confirmed on 17 January 2012 that Bruno Senna will be the driver to partner Maldonaldo, effectively ending Rubens Barrichello's F1 career.

Prior to the 2012 season Patrick Head moved from the Williams F1 team to Williams Hybrid Power Limited, another subsidiary of Williams Grand Prix Holdings.^[56] The team also announced that its relationship with AT&T ended by mutual agreement, and there are ongoing negotiations with another telecommunications company for team's title sponsorship.^[57] At the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix, Pastor Maldonado took his first Grand Prix victory, which is also Williams' first race victory since 2004 Brazilian Grand Prix. Around 90 minutes after celebrating this win, a fire broke out in the garage of the Williams team, damaging the FW34 of Bruno Senna and leaving seven people in hospital.

Formula One results[link]

Main article: Williams F1 Grand Prix results (results for Williams Grand Prix Engineering/Williams F1, 1978–2012)

Other motorsports and Williams-branded cars[link]

Formula 2[link]

Williams have developed the car for the revived Formula 2 championship, beginning in 2009.^[58] The design was originally created for a new, more powerful off-shoot of the Formula Palmer Audi series, however the car was re-purposed when Jonathan Palmer's MotorSport Vision successfully bid for the rights to run the new Formula 2 series.

Group B rallying[link]

The Metro 6R4 rally car was developed by Williams in 1984 on commission from Rover. The rally car was a Rover Metro with a completely new V6 engine (mid-engined) and four-wheel drive, developed to the international Group B rallying regulations. Williams developed the car in just six months.

British Touring Car Championship[link]

Williams Touring Car Engineering were Renault's official entry to the British Touring Car Championship between 1995 and 1999. The Renault Laguna based cars were produced at Williams' Didcot factory (the Formula One team having recently moved to new premises at Grove). The touring car venture was very successful, Williams-Renault won the Manufacturers title in 1995 and 1997 and the BTCC drivers title with Swiss Alain Menu in 1997.

Le Mans 24 Hours[link]

Prior to their F1 partnership, Williams Motorsport built Le Mans Prototypes for BMW, known as the V12 LM and V12 LMR. The V12 LMR won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1999. The car was driven by Pierluigi Martini; Yannick Dalmas and Joachim Winkelhock,^[59] and operated by Schnitzer Motorsport under the name of BMW Motorsport.

Renault Clio Williams[link]

Williams's name and logo were used on the Renault Clio Williams. However, no input was provided by Williams into the development of the car.

Porsche AG 911 GT3R Hybrid[link]

Through a subsidiary, Williams Hybrid Power, the company developed and supplied a flywheel based kinetic energy storage system which is in use on a Porsche 911 GT3 R car in various GT racing series. The car achieved its first victory on 28 May 2011 at the 4th round of the VLN Endurance Racing Championship held at the Nürburgring.^[60]

• 

  The Metro 6R4 was developed by Williams for the 1986 World Rally Championship.

• 

  The Williams-engineered Renault Laguna BTCC car ran between 1995 and 1999 and won two manufacturers' titles and one drivers' title.

• 

  The Renault Clio Williams.

Footnotes[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: WilliamsF1

• Official Team Website
• Official Facebook page
• Official Twitter account

v t e    Williams F1 Founders:  Frank Williams · Patrick Head Current Personnel:  Mike Coughlan · Toto Wolff Former Personnel:  Ross Brawn · Frank Dernie · Gavin Fisher · Sam Michael · Adrian Newey · Neil Oatley · Adam Parr · Enrique Scalabroni · Geoff Willis Race drivers: 18. Pastor Maldonado · 19. Bruno Senna Test drivers: Valtteri Bottas · Susie Wolff World Champions:  Alan Jones · Keke Rosberg · Nelson Piquet · Nigel Mansell · Alain Prost · Damon Hill · Jacques Villeneuve Formula One cars:  Frank Williams Racing Cars: FW · FW04 · FW05 Williams Grand Prix Engineering/WilliamsF1: FW06 · FW07 · FW07B · FW07C · FW08 · FW08C · FW09 · FW09B · FW10 · FW11 · FW11B · FW12 · FW12C · FW13 · FW13B · FW14 · FW14B · FW15C · FW16 · FW16B · FW17 · FW17B · FW18 · FW19 · FW20 · FW21 · FW22 · FW23 · FW24 · FW25 · FW26 · FW27 · FW28 · FW29 · FW30 · FW31 · FW32 · FW33 · FW34 FIA Formula Two Cars: JPH1 · JPH1B Le Mans prototypes: BMW V12 LM · BMW V12 LMR Road cars: Renault Clio Williams Rally cars: Metro 6R4 Touring cars: Renault Laguna (BTCC)

v t e Automotive industry in the United Kingdom Manufacturing in the United Kingdom Economy of the United Kingdom Companies and marques Commercial vehicle producers Alexander Dennis Plaxton Dennis Eagle Ford of Britain Southampton Body & Assembly GM Manufacturing Luton JCB Leyland Trucks London Taxis International Optare Smith Electric Vehicles Stevens Vehicles Wrightbus Motorsport Arena Motorsport Carlin Caterham F1 Chevron Cars Cosworth Engine Developments Ltd. Force India Ford World Rally Team Fortec Hewland Ilmor Engineering Lister Cars Lola Cars Lotus F1 Marussia F1 McLaren Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains Mercedes GP M-Sport Munchi's Ford World Rally Team Prodrive Red Bull Racing Ricardo RML Group Team Dynamics Triple Eight Race Engineering Van Diemen Williams F1 Wirth Research Xtrac Zytek Motorsport Passenger car producers Ariel Ascari Aston Martin Bentley Crewe plant Briggs Bristol Caparo Caterham Defunct producers Electric Car Corporation Fenix Ford of Britain Bridgend Engine Dagenham plant Dunton Technical Centre Ginetta Honda UK Jaguar Land Rover Jaguar Land Rover Daimler Castle Bromwich plant Gaydon Centre Halewood plant Solihull plant Whitley Engineering Centre Lagonda Lightning Lotus McLaren MG Longbridge plant Mini Plant Oxford Morgan Nissan UK Noble Rolls-Royce Goodwood plant Spyker Toyota UK TVR Vauxhall Ellesmere Port Westfield Kit cars Caterham GKD GTM JBA Motors Marc Nordon Racing Onyx Quantum Sylva Ultima Sports Westfield Retail and services The AA Autoglass Auto Windscreens Halfords Inchcape Kwik-Fit Lex Vehicle Leasing Lookers Pendragon RAC Suppliers and consultancies Caparo Vehicle Technologies Cosworth Cummins UK GKN Johnson Matthey Lotus Engineering MIRA Perkins Engines Pilkington Quaife Ricardo Tata Steel Europe Tomkins Transport Research Laboratory Unipart WMG Zytek Government and regulatory bodies Department for Transport Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency Driving Standards Agency Vehicle Certification Agency Vehicle and Operator Services Agency Other Automobile designers Automobile magazines Autocar Auto Express Car Magazine Evo Top Gear What Car? IAM Motorcycle manufacturers Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders Top Gear Category

Jeffery Michael Gordon
Born	(1971-08-04) August 4, 1971 (age 40) Vallejo, California, United States
Height	5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Weight	150 lb (68 kg)
Achievements	USAC Triple Crown champion (1990 Midget, 1991 Silver Crown) 1995, 1997, 1998, 2001 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Champion 1997, 1999, 2005 Daytona 500 Winner 1994, 1998, 2001, 2004 Brickyard 400 Winner Sprint All-Star Race XI, XIII, and XVII Winner
Awards	1991 NASCAR Busch Series Rookie of The Year 1993 Winston Cup Series Rookie of the Year NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame Inductee
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career
665 race(s) run over 21 year(s)
Car no., team	No. 24 (Hendrick Motorsports)
2011 position	8th
Best finish	1st (1995, 1997, 1998, 2001)
First race	1992 Hooters 500 (Atlanta)
Last race	2012 Coca-Cola 600 (Charlotte)
First win	1994 Coca-Cola 600 (Charlotte)
Last win	2011 AdvoCare 500 (Atlanta)
Wins Top tens Poles 85 399 71
NASCAR Nationwide Series career
73 race(s) run over 5 year(s)
Best finish	4th (1992)
First race	1990 AC-Delco 200 (Rockingham)
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
Statistics current as of May 27, 2012.

Jeffery Michael "Jeff" Gordon ^[1] (born August 4, 1971) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He drives the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger/DuPont Chevrolet Impala for Hendrick Motorsports in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. He is a four-time series champion and a three-time Daytona 500 winner. He is third on the all-time wins list, with 85 career wins,^[2] and has the most wins in NASCAR's modern era (1972–present).^[3] In 2009, Gordon became the first driver to reach $100 million in career winnings in the Cup series.^[4]

Gordon, along with Rick Hendrick, are the co-owners of the No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet, driven by Jimmie Johnson, who won five consecutive Cup championships from 2006 to 2010. Gordon also has an equity stake in his own No. 24 team. He was born in Vallejo, California, raised in Pittsboro, Indiana, and currently resides in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Early career[link]

Jeff Gordon's signature

Gordon began racing at the age of five, racing quarter midgets. 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.^[5] By the age of 13, Gordon took an interest in the 650 horsepower (480 kW) sprint cars. Gordon and his family had to overcome an insurance hurdle. The minimum age for driving the sprint cars was 16. His persistence paid off with an all Florida speed weeks. Supporting his career choice, Gordon's family moved from Vallejo, California to Pittsboro, Indiana, where there were more opportunities for younger racers. 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.^[6] 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.^[6] In 1991, Gordon into the USAC Silver Crown, and at the age of 20 became the youngest driver to win the season championship.^[6] He also won the 4 Crown Nationals midget car race that season.^[6] In his midget car career between 1989 and 1992, he finished in the Top 3 in 22 of 40 USAC midget car events.^[6] And he remembered, "the car is heavy"!

Busch Series career[link]

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 Jeff in his stock car debut. His first Busch race came on October 20, 1990 at Rockingham 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 went on to the Busch Series 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 11 poles in one season. His time with Bill Davis Racing introduced Gordon to Ray Evernham as his crew chief. He was sponsored by Carolina Ford Dealers in 1991 and Baby Ruth in 1992.^[7]

Cup Series career[link]

Gordon made his Winston Cup debut in the history-making 1992 Hooters 500 at Atlanta in the last race of that season; in addition to the race being Richard Petty's final race in NASCAR and the championship battle among six drivers (eventually won by Alan Kulwicki by virtue of his second place finish in the race), this was Gordon's first start in the No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports that he has driven for his entire Cup Series career.

Gordon began driving the No. 24 full-time in the 1993 Winston Cup season, in which he won a Daytona 500 qualifying race, the Rookie of the Year award, and finished 14th in points. Ray Evernham was placed as Jeff Gordon's first crew chief. 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. His last-place finish at the 1993 First Union 400 was a firm example of this theory.^[8]

1994[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (October 2011)

In 1994, Gordon collected his first career victory at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in the Coca-Cola 600, the longest race on the NASCAR circuit. 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.^[9] Gordon finished eighth in the Winston Cup point standings for the '94 season, as Dale Earnhardt grabbed the driving championship for his 7th and final time.

1995–2001[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (October 2011)

Gordon with his 1995 trophy

1995 saw Gordon win his first NASCAR Winston Cup Championship. He won it by battling 7-time and defending champ, Dale Earnhardt into the final race of the season. Many see this as a symbolic passing of the torch, as Gordon collected his first championship the year after Earnhardt won his final championship. (A similar situation befell Earnhardt early in his career, as he won his first championship after Richard Petty, whose record seven titles he would eventually tie, won his last). Gordon finished the season with eight poles, and seven victories, winning at Rockingham in the second race of the season, Atlanta, Bristol (starting a streak of four consecutive wins in the spring event), Daytona (in the Pepsi 400), New Hampshire, Darlington (Starting a streak of four consecutive wins in the Southern 500 event), and Dover. The team's consistency was much better as well, having 3 DNF's in 1995, compared to 21 in his previous two seasons combined.

Gordon got off to a rocky start in 1996, but rebounded to win ten races, the series high. The 24 team collected wins at Richmond, Darlington (winning both the spring event and the Southern 500), Bristol, Dover (winning both events of the season), Pocono, Talladega, Martinsville, and North Wilkesboro (winning the final event ever at the track). This would start a three year streak of winning double digit races. He finished 2nd to teammate Terry Labonte for the championship, losing by 37 points.

Jeff Gordon won his first Daytona 500 in 1997, becoming the youngest driver in history to win the race,^[10] a record that would stand until Trevor Bayne's Daytona win in 2011. He won the second race of the season at Rockingham the following week. Later in the season he also won the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte and had a chance to become the first man since Bill Elliott in 1985 to win the "Winston Million." Gordon completed the feat by holding off a determined Jeff Burton in the final laps of the Southern 500 at Darlington. While Elliott failed to win the Winston Cup in 1985, Jeff Gordon claimed his second Winston Cup championship in 1997, completing one of the most impressive single-season performances in NASCAR history. He finished the season with 10 victories (Daytona, Rockingham, Bristol, Martinsville, Charlotte, Pocono, California, Watkins Glen, Darlington, and New Hampshire) for the second straight season. His victory at California was in the track's inaugural race, and his victory at Watkins Glen began a streak of seven consecutive road course victories. In 1998 Gordon set a modern era record with 13 victories, easily winning the Winston Cup for the third time.

In 1999, Gordon along with crew chief Evernham formed Gordon/Evernham Motorsports. Though short lived, the race team enjoyed success. The co-owned team received a full sponsorship from Pepsi and ran six races with 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, ending one of the most dominant driver/crew-chief combinations in NASCAR history. 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 (who left Hendrick Motorsports to begin his own team, Evernham Motorsports, reintroducing Dodge into the series), the race team was renamed JG Motorsports. While winning seven times in 1999, Gordon's season was a major disappointment, finishing 6th in the series standings. Brian Whitesell was named the interim crew-chief for remainder of the season after Evernham's departure in September. Whitesell scored back to back victories in his first two races.

2000 saw Gordon enter his first campaign with Robbie Loomis as crew-chief. Loomis had been with Petty Enterprises for years prior. The team struggled as the rebuilding process went on. Gordon scored his first victory of 2000 at Talladega in the spring event, winning his 50th career victory in the series. He went on to win at Sears Point Raceway (now Infineon Raceway) and Richmond. Gordon finished the season 9th in points.

Many people questioned Gordon's ability to win championships without longtime crew chief, Ray Evernham, especially after Gordon struggled to a 9th place points finish in 2000, winning only three races. Gordon answered those challenges in 2001 by winning 6 races (including a third Brickyard 400 win, and the inaugural event at Kansas Speedway) en route to his 4th Winston Cup championship. Jeff Gordon became the third driver to win four Cup championships in NASCAR history only second to Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt (7 times). The 24 car's paint scheme was changed for the first time this season, abandoning the 'Rainbow Warrior' scheme in favor of a flames-themed car. Both paint schemes were designed by Sam Bass.

2002–03[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (October 2011)

Gordon entered the 2002 season as defending champion, but the year was far from perfect. In addition (or perhaps because of), Gordon's divorce proceedings with wife Brooke affecting his performance on the track.^{[citation needed]} A strong showing in the Daytona 500 was ruined when Sterling Marlin sent Gordon spinning in the infield grass with a handful of laps remaining, while leading the race. Gordon had won his 125 qualifier, but finished ninth in the Daytona 500 after the contact with Marlin. It was announced to the media during the spring event at Darlington that Gordon's then-wife, Brooke, was filing for divorce. Many^[who?] think that the addition of the 48 team with Jimmie Johnson as driver in 2002, also took away from Gordon's season as the 24 team helped to build the 48 team. Gordon did not win until the Sharpie 500 night race at Bristol in August, his first victory in the night race at Bristol. He followed that up with a fifth victory in the Southern 500 at Darlington a week later. Gordon won for the third and final time in 2002 at Kansas Speedway, his second consecutive at the track. The 24 team finished the season 4th in points.^[11]

In 2003, Jeff Gordon returned with Robbie Loomis for a third season together. Gordon won early in April, winning Martinsville, and winning Atlanta and Martinsville again in the fall. He finished the year 4th in the NASCAR standings, with 3 wins, 15 Top-5 finishes, and 20 Top-10 finishes. Gordon also was in second in rank to Matt Kenseth for the championship early in the season. In June, Gordon went to Indianapolis Motor Speedway to take part in a test with then-F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya. The two switched rides, with Gordon driving an F1 car for the first time. Montoya would eventually join the NASCAR Cup series in 2007.

2004[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (October 2011)

2004 was a huge rebound for the team. Gordon won the Brickyard 400 in August 2004, obtaining his 4th Indy win (1994, 1998, 2001, 2004). He is 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. Prior to this victory, Gordon won at Talladega (ending the DEI dominance on restrictor plate tracks), and followed that up with a victory the following weekend at California. He also won at Infineon Raceway, and followed that up with a victory the following weekend in the Pepsi 400 at Daytona, his second consecutive restrictor plate win. 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. While the Hendrick Motorsports team enjoyed success with Johnson and Gordon finished 2nd and 3rd in the points, the team suffered a major off-track tragedy. On October 24, during the race weekend at Martinsville, a Hendrick Motorsports plane carrying engine builder Randy Dorton, team President John Hendrick (Rick Hendrick's brother), Vice President Jeff Turner, Ricky Hendrick (Rick Hendrick's 24 year old son) and more crashed on its way to the track. Everyone on board was killed. The team was clearly affected by this, but continued with impressive performances.

2005[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (October 2011)

Jeff Gordon during the 2005 Dickies 500

Gordon started the 2005 season with a win in the Daytona 500, his third win in the event. Inconsistency would plague him throughout the year, however. 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 start 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 (0.847 km) 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 No. 24 team. Loomis stayed on with Hendrick Motorsports as a consultant for Jimmie Johnson's No. 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 18, 2005

2006[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (October 2011)

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 Belgian model 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.^[12] His team went on to finish third, despite problems, two laps behind the winning team of Juan Pablo Montoya, Scott Pruett, and Salvador Durán.^[13] On July 9, 2006, 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).

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 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.

2007[link]

This article is in a list format that may be better presented using prose. You can help by converting this article to prose, if appropriate. Editing help is available. (February 2011)

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (October 2011)

Pulling behind the wall in 2007

August 2007 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Gordon started the 2007 Cup season off by winning his Gatorade Duel qualifying race. Due to a rear shock bolt breaking during the race on his car, he failed the post-race inspection which found that the rear of his car was too low and, as a result, 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.

On March 23, 2007, Gordon won his 58th career 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, which gave him the points lead for the first time since the 2005 Daytona 500. At Texas Motor Speedway, Gordon started on the pole because qualifying was rained out. He led the most laps before brushing the wall coming out of turn 4 and finishing 4th.^[14] On April 19, 2007 at Phoenix International Raceway, Gordon won the pole, and tied Darrell Waltrip's modern day record of 59 career poles. Two days later, at the Subway Fresh Fit 500, he won for the first time at PIR, ending also a streak of 21 races of non-pole winners at the track. With the win, he also tied Dale Earnhardt for 6th all time in overall number of NASCAR NEXTEL Cup series wins (second in the modern era). After winning the race, he held a black flag with the number 3 to honor the late Dale Earnhardt.

On April 28, 2007, Gordon earned the pole at Talladega Superspeedway, his 60th career pole (and third consecutive in 2007), passing Darrell Waltrip's record of 59 to become the modern era pole leader.^[15] One day later, he passed Earnhardt for sole position of sixth on the all time wins list with 77 by winning the Aaron's 499.^[16]

On May 13, 2007, Gordon held on despite an overheating car and a late charge by Denny Hamlin to win the Dodge Avenger 500, the 78th win of his career, and his 7th at Darlington Raceway.

In the 2007 Coca-Cola 600, Gordon crashed after contact with Tony Raines and AJ Allmendinger on lap 61 at Lowe's Motor Speedway, only 91.5 miles (147.3 km) into the race,^[17] ending his streak of completing every lap during the season. Gordon finished 41st.^[18]

On June 11, 2007, Gordon earned his 4th win of the year and 79th of his career in a rain shortened race at Pocono Raceway. Six days later, he scored a ninth place finish at the Citizens Bank 400 at Michigan International Speedway, the 300th top-ten finish of his career. On September 8, 2007, Gordon earned a place in the Chase for the NEXTEL Cup. With his four wins in the first 26 races, he earned the "Regular Season" Championship, and the second seed (teammate Jimmie Johnson earned the top seed with six wins) in the chase.

On October 7, 2007, Gordon led only the final lap in winning the UAW-Ford 500 at Talladega Superspeedway for his 80th career victory, using a strategy of staying near the end of the field until nearly the end of the race to avoid the inevitable "big one", especially with the unknowns involved in racing the Car of Tomorrow. With the win, he swept the 2007 season races at Talladega, and won his 12th race at a restrictor plate track (Daytona and Talladega), making him the all-time leader for restrictor plate wins.^[19]

On October 13, 2007, Gordon led 71 laps and, although fuel was a question near the end of the race, he was able to finish the race and earned his 81st career victory in the Bank of America 500 at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

Finishing fourth in the 2007 Ford 400, Gordon finished the 2007 Chase for the Nextel Cup 2nd in the standings to Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson, trailing by 77. However, Gordon's top-ten finish at Homestead left him with a total of 30 top-ten finishes for the season, setting a new modern era Cup Series record. This was the second time that Gordon lost a championship because of the Chase points system. As with 2004, he recorded the most points over the entire season, but lost the title because of the ten race championship system. Gordon has been the only driver to lose the title because of the Chase more than once.

2008[link]

2008 "Dupont" Cup car

2008 "Nicorette" Cup car

Gordon finished fourth in the Budweiser Shootout and finished third in the Gatorade Duel qualifying race. He started the 50th annual Daytona 500 from the eighth position and led eight laps, some under caution, but on lap 159 suffered suspension failure and finished in 39th position.

Jeff Gordon wrecked with 5 laps to go at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (LVMS), claiming that it was one of the hardest wrecks he's ever had, and leading him to call for safety improvements on the inside walls of LVMS and other similar tracks.^[20] The wreck has had drivers and owners from all around NASCAR now concerned with the lack of a SAFER barrier on the inside walls at tracks and the design of the wall where it allows access for emergency vehicles.^[21] Greg Biffle went as far to say that the wreck should be taken as seriously as the one that took Dale Earnhardt's life in 2001.^[22] Other drivers who have publicly supported Gordon's call for safety improvements include Jeff Burton, Tony Stewart, Robby Gordon, and Kurt Busch.^[22]

Gordon collected his 64th career pole for the Kobalt Tools 500 on March 7, 2008, then went on to finish 5th in the race leading 3 laps.^[23]

Gordon collected his 65th career pole for the Goody's Cool Orange 500 on March 28, 2008 at Martinsville Speedway. Gordon went on to finish second in the race after being caught up in a crash caused by Aric Almirola and coming back from the tail end of the field. Gordon led 90 laps in the race.

Gordon finished 3rd in the Dodge Challenger 500 making that his 4th straight top 3 finish in that particular event.

Gordon scored a 3rd at the Toyota/Save Mart 350 making this finish his 4th top 3 finish in the last 8 events at Sonoma.

On September 7, 2008, with his 8th place finish at Richmond, Gordon will make his 4th appearance in the Chase for the Sprint Cup earning the 10th seed out of 12 drivers.^[24]

Gordon collected his 66th career pole at the Dover International Speedway for the Camping World RV 400. Gordon led 30 laps in the race and scored a top 5, while Greg Biffle won.

On October 31, 2008, Gordon earned his 67th career pole, his fourth of the 2008 season, and first ever at Texas Motor Speedway.^[25] Gordon finished 2nd to Carl Edwards.

Gordon finished 7th in the 2008 Chase for the Sprint Cup, 368 points out of first place. He finished winless for the first time since 1993. This was also the final season the team ran the flames paint scheme that was introduced in 2001. In 2009, the 24 car would unveil its third 'regular' paint scheme. The new scheme was not much different than the previous flames design, but the color blue was replaced with black. This was the first time in Gordon's career that his primary paint scheme did not feature the color blue.

2009[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (October 2011)

Jeff Gordon at Texas Motor Speedway.

Gordon started off the 2009 season by drawing the 28th and final position of the Budweiser Shootout. Gordon finished 4th at the Shootout, the same finish he had in 2008 after getting through three wrecks, including a last lap crash. He held off Tony Stewart to win his 5th Gatorade Duel. It was his first win in forty-one races. As a result of the win Gordon started 3rd in the Daytona 500 and, after overcoming a tire issue late in the race, finished 13th.

Despite leading 64 laps, Gordon finished runner-up to Matt Kenseth in the Auto Club 500. It was Gordon's 9th top-5 finish at California.

Gordon led 17 laps in the Shelby 427 but cut a tire coming into the pits and as a result he finished 6th, despite having a shredded fender. Gordon took his first points lead since 2007.

Gordon led 35 laps in the Kobalt Tools 500 and finished second to Kurt Busch for his second top five finish of the season.

Gordon finished 4th in the Food City 500 to collect his third top five of the season and extended his point lead to 77 points.

Gordon led 147 laps in the Goody's Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville, but finished fourth. His teammate Jimmie Johnson won the event. Gordon extended his point lead to 90 points over Clint Bowyer.

Gordon ended his 47 race winless streak, winning the Samsung 500 for his 82nd career victory and his first at Texas Motor Speedway.^[26] With the win, Gordon has won at every track that currently hosts a Cup race except Homestead-Miami Speedway and Kentucky Speedway. He held off teammate Jimmie Johnson for the win and extended his points lead to 162 points.^[27] Gordon also led 105 of the 334 laps, earning him 10 bonus points.

Gordon scored a 5th place in the Southern 500; despite a loose wheel in the beginning of the race. It was Gordon's 5th straight top 5 finish at the track. He extended his point lead to 31 points over Tony Stewart. Gordon scored second place finishes behind teammate Mark Martin, in both the June LifeLock 400 at Michigan and the July LifeLock.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway. Because Martin and Gordon finished 1–2 in both races, LifeLock will pay a $1 million bonus to a Colorado family.^[28]

Gordon qualified for the 2009 Chase by virtue of his second place standing in the points following the Chevy Rock & Roll 400. Reseeding dropped him to sixth in the points.

Gordon scored two consecutive second place finishes at the Kansas Speedway and the Auto Club Speedway. He finished second to Tony Stewart and teammate Jimmie Johnson in those races and sits 3rd in points behind by 112 points. (After Texas) He was behind 169 points after Phoenix. He finished 3rd in points giving Hendrick Motorsports the first team ever to finish 1–2–3 in the points. He finished behind teammate Mark Martin and Jimmie Johnson. Johnson became the first driver to win four straight titles, but under the new Chase points system. Gordon's four came under the season long points standings. Had this system still been in place, instead of the Chase, Gordon's Cup total would be at six championships, as he scored the most season long points in both 2004 and 2007.

2010[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (October 2011)

Gordon started off the season slow, starting with a 26th place finish at Daytona and a 19th place finish at Auto Club Speedway. However, at Las Vegas, Gordon dominated, leading 219 of the race's 267 laps. Unfortunately for Gordon, crew chief Steve Letarte opted to take two tires instead of four, arguably costing Gordon the win, as his teammate Jimmie Johnson in the 48 car passed him on four fresh tires. Gordon finished 18th at the Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta. Gordon was leading with 2 laps to go at Martinsville in the spring, but a bump from Matt Kenseth and a charge from Denny Hamlin relegated the No. 24 DuPont team to a 3rd place finish. Gordon scored a runner-up finish in the Subway Fresh Fit 600 to eventual winner Ryan Newman. Gordon led 124 laps at Texas, but was involved in a multi-car wreck late in the race. Gordon went on to lead 4 laps at Talladega but was caught up in a wreck with Jeff Burton near the end of the race and dropped him down to a 22nd place finish. Gordon was leading on the final restart of the Crown Royal Presents the Heath Calhoun 400, but was passed by the winner of the race, Kyle Busch. This was Gordon's eighth second place finish since his last win came at Texas a year ago. At the Southern 500 at Darlington, Gordon led a race-high 110 laps, but was shuffled back to the end of the lead lap as a result of being on pit road when a caution came out. He eventually worked his way up in the last 20 laps to finish fourth. In Dover, Gordon finished 11th after he was a top 15 car all day in a 400 lap event. Gordon recorded a 6th place finish at Charlotte, after opting for track position over pitting with 20 laps to go. Gordon did not have a very fast car, but managed to hold on to a top-10 finish. Gordon made his 600th career NASCAR Sprint Cup start in the 2010 Lifelock.com 400 on July 10, 2010 at the Chicagoland Speedway and finished 3rd. Gordon cut a right front tire late at the Carfax 400 at Michigan, resulting in a 27th place finish, but remained 2nd in the points standings. Gordon finished 13th at the Emory Healthcare 500 in Atlanta, and remained 2nd in the points standings. The Chase started well for Gordon. He finished 6th at Loudon. after struggling at Dover, he finished 5th at Kansas, and 9th at Fontana. He earned his first pole of the season at Charlotte and he was the pick to win the race, but unfortunately, he had battery issues and he was caught speeding on pit road finished a disappointing 23rd place finish. At Martinsville, he got wrecked by rival Kurt Busch, ending his championship hopes. At Texas, he was running well, until an incident occurred between him and Jeff Burton. Gordon wrecked under caution, and he was very upset with Burton, causing them to have a shove and a physical fight. He would finish 37th. In the Ford 400, he started 11th and finished 37th, due to an engine failure. He went winless again, and it would be the third time in his career he went winless (also in 1993 and 2008).

2011[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (October 2011)

Gordon started the 2011 season in Daytona driving the #24 "Drive to End Hunger" Chevrolet Impala, plus new crew chief Alan Gustafson. He started the race in the 2nd position but after a pileup in turn 3 on lap 29, finished the race in 28th, right behind teammate Jimmie Johnson.

The following week at Phoenix, Gordon started 17th. He dominated the race, leading 138 of the 312laps. With eight laps to go, Gordon came up beside Kyle Busch, Gordon got loose and slid up and into Busch. Gordon drove away to a half-second lead. He held off Busch in the remaining seven laps to win. It was Jeff Gordon's first win since Texas in April 2009, and his second win in the previous 3 seasons. But the momentum wouldn't last long. He ran inside the top 5 at Las Vegas, but blew a tire and hit the wall and finished 36th with his first DNF of 2011. He struggled at Bristol and Fontana, finishing outside the top 10 in both. At Martinsville, he led a few laps and finished 5th, his first top 10 since his Phoenix win. He ran out of fuel with a lap to go at Texas while running inside the top 10, finishing 23rd.

Gordon won his 70th pole at the 2011 Aaron's 499 at Talladega, breaking a 3rd-place tie with Cale Yarborough for most poles.^[29] All four of the Hendrick Motorsports cars swept the top four positions, with Jimmie Johnson starting on Gordon's outside, with the second row being filled by Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt, Jr.. Gordon drafted with Martin for the entire race. He led a few laps at the beginning of the race, but then purposely fell outside the top 30 to avoid any trouble. With ten laps to go, Gordon and Martin started their charge to the front, taking the lead at the white flag. Then, while side-by-side with Clint Bowyer and Kevin Harvick, coming through the tri-oval, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr., who had also been drafting together the entire race, squeezed to their inside. Earnhardt rubbed fenders with Martin, killing his and Gordon's momentum. Gordon finished third, in a 3-wide photo-finish won by Johnson over Bowyer by 0.002 seconds.

The following week at Richmond, Gordon stayed in the top ten all night long, and looked to be a serious contender for the win. But battling back in the pack from a 4-tire call, Matt Kenseth squeezed up on Clint Bowyer and turned Gordon into an inside wall opening. He finished 39th and had his second DNF of the season. The following week at Darlington, Gordon was consistently running in the top 5, a green-white-checkered moved him from 6th to a 12th-place finish. After Darlington, Gordon was 17th in points, but due to the new Wild-Card in the Chase, he would be in the Chase due to his Phoenix win. Jeff finished outside the top 10 at Dover and Charlotte. He had a top-5 run going at Charlotte, but being caught a lap down late relegated him to a 20th-place finish. Kansas, the following week. Gordon finished 4th behind some fuel-strategy winners. Coming off a great run at Kansas, Gordon and the #24 team looked to continue the success at Pocono. After starting third, Gordon never lost sight of the leaders, staying in the top 3 all day. With 41 to go, Gordon beat Kurt Busch off pit road, but restarted second to Juan Pablo Montoya, who took 2 tires. Jeff quickly assumed the lead on the restart. After a round of green-flag pit stops, Jeff passed Landon Cassill, for the lead and never looked back. He had his 2nd win of the year, 84th career win, tying him 3rd all-time with Darrell Waltrip and Bobby Allison, and his fifth win at Pocono, tying him with Bill Elliott for all-time wins at the racetrack. Following his Pocono win, Jeff again struggled with his 1.5–2 mile tracks, finishing 17th at Michigan. Everyone had high expectations for Gordon at Infineon. But the entire race showed Gordon mired back in the 22nd position. But a call from Gustafson put Jeff 7th with about 20 to go. Gordon muscled his way through the field, avoiding and staying ahead of wrecks. He grabbed second coming to the white flag, and ran out of time to catch leader Kurt Busch. The second place finish put Gordon in 9th place in the standings.

The Coke Zero 400 at Daytona weekend started out well for Gordon, starting fourth place. Mark Martin started on the pole, and chose the outside line at the start, and that quickly put him and Gordon out front. Gordon and Martin approached this race the same as Talladega, as they hung out at the back for the entire race. A green flag run of about 100 laps caused the Hendrick duos to be many seconds behind the leader. Gordon and Martin charged to the front and caught the leaders with 3 to go. But a bunched up field in turn 3 caused Gordon to slide up and into Kyle Busch and spin. A save by Gordon minimized his damage. He restarted 18th behind Kyle Busch. With Gordon pushing, Kyle Busch moved by most of the field before a final last-turn, last-lap wreck took out many of the top contenders. Gordon finished 6th and complimented Kyle on his ability to make moves through the pack. The 6th-place finish put Gordon in 8th place in points.

The next week marked the first-ever Sprint Cup Series race held at the Kentucky Speedway. Gordon was fast in the practice sessions, and when qualifying was rained out, but would start 14th. However, the handling of the car was not to Gordon's liking. At one point, he said that Kentucky was "one of the most frustrating places I've ever driven." For much of the race, Gordon ran in the mid 20s, even falling one lap down to then race leader, and eventual winner, Kyle Busch. After a caution for debris came out, Crew Chief Alan Gustafson opted to not pit and take the wave around to make up the lost lap. A late caution, pit strategy, and a bit of luck enabled Gordon to pit and run inside the top 10 for the final 50 laps. He would salvage a tenth-place finish, moving him up to 7th place in the points.

At Loudon, he led 19 laps but had electric issues. He worked his way up to fourth, but cut a tire on the last lap and was forced to settle for eleventh. Two weeks later at Indianapolis, Gordon led 36 laps but lost to Paul Menard's fuel strategy. He finished a very close second. At the next race at Pocono, Gordon would finish 6th. He placed 13th at Watkins Glen International a week later. At Michigan, he led 50 laps, but finished sixth after simply losing the car late. He led a race-high 206 laps at Bristol the next week, and finished third to Martin Truex, Jr. and Brad Keselowski.

The following Sunday race at Atlanta was delayed due to rain, and was moved to Tuesday, due to a tropical storm (Lee) on the track on Monday. In that race, Gordon led the majority of the laps at the beginning of the race. However, with tightness and tire issues as well as cautions and a red flag being thrown out due to rain, he was placed in a tough situation as far as the race strategy. The race continued and Jeff marched his way up to the lead once again. His car gradually became loose, and he eventually lost the lead to Matt Kenseth as well as several more positions. But several more cautions enabled Jeff to complete adjustments and furthermore take better care of his tires, in fear of wearing them out early. He charged back up to the leader Jimmie Johnson and passed him, but as the race led to 10–15 laps to go, Jeff was starting to become loose again in the long run. This allowed Jimmie Johnson to catch Jeff and pass him once, but Jimmie was loose too, enabling Jeff to reclaim the lead. Both drivers battled side-by-side and battled looseness issues. Coming to the white flag, Jimmie was excessively loose off turn 4 behind him, allowing Jeff some breathing room. Jeff held off Jimmie for the final lap and took his 3rd victory of the season as well as his 85th career win, placing 3rd on the all-time win list, behind Richard Petty and David Pearson, beating Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip. He then moved up to 5th in points.

At Richmond (September 10, 2011), Gordon had a poor qualifying run of 17th at the Wonderful Pistachios 400. He had a fast car at the beginning, but suddenly the car experienced tightness issues and he dropped back to the 20's in position. He missed an opportunity to pit and make some adjustments under caution, due to communication errors between him and his crew chief. However, coming to 250 laps, the caution between his teammate Jimmie Johnson and Kurt Busch gave him a chance to pit and make such adjustments, and eventually he climbed back up to the front and took the lead. He led the field in for service under the caution on Lap 384. He came out of the pits second and had a bad restart, but shot back with a finish of 3rd at Richmond, with Kevin Harvick winning the race, and Carl Edwards in second. Jeff Gordon commented on how it was interesting that Paul Menard, a Richard Childress teammate of Harvick's, caused the caution by just spinning into the grass.

Gordon's summer hot streak made him a top pick for the 2011 Chase for the Sprint Cup. He was seeded 3rd for the Chase, because of his 3 wins.

Gordon's Chase started off with a disappointing 23rd Qualifying effort at Chicagoland Speedway. He would run near that position all day, going even a lap down during the midpoint of the race. He started his climb late i the race, before fuel milage came into play. He made it to 17th when he ran out of gas with 2 laps to go and finished 24th, making a deep hole to climb out of early in the Chase.

The second race in the Chase, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, looked to be a rebound race for Gordon, as he ran well in the spring race. He started out the good weekend qualifying 7th, and looked fast in practice. Gordon started the race and quickly clawed his way to the front, grabbing the lead at lap 164. He opened gaps of 4+ seconds on the field, and was clearly the car to beat. But, while trying to stretch fuel for the last pit stop, Jeff ran out of gas under green coming to pit road, and took a long time getting re-fired, erasing his 9 second lead. What made matters worse, there was a problem during the exchange of fuel cans and they didnt get enough fuel in the car as they would've liked. He charged back up to 3rd, but then got word of the fuel mishap, he fell to 6th. While conserving in 7th, leaders started to pit for fuel. Hamlin, Kahne, and Bowyer run out of fuel. Greg Biffle also ran out of fuel, but beat Jeff by inches for 3rd. Gordon's 4th place finish boosted him to 5th in points. A great rebound from Chicagoland.

Dover International Speedway, the third race in the Chase, going in, was going to be a questionable weekend for the 24 team, as they struggled in the spring race. Finishing practice sessions in the top 5 showed promise for the race. But, a 34th starting position quickly changed the mood in the 24 camp. The day looked up for the 24 team after moving through the field quickly. Gordon stayed most of the day near 10th position. A very uneventful day for the 24 team ended with a solid 12th place finish. But, most of the chasers ran in the top 5, but some ran in the back 20s. Gordon gained points on the Championship leader, but fell to ninth in points, 19 points behind. A very reasonable margin.

Kansas Speedway looked like the best track for Gordon in the Chase. The past 5 attempts at Kansas being top 5's, and an average finish of 8th (best among chasers), backed up the mood of the team. He qualified a decent 10th, after finishing the practice sessions in the top 5 and 10. The race started very well for Gordon, moving into the top 5 in a matter of about 25 laps. Gordon had a top 3 car all day long, Jimmie Johnson only being faster, as the leader. Gordon's pit stops were flawless all day, gaining many spots, besides the handfuls that took 2 tires. On a restart with 45 laps to go, Gordon restarted fifth behind Kurt Busch, Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson and Brad Keselowski, with Tony Stewart behind him, in seventh. When the green dropped, Stewart dove below Gordon into turn 1 and moved him up the track. The contact quickly threw Gordon from 5th to 17th. While in the back, Gordon reported seeing smoke inside the car. While, the car looked to be slow, Gordon inched up to 14th, before the engine let go with 2 to go. Gordon dropped to 34th, and with most of the Chase contenders having good days, put him 10th in points, 47 behind the leaders. The point margin was a very difficult hole for Gordon to climb out of, especially at a track that would possibly be his best shot at a win.

The next week at Martinsville Speedway Jeff looked strong, and led a handful of laps throughout the race. He finished Third after avoiding a few last lap mistakes by front runners, he finished behind Johnson and Stewart. Heading into the AAA Texas 500, Gordon ran well in practice sessions, but in the race he finished in the lower tier of the Top 20. Next week at Phoenix International Raceway, Jeff was looking for the season sweep, but was more importantly looking to tackle the newly reconfigured oval. He finished with a Top 15.

To close out the 2011 season, Gordon was hoping to scratch Homestead-Miami Speedway off his list of tracks he has failed to win at in the Cup Series. He was fast all weekend, but Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards were the class of the field as both were fighting for the win and the championship. Gordon wound up leading a few laps and coming home with 5th place finish. He closed out 2011 8th in the points with his first multi-win season since 2007.

2012[link]

In the Budweiser Shootout, Gordon flipped his car on the penultimate lap. According to Jeff, this was the first time that he ever flipped a race car.^{[citation needed]}

Gordon before start of 2012 Kobalt Tools 400

During the 2012 Daytona 500, his engine overheated and blew on lap 82, leaving him out of the race. He rebounded with an 8th place finish the following week at Phoenix.^{[citation needed]} During the spring race at Talladega, Gordon ran strong throughout most of the race but was caught up in a crash on lap 142 that took out Gordon, Carl Edwards, Juan Pablo Montoya, Landon Cassill, Dave Blaney and Martin Truex, Jr.. At the Coca-Cola 600, Gordon started 23rd worked his up through pack to finish 7th.

Other racing[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (October 2011)

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 One 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. In 2007, Gordon competed in the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona for the first time. He raced the No. 10 Pontiac for Wayne Taylor racing. His teammates consisted of: Max Angelelli, Jan Magnussen, and Wayne Taylor. The team placed third in Gordon's first ever Rolex 24.

Gordon won one race in IROC at Daytona International Speedway, in 1998.

Career NASCAR statistics[link]