The lion (''Panthera leo'') is one of the four big cats in the genus ''Panthera'', and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg (550 lb) in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger. Wild lions currently exist in Sub-Saharan Africa and in Asia with an endangered remnant population in Gir Forest National Park in India, having disappeared from North Africa and Southwest Asia in historic times. Until the late Pleistocene, about 10,000 years ago, the lion was the most widespread large land mammal after humans. They were found in most of Africa, across Eurasia from western Europe to India, and in the Americas from the Yukon to Peru. The lion is a vulnerable species, having seen a possibly irreversible population decline of thirty to fifty percent over the past two decades in its African range. Lion populations are untenable outside designated reserves and national parks. Although the cause of the decline is not fully understood, habitat loss and conflicts with humans are currently the greatest causes of concern.

Lions live for ten to fourteen years in the wild, while in captivity they can live longer than twenty years. In the wild, males seldom live longer than ten years, as injuries sustained from continual fighting with rival males greatly reduce their longevity. They typically inhabit savanna and grassland, although they may take to bush and forest. Lions are unusually social compared to other cats. A pride of lions consists of related females and offspring and a small number of adult males. Groups of female lions typically hunt together, preying mostly on large ungulates. Lions are apex and keystone predators, although they scavenge as opportunity allows. While lions do not typically hunt humans, some have been known to do so.

Highly distinctive, the male lion is easily recognised by its mane, and its face is one of the most widely recognised animal symbols in human culture. Depictions have existed from the Upper Paleolithic period, with carvings and paintings from the Lascaux and Chauvet Caves, through virtually all ancient and medieval cultures where they once occurred. It has been extensively depicted in sculptures, in paintings, on national flags, and in contemporary films and literature. Lions have been kept in menageries since the time of the Roman Empire and have been a key species sought for exhibition in zoos the world over since the late eighteenth century. Zoos are cooperating worldwide in breeding programs for the endangered Asiatic subspecies.

Etymology

The lion's name, similar in many Romance languages, is derived from the Latin ''''; and the Ancient Greek (). The Hebrew word () may also be related. It was one of the many species originally described by Linnaeus, who gave it the name ''Felis leo'', in his eighteenth century work, ''Systema Naturae''.

Taxonomy and evolution

The lion is a species of the genus ''Panthera'' and its closest relatives are the other species of this genus: the tiger, the jaguar, and the leopard. ''Panthera leo'' itself evolved in Africa between 1 million and 800,000 years ago, before spreading throughout the Holarctic region. It appeared in the fossil record in Europe for the first time 700,000 years ago with the subspecies ''Panthera leo fossilis'' at Isernia in Italy. From this lion derived the later Cave Lion (''Panthera leo spelaea''), which appeared about 300,000 years ago. Lions died out in northern Eurasia at the end of the last glaciation, about 10,000 years ago; this may have been secondary to the extinction of Pleistocene megafauna.

Subspecies

Traditionally, twelve recent subspecies of lion were recognised, distinguished by mane appearance, size, and distribution. Because these characteristics are very insignificant and show a high individual variability, most of these forms were probably not true subspecies, especially as they were often based upon zoo material of unknown origin that may have had "striking, but abnormal" morphological characteristics. Today only eight subspecies are usually accepted, Conversely, Per Christiansen found that using skull morphology allowed him to identify the subspecies ''krugeri'', ''nubica'', ''persica'', and ''senegalensis'', while there was overlap between ''bleyenberghi'' with ''senegalensis'' and ''krugeri''. The Asiatic lion ''persica'' was the most distinctive, and the Cape lion had characteristics allying it more with persica than the other subsaharan lions. He had analysed 58 lion skulls in three European museums.

Recent

Eight recent (Holocene) subspecies are recognised today: ''P. l. persica'', known as the Asiatic Lion or South Asian, Persian, or Indian Lion, once was widespread from Turkey, across Southwest Asia, to Pakistan, India, and even to Bangladesh. However, large prides and daylight activity made them easier to poach than tigers or leopards; now around 300 exist in and near the Gir Forest of India. Genetic evidence suggests its ancestors split from the ancestors of subsaharan African lions between 74 and 203 thousand years ago. ''P. l. leo'', known as the Barbary Lion, originally ranged from Morocco to Egypt. It is extinct in the wild due to excessive hunting, as the last wild Barbary lion was killed in Morocco in 1922. This was one of the largest of the lion subspecies, with reported lengths of 3–3.3 metres (10–10.8 ft) and weights of more than for males. It appears to be more closely related to the Asiatic rather than subsaharan lions. There are a number of animals in captivity likely to be Barbary lions, particularly 90 animals descended from the Moroccan Royal collection at Rabat Zoo. ''P. l. senegalensis'', known as the West African Lion, is found in western Africa, from Senegal to Nigeria.

''P. l. azandica'', known as the Northeast Congo Lion, is found in the northeastern parts of the Congo.

''P. l. nubica'', known as the East African, Massai Lion or Tsavo Lion, is found in east Africa, from Ethiopia and Kenya to Tanzania and Mozambique. ''P. l. bleyenberghi'', known as the Southwest African or Katanga Lion, is found in southwestern Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Angola, Katanga (Zaire), Zambia, and Zimbabwe. ''P. l. krugeri'', known as the Southeast African Lion or Transvaal Lion, is found in the Transvaal region of southeastern Africa, including Kruger National Park. ''P. l. melanochaita'', known as the Cape Lion, became extinct in the wild around 1860. Results of mitochondrial DNA research do not support the status as a distinct subspecies. It seems probable that the Cape lion was only the southernmost population of the extant ''P. l. krugeri''. ''P. l. spelaea'', known as the European cave lion, Eurasian cave lion, or Upper Pleistocene European cave lion, occurred in Eurasia 300,000 to 10,000 years ago. This species is known from Paleolithic cave paintings (such as the one displayed to the right), ivory carvings, and clay busts, indicating it had protruding ears, tufted tails, perhaps faint tiger-like stripes, and that at least some males had a ruff or primitive mane around their necks.

Dubious

''P. l. sinhaleyus'', known as the Sri Lanka Lion, appears to have become extinct around 39,000 years ago. It is only known from two teeth found in deposits at Kuruwita. Based on these teeth, P. Deraniyagala erected this subspecies in 1939.

''P. l. europaea'', known as the European Lion, was probably identical with ''Panthera leo persica'' or ''Panthera leo spelea''; its status as a subspecies is unconfirmed. It became extinct around 100 AD due to persecution and over-exploitation. It inhabited the Balkans, the Italian Peninsula, southern France, and the Iberian Peninsula. It was a very popular object of hunting among Romans and Greeks.

''P. l. youngi'' or ''Panthera youngi'', flourished 350,000 years ago. Its relationship to the extant lion subspecies is obscure, and it probably represents a distinct species. ''P. l. maculatus'', known as the Marozi or Spotted lion, sometimes is believed to be a distinct subspecies, but may be an adult lion that has retained its juvenile spotted pattern. If it was a subspecies in its own right, rather than a small number of aberrantly coloured individuals, it has been extinct since 1931. A less likely identity is a natural leopard-lion hybrid commonly known as a leopon.

''P. l. atrox'', known as the American Lion or American cave lion, was abundant in the Americas from Canada to Peru in the Pleistocene Epoch until about 10,000 years ago. This form likely represents a separate species, possibly more closely related to the jaguar, and can not be considered a true lion. One of the largest purported lion subspecies to have existed, its body length is estimated to have been 1.6–2.5 m (5–8 ft).

Hybrids

Lions have been known to breed with tigers (most often the Siberian and Bengal subspecies) to create hybrids called ligers and tiglons. They also have been crossed with leopards to produce leopons, and jaguars to produce jaglions. The marozi is reputedly a spotted lion or a naturally occurring leopon, while the Congolese Spotted Lion is a complex lion-jaguar-leopard hybrid called a lijagulep. Such hybrids were once commonly bred in zoos, but this is now discouraged due to the emphasis on conserving species and subspecies. Hybrids are still bred in private menageries and in zoos in China.

The liger is a cross between a male lion and a tigress. Because the growth-inhibiting gene from the female tiger is absent, a growth-promoting gene is passed on by the male lion, the resulting ligers grow far larger than either parent. They share physical and behavioural qualities of both parent species (spots and stripes on a sandy background). Male ligers are sterile, but female ligers are often fertile. Males have about a 50 percent chance of having a mane, but if they grow one, their manes will be modest: around 50 percent of a pure lion mane. Ligers are typically between 3.0 and 3.7 m (10 to 12 feet) in length, and can be between 360 and 450 kg (800 to 1,000 pounds) or more. The less common tigon is a cross between the lioness and the male tiger.

Characteristics

The lion is the tallest (at the shoulder) of the felines, and also is the second-heaviest feline after the tiger. Its skull is very similar to that of the tiger, although the frontal region is usually more depressed and flattened, with a slightly shorter postorbital region. The lion's skull has broader nasal openings than the tiger. However, due to the amount of skull variation in the two species, usually, only the structure of the lower jaw can be used as a reliable indicator of species. Lion coloration varies from light buff to yellowish, reddish, or dark ochraceous brown. The underparts are generally lighter and the tail tuft is black. Lion cubs are born with brown rosettes (spots) on their body, rather like those of a leopard. Although these fade as lions reach adulthood, faint spots often may still be seen on the legs and underparts, particularly on lionesses.

Lions are the only members of the cat family to display obvious sexual dimorphism—that is, males and females look distinctly different. They also have specialised roles that each gender plays in the pride. For instance, the lioness, the hunter, lacks the male's thick cumbersome mane. It seems to impede the male's ability to be camouflaged when stalking the prey and create overheating in chases. The colour of the male's mane varies from blond to black, generally becoming darker as the lion grows older.

Weights for adult lions range between 150–250 kg (330–550 lb) for males and 120–182 kg (264–400 lb) for females. Nowell and Jackson report average weights of 181 kg for males and 126 kg for females; one male shot near Mount Kenya was weighed at 272 kg (600 lb). Lions tend to vary in size depending on their environment and area, resulting in a wide spread in recorded weights. For instance, lions in southern Africa tend to be about 5 percent heavier than those in East Africa, in general.

Head and body length is 170–250 cm (5 ft 7 in – 8 ft 2 in) in males and 140–175 cm (4 ft 7 in – 5 ft 9 in) in females; shoulder height is up to 123 cm (4 ft) in males and as low as 91 cm (3 ft) in females. The tail length is 90–105 cm (2 ft 11 in - 3 ft 5 in) in males and 70–100 cm in females (2 ft 4 in – 3 ft 3 in). The longest known lion was a black-maned male shot near Mucsso, southern Angola in October 1973; the heaviest lion known in the wild was a man-eater shot in 1936 just outside Hectorspruit in eastern Transvaal, South Africa and weighed 313 kg (690 lb). Lions in captivity tend to be larger than lions in the wild—the heaviest lion on record is a male at Colchester Zoo in England named Simba in 1970, which weighed 375 kg (826 lb).

The most distinctive characteristic shared by both females and males is that the tail ends in a hairy tuft. In some lions, the tuft conceals a hard "spine" or "spur", approximately 5 mm long, formed of the final sections of tail bone fused together. The lion is the only felid to have a tufted tail—the function of the tuft and spine are unknown. Absent at birth, the tuft develops around 5½ months of age and is readily identifiable at 7 months.

Mane

The mane of the adult male lion, unique among cats, is one of the most distinctive characteristics of the species. It makes the lion appear larger, providing an excellent intimidation display; this aids the lion during confrontations with other lions and with the species' chief competitor in Africa, the spotted hyena. The presence, absence, colour, and size of the mane is associated with genetic precondition, sexual maturity, climate, and testosterone production; the rule of thumb is the darker and fuller the mane, the healthier the lion. Sexual selection of mates by lionesses favors males with the densest, darkest mane. Research in Tanzania also suggests mane length signals fighting success in male–male relationships. Darker-maned individuals may have longer reproductive lives and higher offspring survival, although they suffer in the hottest months of the year. In prides including a coalition of two or three males, it is possible that lionesses solicit mating more actively with the males who are more heavily maned.

Scientists once believed that the distinct status of some subspecies could be justified by morphology, including the size of the mane. Morphology was used to identify subspecies such as the Barbary Lion and Cape Lion. Research has suggested, however, that environmental factors influence the colour and size of a lion's mane, such as the ambient temperature. The cooler ambient temperature in European and North American zoos, for example, may result in a heavier mane. Thus the mane is not an appropriate marker for identifying subspecies. The males of the Asiatic subspecies, however, are characterised by sparser manes than average African lions.

Maneless male lions have been reported in Senegal and Tsavo East National Park in Kenya, and the original male white lion from Timbavati also was maneless. The testosterone hormone has been linked to mane growth, therefore castrated lions often have minimal to no mane, as the removal of the gonads inhibits testosterone production. The lack of a mane sometimes is found in inbred lion populations; inbreeding also results in poor fertility.

Cave paintings of extinct European Cave Lions exclusively show animals with no mane, or just the hint of a mane, suggesting that they were maneless.

White lions

The white lion is not a distinct subspecies, but a special morph with a genetic condition, leucism, that causes paler colouration akin to that of the white tiger; the condition is similar to melanism, which causes black panthers. They are not albinos, having normal pigmentation in the eyes and skin. White Transvaal lion ''(Panthera leo krugeri)'' individuals occasionally have been encountered in and around Kruger National Park and the adjacent Timbavati Private Game Reserve in eastern South Africa, but are more commonly found in captivity, where breeders deliberately select them. The unusual cream colour of their coats is due to a recessive gene. Reportedly, they have been bred in camps in South Africa for use as trophies to be killed during canned hunts. Kevin Richardson is an animal behaviourist who works with the native big cats of Africa. He currently works in a special facility called the Kingdom of the White Lion in Broederstroom which is 50 miles form Johannesburg. The site was built with the help of Rodney Fuhr and was made for the movie set of White Lion: Home is a Journey. He has 39 white lions on-site and works diligently to protect and preserve the white lion type. While the park is currently a private property, there are plans to open it to the public soon.

Behaviour

Lions spend much of their time resting and are inactive for about 20 hours per day. Although lions can be active at any time, their activity generally peaks after dusk with a period of socializing, grooming, and defecating. Intermittent bursts of activity follow through the night hours until dawn, when hunting most often takes place. They spend an average of two hours a day walking and 50 minutes eating.

Group organization

Lions are predatory carnivores who manifest two types of social organization. Some are ''residents,'' living in groups, called ''prides''. The pride usually consists of five or six related females, their cubs of both sexes, and one or two males (known as a ''coalition'' if more than one) who mate with the adult females (although extremely large prides, consisting of up to 30 individuals, have been observed). The number of adult males in a coalition is usually two, but may increase to four and decrease again over time. Male cubs are excluded from their maternal pride when they reach maturity.

The second organizational behaviour is labeled ''nomads'', who range widely and move about sporadically, either singularly or in pairs. Pairs are more frequent among related males who have been excluded from their birth pride. Note that a lion may switch lifestyles; nomads may become residents and vice versa. Males have to go through this lifestyle and some never are able to join another pride. A female who becomes a nomad has much greater difficulty joining a new pride, as the females in a pride are related, and they reject most attempts by an unrelated female to join their family group.

The area a pride occupies is called a ''pride area'', whereas that by a nomad is a ''range''. The males associated with a pride tend to stay on the fringes, patrolling their territory. Why sociality—the most pronounced in any cat species—has developed in lionesses is the subject of much debate. Increased hunting success appears an obvious reason, but this is less than sure upon examination: coordinated hunting does allow for more successful predation, but also ensures that non-hunting members reduce per capita caloric intake, however, some take a role raising cubs, who may be left alone for extended periods of time. Members of the pride regularly tend to play the same role in hunts. The health of the hunters is the primary need for the survival of the pride and they are the first to consume the prey at the site it is taken. Other benefits include possible kin selection (better to share food with a related lion than with a stranger), protection of the young, maintenance of territory, and individual insurance against injury and hunger.

Lionesses do the majority of the hunting for their pride, being smaller, swifter and more agile than the males, and unencumbered by the heavy and conspicuous mane, which causes overheating during exertion. They act as a co-ordinated group in order to stalk and bring down the prey successfully. However, if nearby the hunt, males have a tendency to dominate the kill once the lionesses have succeeded. They are more likely to share with the cubs than with the lionesses, but rarely share food they have killed by themselves. Smaller prey is eaten at the location of the hunt, thereby being shared among the hunters; when the kill is larger it often is dragged to the pride area. There is more sharing of larger kills, although pride members often behave aggressively toward each other as each tries to consume as much food as possible.

Both males and females defend the pride against intruders. Some individual lions consistently lead the defence against intruders, while others lag behind. Lions tend to assume specific roles in the pride. Those lagging behind may provide other valuable services to the group. An alternative hypothesis is that there is some reward associated with being a leader who fends off intruders and the rank of lionesses in the pride is reflected in these responses. The male or males associated with the pride must defend their relationship to the pride from outside males who attempt to take over their relationship with the pride. Females form the stable social unit in a pride and do not tolerate outside females; membership only changes with the births and deaths of lionesses, although some females do leave and become nomadic. Subadult males on the other hand, must leave the pride when they reach maturity at around 2–3 years of age.

Hunting and diet

Lions are powerful animals that usually hunt in coordinated groups and stalk their chosen prey. However, they are not particularly known for their stamina—for instance, a lioness' heart makes up only 0.57 percent of her body weight (a male's is about 0.45 percent of his body weight), whereas a hyena's heart is close to 1 percent of its body weight. Thus, they only run fast in short bursts, and need to be close to their prey before starting the attack. They take advantage of factors that reduce visibility; many kills take place near some form of cover or at night. They sneak up to the victim until they reach a distance of around 30 metres (98 ft) or less. Typically, several lionesses work together and encircle the herd from different points. Once they have closed with a herd, they usually target the closest prey. The attack is short and powerful; they attempt to catch the victim with a fast rush and final leap. The prey usually is killed by strangulation, which can cause cerebral ischemia or asphyxia (which results in hypoxemic, or "general", hypoxia). The prey also may be killed by the lion enclosing the animal's mouth and nostrils in its jaws (which would also result in asphyxia). Smaller prey, though, may simply be killed by a swipe of a lion's paw.

The prey consists mainly of large mammals, with a preference for wildebeest, impalas, zebras, buffalo, and warthogs in Africa and nilgai, wild boar, and several deer species in India. Many other species are hunted, based on availability. Mainly this will include ungulates weighing between 50 and 300 kg (110–660 lb) such as kudu, hartebeest, gemsbok, and eland. Occasionally, they take relatively small species such as Thomson's Gazelle or springbok. Lions hunting in groups are capable of taking down most animals, even healthy adults, but in most parts of their range they rarely attack very large prey such as fully grown male giraffes due to the danger of injury.

Extensive statistics collected over various studies show that lions normally feed on mammals in the range 190–550 kg (420–1210 lb). In Africa, wildebeest rank at the top of preferred prey (making nearly half of the lion prey in the Serengeti) followed by zebra. Most adult hippopotamuses, rhinoceroses, elephants, and smaller gazelles, impala, and other agile antelopes are generally excluded. However giraffes and buffalos are often taken in certain regions. For instance, in Kruger National Park, giraffes are regularly hunted. In Manyara Park, Cape buffaloes constitute as much as 62% of the lion's diet, due to the high number density of buffaloes. Occasionally hippopotamus is also taken, but adult rhinoceroses are generally avoided. Even though smaller than 190 kg (420 lb), warthogs are often taken depending on availability. In some areas, lions specialise in hunting atypical prey species; this is the case at the Savuti river, where they prey on elephants. Park guides in the area reported that the lions, driven by extreme hunger, started taking down baby elephants, and then moved on to adolescents and, occasionally, fully grown adults during the night when elephants' vision is poor. Lions also attack domestic livestock; in India cattle contribute significantly to their diet. Lions are capable of killing other predators such as leopards, cheetahs, hyenas, and wild dogs, though (unlike most felids) they seldom devour the competitors after killing them. They also scavenge animals either dead from natural causes (disease) or killed by other predators, and keep a constant lookout for circling vultures, being keenly aware that they indicate an animal dead or in distress. A lion may gorge itself and eat up to 30 kg (66 lb) in one sitting; if it is unable to consume all the kill it will rest for a few hours before consuming more. On a hot day, the pride may retreat to shade leaving a male or two to stand guard. An adult lioness requires an average of about 5 kg (11 lb) of meat per day, a male about 7 kg (15.5 lb).

Because lionesses hunt in open spaces where they are easily seen by their prey, cooperative hunting increases the likelihood of a successful hunt; this is especially true with larger species. Teamwork also enables them to defend their kills more easily against other large predators such as hyenas, which may be attracted by vultures from kilometres away in open savannas. Lionesses do most of the hunting; males attached to prides do not usually participate in hunting, except in the case of larger quarry such as giraffe and buffalo. In typical hunts, each lioness has a favored position in the group, either stalking prey on the "wing" then attacking, or moving a smaller distance in the centre of the group and capturing prey in flight from other lionesses. Young lions first display stalking behaviour around three months of age, although they do not participate in hunting until they are almost a year old. They begin to hunt effectively when nearing the age of two.

Predator competition

Lions and spotted hyenas occupy the same ecological niche (and hence compete) where they coexist. A review of data across several studies indicates a dietary overlap of 58.6%. Lions typically ignore spotted hyenas, unless they are on a kill or are being harassed by them, while the latter tend to visibly react to the presence of lions, whether there is food or not. Lions seize the kills of spotted hyenas: in the Ngorongoro crater, it is common for lions to subsist largely on kills stolen from hyenas, causing the hyenas to increase their kill rate. Lions are quick to follow the calls of hyenas feeding, a fact which was proven by Dr. Hans Kruuk, who found that lions repeatedly approached him whenever he played the tape-recorded calls of hyenas feeding. When confronted on a kill by lions, spotted hyenas will either leave or wait patiently at a distance of 30–100 m (100–350 ft) until the lions have finished. In some cases, spotted hyenas are bold enough to feed alongside lions, and may occasionally force the lions off a kill. The two species may act aggressively toward one another even when there is no food involved. Lions may charge at hyenas and maul them for no apparent reason: one male lion was filmed killing two matriarch hyenas on separate occasions without eating them, and lion predation can account for up to 71% of hyena deaths in Etosha. Spotted hyenas have adapted by frequently mobbing lions which enter their territories. Experiments on captive spotted hyenas revealed that specimens with no prior experience with lions act indifferently to the sight of them, but will react fearfully to the scent.

Lions tend to dominate smaller felines such as cheetahs and leopards where they co-occur, stealing their kills and killing their cubs and even adults when given the chance. The cheetah has a 50% chance of losing its kill to lions or other predators. Lions are major killers of cheetah cubs, up to 90% of which are lost in their first weeks of life due to attacks by other predators. Cheetahs avoid competition by hunting at different times of the day and hide their cubs in thick brush. Leopards also use such tactics, but have the advantage of being able to subsist much better on small prey than either lions or cheetahs. Also, unlike cheetahs, leopards can climb trees and use them to keep their cubs and kills away from lions. However, lionesses will occasionally be successful in climbing to retrieve leopard kills. Similarly, lions dominate African wild dogs, not only taking their kills but also preying on young and (rarely) adult dogs. Population densities of wild dogs are low in areas where lions are more abundant.

The Nile crocodile is the only sympatric predator (besides humans) that can singly threaten the lion. Depending on the size of the crocodile and the lion, either can lose kills or carrion to the other. Lions have been known to kill crocodiles venturing onto land, while the reverse is true for lions entering waterways, as evidenced by the occasional lion claws found in crocodile stomachs.

Reproduction and life cycle

Most lionesses will have reproduced by the time they are four years of age. Lions do not mate at any specific time of year, and the females are polyestrous. As with other cats, the male lion's penis has spines which point backwards. Upon withdrawal of the penis, the spines rake the walls of the female's vagina, which may cause ovulation. A lioness may mate with more than one male when she is in heat; during a mating bout, which could last several days, the couple copulates twenty to forty times a day and are likely to forgo eating. Lions reproduce very well in captivity.

The average gestation period is around 110 days, the female giving birth to a litter of one to four cubs in a secluded den (which may be a thicket, a reed-bed, a cave or some other sheltered area) usually away from the rest of the pride. She will often hunt by herself while the cubs are still helpless, staying relatively close to the thicket or den where the cubs are kept. The cubs themselves are born blind—their eyes do not open until roughly a week after birth. They weigh 1.2–2.1 kg (2.6–4.6 lb) at birth and are almost helpless, beginning to crawl a day or two after birth and walking around three weeks of age. The lioness moves her cubs to a new den site several times a month, carrying them one by one by the nape of the neck, to prevent scent from building up at a single den site and thus avoiding the attention of predators that may harm the cubs.

Usually, the mother does not integrate herself and her cubs back into the pride until the cubs are six to eight weeks old. However, sometimes this introduction to pride life occurs earlier, particularly if other lionesses have given birth at about the same time. For instance, lionesses in a pride often synchronise their reproductive cycles so that they cooperate in the raising and suckling of the young (once the cubs are past the initial stage of isolation with their mother), who suckle indiscriminately from any or all of the nursing females in the pride. In addition to greater protection, the synchronization of births also has an advantage in that the cubs end up being roughly the same size, and thus have an equal chance of survival. If one lioness gives birth to a litter of cubs a couple of months after another lioness, for instance, then the younger cubs, being much smaller than their older brethren, are usually dominated by larger cubs at mealtimes—consequently, death by starvation is more common amongst the younger cubs. In addition to starvation, cubs also face many other dangers, such as predation by jackals, hyenas, leopards, martial eagles and snakes. Even buffaloes, should they catch the scent of lion cubs, often stampede towards the thicket or den where they are being kept, doing their best to trample the cubs to death while warding off the lioness. Furthermore, when one or more new males oust the previous male(s) associated with a pride, the conqueror(s) often kill any existing young cubs, perhaps because females do not become fertile and receptive until their cubs mature or die. All in all, as many as 80 percent of the cubs will die before the age of two.

When first introduced to the rest of the pride, the cubs initially lack confidence when confronted with adult lions other than their mother. However, they soon begin to immerse themselves in the pride life, playing amongst themselves or attempting to initiate play with the adults. Lionesses with cubs of their own are more likely to be tolerant of another lioness's cubs than lionesses without cubs. The tolerance of the male lions towards the cubs varies—sometimes, a male will patiently let the cubs play with his tail or his mane, whereas another may snarl and bat the cubs away.

Weaning occurs after six to seven months. Male lions reach maturity at about 3 years of age and, at 4–5 years of age, are capable of challenging and displacing the adult male(s) associated with another pride. They begin to age and weaken between 10 and 15 years of age at the latest, if they have not already been critically injured while defending the pride (once ousted from a pride by rival males, male lions rarely manage a second take-over). This leaves a short window for their own offspring to be born and mature. If they are able to procreate as soon as they take over a pride, potentially, they may have more offspring reaching maturity before they also are displaced. A lioness often will attempt to defend her cubs fiercely from a usurping male, but such actions are rarely successful. He usually kills all of the existing cubs who are less than two years old. A lioness is weaker and much lighter than a male; success is more likely when a group of three or four mothers within a pride join forces against one male.

Contrary to popular belief, it is not only males that are ousted from their pride to become nomads, although most females certainly do remain with their birth pride. However, when the pride becomes too large, the next generation of female cubs may be forced to leave to eke out their own territory. Furthermore, when a new male lion takes over the pride, subadult lions, both male and female, may be evicted. Life is harsh for a female nomad. Nomadic lionesses rarely manage to raise their cubs to maturity, without the protection of other pride members. One scientific study reports that both males and females may interact homosexually.

Health

Although adult lions have no natural predators, evidence suggests that the majority die violently from humans or other lions. Lions often inflict serious injuries on each other, either members of different tribes encountering each other in territorial disputes, or members of the same tribe fighting at a kill. Crippled lions and lion cubs may fall victim to hyenas, leopards, or be trampled by buffalo or elephants, and careless lions may be maimed when hunting prey.

Various species of tick commonly infest the ears, neck and groin regions of most lions. Adult forms of several species of the tapeworm genus ''Taenia'' have been isolated from intestines, the lions having ingested larval forms from antelope meat. Lions in the Ngorongoro Crater were afflicted by an outbreak of stable fly (''Stomoxys calcitrans'') in 1962; this resulted in lions becoming covered in bloody bare patches and emaciated. Lions sought unsuccessfully to evade the biting flies by climbing trees or crawling into hyena burrows; many perished or emigrated as the population dropped from 70 to 15 individuals. A more recent outbreak in 2001 killed six lions. Lions, especially in captivity, are vulnerable to the canine distemper virus (CDV), feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), and feline infectious peritonitis (FIP). CDV is spread through domestic dogs and other carnivores; a 1994 outbreak in Serengeti National Park resulted in many lions developing neurological symptoms such as seizures. During the outbreak, several lions died from pneumonia and encephalitis. FIV, which is similar to HIV while not known to adversely affect lions, is worrisome enough in its effect in domestic cats that the Species Survival Plan recommends systematic testing in captive lions. It occurs with high to endemic frequency in several wild lion populations, but is mostly absent from Asiatic and Namibian lions.''

Communication

When resting, lion socialization occurs through a number of behaviours, and the animal's expressive movements are highly developed. The most common peaceful tactile gestures are head rubbing and social licking, which have been compared with grooming in primates. Head rubbing—nuzzling one's forehead, face and neck against another lion—appears to be a form of greeting, as it is seen often after an animal has been apart from others, or after a fight or confrontation. Males tend to rub other males, while cubs and females rub females. Social licking often occurs in tandem with head rubbing; it is generally mutual and the recipient appears to express pleasure. The head and neck are the most common parts of the body licked, which may have arisen out of utility, as a lion cannot lick these areas individually.

Lions have an array of facial expressions and body postures that serve as visual gestures. Their repertoire of vocalizations is also large; variations in intensity and pitch, rather than discrete signals, appear central to communication. Lion sounds include snarling, purring, hissing, coughing, miaowing, woofing and roaring. Lions tend to roar in a very characteristic manner, starting with a few deep, long roars that trail off into a series of shorter ones. They most often roar at night; the sound, which can be heard from a distance of , is used to advertise the animal's presence. Lions have the loudest roar of any big cat.

Distribution and habitat

thumb|Two male Asiatic Lions in Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Mumbai, India. The wild population of the endangered Asiatic Lions is restricted to the Gir Forest National Park in western India. In Africa, lions can be found in savanna grasslands with scattered ''Acacia'' trees which serve as shade; their habitat in India is a mixture of dry savanna forest and very dry deciduous scrub forest. The habitat of lions originally spanned the southern parts of Eurasia, ranging from Greece to India, and most of Africa except the central rainforest-zone and the Sahara desert. Herodotus reported that lions had been common in Greece around 480 BC; they attacked the baggage camels of the Persian king Xerxes on his march through the country. Aristotle considered them rare by 300 BC. By 100 AD they were extirpated. A population of the Asiatic Lion survived until the tenth century in the Caucasus, their last European outpost.

The species was eradicated from Palestine by the Middle Ages and from most of the rest of Asia after the arrival of readily available firearms in the eighteenth century. Between the late nineteenth and early twentieth century they became extinct in North Africa and Southwest Asia. By the late nineteenth century the lion had disappeared from Turkey and most of northern India, while the last sighting of a live Asiatic lion in Iran was in 1941 (between Shiraz and Jahrom, Fars Province), although the corpse of a lioness was found on the banks of the Karun river, Khūzestān Province in 1944. There are no subsequent reliable reports from Iran. The subspecies now survives only in and around the Gir Forest of northwestern India. About 300 lions live in a 1,412 km² (558 square miles) sanctuary in the state of Gujarat, which covers most of the forest. Their numbers are slowly increasing.

Population and conservation status

Most lions now live in eastern and southern Africa, and their numbers there are rapidly decreasing, with an estimated 30–50% decline over the last two decades. Estimates of the African lion population range between 16,500 and 47,000 living in the wild in 2002–2004, down from early 1990s estimates that ranged as high as 100,000 and perhaps 400,000 in 1950. Primary causes of the decline include disease and human interference. Habitat loss and conflicts with humans are considered the most significant threats to the species. The remaining populations are often geographically isolated from one another, which can lead to inbreeding, and consequently, reduced genetic diversity. Therefore the lion is considered a vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, while the Asiatic subspecies is endangered. The lion population in the region of West Africa is isolated from lion populations of Central Africa, with little or no exchange of breeding individuals. The number of mature individuals in West Africa is estimated by two separate recent surveys at 850–1,160 (2002/2004). There is disagreement over the size of the largest individual population in West Africa: the estimates range from 100 to 400 lions in Burkina Faso's Arly-Singou ecosystem. Another population in northwestern Africa is found in Waza National Park, where only about 14-21 animals persist

Conservation of both African and Asian lions has required the setup and maintenance of national parks and game reserves; among the best known are Etosha National Park in Namibia, Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, and Kruger National Park in eastern South Africa. Outside these areas, the issues arising from lions' interaction with livestock and people usually results in the elimination of the former. In India, the last refuge of the Asiatic lion is the 1,412 km² (558 square miles) Gir Forest National Park in western India which had about 359 lions (as of April 2006). As in Africa, numerous human habitations are close by with the resultant problems between lions, livestock, locals and wildlife officials. The Asiatic Lion Reintroduction Project plans to establish a second independent population of Asiatic Lions at the Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is important to start a second population to serve as a gene pool for the last surviving Asiatic lions and to help develop and maintain genetic diversity enabling the species to survive.

The former popularity of the Barbary lion as a zoo animal has meant that scattered lions in captivity are likely to be descended from Barbary Lion stock. This includes twelve lions at Port Lympne Wild Animal Park in Kent, England that are descended from animals owned by the King of Morocco. Another eleven animals believed to be Barbary lions were found in Addis Ababa zoo, descendants of animals owned by Emperor Haile Selassie. WildLink International, in collaboration with Oxford University, launched their ambitious International Barbary Lion Project with the aim of identifying and breeding Barbary lions in captivity for eventual reintroduction into a national park in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco.

Following the discovery of the decline of lion population in Africa, several coordinated efforts involving lion conservation have been organised in an attempt to stem this decline. Lions are one species included in the Species Survival Plan, a coordinated attempt by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums to increase its chances of survival. The plan was originally started in 1982 for the Asiatic lion, but was suspended when it was found that most Asiatic lions in North American zoos were not genetically pure, having been hybridised with African lions. The African lion plan started in 1993, focusing especially on the South African subspecies, although there are difficulties in assessing the genetic diversity of captive lions, since most individuals are of unknown origin, making maintenance of genetic diversity a problem.

Man-eaters

While lions do not usually hunt people, some (usually males) seem to seek out human prey; well-publicised cases include the Tsavo maneaters, where 28 railway workers building the Kenya-Uganda Railway were taken by lions over nine months during the construction of a bridge over the Tsavo River in Kenya in 1898, and the 1991 Mfuwe man-eater, which killed six people in the Laungwa River Valley in Zambia. In both, the hunters who killed the lions wrote books detailing the animals' predatory behaviour. The Mfuwe and Tsavo incidents bear similarities: the lions in both incidents were larger than normal, lacked manes, and seemed to suffer from tooth decay. The infirmity theory, including tooth decay, is not favored by all researchers; an analysis of teeth and jaws of man-eating lions in museum collections suggests that, while tooth decay may explain some incidents, prey depletion in human-dominated areas is a more likely cause of lion predation on humans.

In their analysis of Tsavo and man-eating generally, Kerbis Peterhans and Gnoske acknowledge that sick or injured animals may be more prone to man-eating, but that the behaviour is "not unusual, nor necessarily 'aberrant'" where the opportunity exists; if inducements such as access to livestock or human corpses are present, lions will regularly prey upon human beings. The authors note that the relationship is well-attested amongst other pantherines and primates in the paleontological record.

The lion's proclivity for man-eating has been systematically examined. American and Tanzanian scientists report that man-eating behaviour in rural areas of Tanzania increased greatly from 1990 to 2005. At least 563 villagers were attacked and many eaten over this period—a number far exceeding the more famed "Tsavo" incidents of a century earlier. The incidents occurred near Selous National Park in Rufiji District and in Lindi Province near the Mozambican border. While the expansion of villagers into bush country is one concern, the authors argue that conservation policy must mitigate the danger because, in this case, conservation contributes directly to human deaths. Cases in Lindi have been documented where lions seize humans from the center of substantial villages. Another study of 1,000 people attacked by lions in southern Tanzania between 1988 and 2009 found that the weeks following the full moon (when there was less moonlight) were a strong indicator of increased night attacks on people.

Author Robert R. Frump wrote in ''The Man-eaters of Eden'' that Mozambican refugees regularly crossing Kruger National Park at night in South Africa are attacked and eaten by the lions; park officials have conceded that man-eating is a problem there. Frump believes thousands may have been killed in the decades after apartheid sealed the park and forced the refugees to cross the park at night. For nearly a century before the border was sealed, Mozambicans had regularly walked across the park in daytime with little harm.

Packer estimates more than 200 Tanzanians are killed each year by lions, crocodiles, elephants, hippos, and snakes, and that the numbers could be double that amount, with lions thought to kill at least 70 of those. Packer has documented that between 1990 and 2004, lions attacked 815 people in Tanzania, killing 563. Packer and Ikanda are among the few conservationists who believe western conservation efforts must take account of these matters not just because of ethical concerns about human life, but also for the long term success of conservation efforts and lion preservation.

A man-eating lion was killed by game scouts in Southern Tanzania in April 2004. It is believed to have killed and eaten at least 35 people in a series of incidents covering several villages in the Rufiji Delta coastal region. Dr Rolf D. Baldus, the GTZ wildlife programme coordinator, commented that it was likely that the lion preyed on humans because it had a large abscess underneath a molar which was cracked in several places. He further commented that "This lion probably experienced a lot of pain, particularly when it was chewing." GTZ is the German development cooperation agency and has been working with the Tanzanian government on wildlife conservation for nearly two decades. As in other cases this lion was large, lacked a mane, and had a tooth problem.

The "All-Africa" record of man-eating generally is considered to be not Tsavo, but the lesser-known incidents in the late 1930s through the late 1940s in what was then Tanganyika (now Tanzania). George Rushby, game warden and professional hunter, eventually dispatched the pride, which over three generations is thought to have killed and eaten 1,500 to 2,000 in what is now Njombe district.

In captivity

Lions are part of a group of exotic animals that are the core of zoo exhibits since the late eighteenth century; members of this group are invariably large vertebrates and include elephants, rhinoceroses, hippopotamuses, large primates, and other big cats; zoos sought to gather as many of these species as possible. Although many modern zoos are more selective about their exhibits, there are over 1,000 African and 100 Asiatic lions in zoos and wildlife parks around the world. They are considered an ambassador species and are kept for tourism, education and conservation purposes. Lions can reach an age of over 20 years in captivity; Apollo, a resident lion of Honolulu Zoo in Honolulu, Hawaii, died at age 22 in August 2007. His two sisters, born in 1986, are still living (as of August, 2007). Breeding programs need to note origins to avoid breeding different subspecies and thus reducing conservation value.

Lions were kept and bred by Assyrian kings as early as 850 BC, and Alexander the Great was said to have been presented with tame lions by the Malhi of northern India. Later in Roman times, lions were kept by emperors to take part in the gladiator arenas. Roman notables, including Sulla, Pompey, and Julius Caesar, often ordered the mass slaughter of hundreds of lions at a time. In the East, lions were tamed by Indian princes, and Marco Polo reported that Kublai Khan kept lions inside. The first European "zoos" spread amongst noble and royal families in the thirteenth century, and until the seventeenth century were called seraglios; at that time, they came to be called menageries, an extension of the cabinet of curiosities. They spread from France and Italy during the Renaissance to the rest of Europe. In England, although the seraglio tradition was less developed, Lions were kept at the Tower of London in a seraglio established by King John in the thirteenth century, probably stocked with animals from an earlier menagerie started in 1125 by Henry I at his palace in Woodstock, near Oxford; where lions had been reported stocked by William of Malmesbury.

Seraglios served as expressions of the nobility's power and wealth. Animals such as big cats and elephants, in particular, symbolised power, and would be pitted in fights against each other or domesticated animals. By extension, menageries and seraglios served as demonstrations of the dominance of humanity over nature. Consequently, the defeat of such natural "lords" by a cow in 1682 astonished the spectators, and the flight of an elephant before a rhinoceros drew jeers. Such fights would slowly fade out in the seventeenth century with the spread of the menagerie and their appropriation by the commoners. The tradition of keeping big cats as pets would last into the nineteenth century, at which time it was seen as highly eccentric.

The presence of lions at the Tower of London was intermittent, being restocked when a monarch or his consort, such as Margaret of Anjou the wife of Henry VI, either sought or were given animals. Records indicate they were kept in poor conditions there in the seventeenth century, in contrast to more open conditions in Florence at the time. The menagerie was open to the public by the eighteenth century; admission was a sum of three half-pence or the supply of a cat or dog for feeding to the lions. A rival menagerie at the Exeter Exchange also exhibited lions until the early nineteenth century. The Tower menagerie was closed down by William IV, and animals transferred to the London Zoo which opened its gates to the public on 27 April 1828. The wild animals trade flourished alongside improved colonial trade of the nineteenth century. Lions were considered fairly common and inexpensive. Although they would barter higher than tigers, they were less costly than larger, or more difficult to transport animals such as the giraffe and hippopotamus, and much less than pandas. Like other animals, lions were seen as little more than a natural, boundless commodity that was mercilessly exploited with terrible losses in capture and transportation. The widely reproduced imagery of the heroic hunter chasing lions would dominate a large part of the century. Explorers and hunters exploited a popular Manichean division of animals into "good" and "evil" to add thrilling value to their adventures, casting themselves as heroic figures. This resulted in big cats, always suspected of being man-eaters, representing "both the fear of nature and the satisfaction of having overcome it."

Lions were kept in cramped and squalid conditions at London Zoo until a larger lion house with roomier cages was built in the 1870s. Further changes took place in the early twentieth century, when Carl Hagenbeck designed enclosures more closely resembling a natural habitat, with concrete 'rocks', more open space and a moat instead of bars. He designed lion enclosures for both Melbourne Zoo and Sydney's Taronga Zoo, among others, in the early twentieth century. Though his designs were popular, the old bars and cage enclosures prevailed until the 1960s in many zoos. In the later decades of the twentieth century, larger, more natural enclosures and the use of wire mesh or laminated glass instead of lowered dens allowed visitors to come closer than ever to the animals, with some attractions even placing the den on ground higher than visitors, such as the Cat Forest/Lion Overlook of Oklahoma City Zoological Park. Lions are now housed in much larger naturalistic areas; modern recommended guidelines more closely approximate conditions in the wild with closer attention to the lions' needs, highlighting the need for dens in separate areas, elevated positions in both sun and shade where lions can sit and adequate ground cover and drainage as well as sufficient space to roam.

There have also been instances where a lion was kept by a private individual, such as the lioness Elsa, who was raised by George Adamson and his wife Joy Adamson and came to develop a strong bond with them, particularly the latter. The lioness later achieved fame, her life being documented in a series of books and films.

Sleep

The average sleep time in a 24-hour period of a lion in captivity is said to be 13.5 hours.

Baiting and taming

Lion-baiting is a blood sport involving the baiting of lions in combat with other animals, usually dogs. Records of it exist in ancient times through until the seventeenth century. It was finally banned in Vienna by 1800 and England in 1825.

Lion taming refers to the practice of taming lions for entertainment, either as part of an established circus or as an individual act, such as Siegfried & Roy. The term is also often used for the taming and display of other big cats such as tigers, leopards, and cougars. The practice was pioneered in the first half of the nineteenth century by Frenchman Henri Martin and American Isaac Van Amburgh who both toured widely, and whose techniques were copied by a number of followers. Van Amburgh performed before Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom in 1838 when he toured Great Britain. Martin composed a pantomime titled ''Les Lions de Mysore'' ("the lions of Mysore"), an idea that Amburgh quickly borrowed. These acts eclipsed equestrianism acts as the central display of circus shows, but truly entered public consciousness in the early twentieth century with cinema. In demonstrating the superiority of human over animal, lion taming served a purpose similar to animal fights of previous centuries. The ultimate proof of a tamer's dominance and control over a lion is demonstrated by placing his head in the lion's mouth. The now iconic lion tamer's chair was possibly first used by American Clyde Beatty (1903–1965).

Cultural depictions

The lion has been an icon for humanity for thousands of years, appearing in cultures across Europe, Asia, and Africa. Despite incidents of attacks on humans, lions have enjoyed a positive depiction in culture as strong but noble. A common depiction is their representation as "king of the jungle" or "king of beasts"; hence, the lion has been a popular symbol of royalty and stateliness, as well as a symbol of bravery; it is featured in several fables of the 6th century BC Greek storyteller Aesop.

Representations of lions date back 32,000 years; the lion-headed ivory carving from Vogelherd cave in the Swabian Alb in southwestern Germany has been determined to be about 32,000 years old from the Aurignacian culture. Two lions were depicted mating in the Chamber of Felines in 15,000-year-old Paleolithic cave paintings in the Lascaux caves. Cave lions are also depicted in the Chauvet Cave, discovered in 1994; this has been dated at 32,000 years of age, though it may be of similar or younger age to Lascaux.

Ancient Egypt venerated the lioness (the fierce hunter) as their war deities and among those in the Egyptian pantheon are, Bast, Mafdet, Menhit, Pakhet, Sekhmet, Tefnut, and the Sphinx; The Nemean lion was symbolic in Ancient Greece and Rome, represented as the constellation and zodiac sign Leo, and described in mythology, where its skin was borne by the hero Heracles. The lion was a prominent symbol in ancient Mesopotamia (from Sumer up to Assyrian and Babylonian times), where it was strongly associated with kingship. The classic Babylonian lion motif, found as a statue, carved or painted on walls, is often referred to as the ''striding lion of Babylon''. It is in Babylon that the biblical Daniel is said to have been delivered from the lion's den.

In the Puranic texts of Hinduism, Narasimha ("man-lion") a half-lion, half-man incarnation or (avatar) of Vishnu, is worshipped by his devotees and saved the child devotee Prahlada from his father, the evil demon king Hiranyakashipu; Vishnu takes the form of half-man/half-lion, in Narasimha, having a human torso and lower body, but with a lion-like face and claws. Singh is an ancient Indian vedic name meaning "lion" (Asiatic lion), dating back over 2000 years to ancient India. It was originally only used by Rajputs a Hindu Kshatriya or military caste in India. After the birth of the Khalsa brotherhood in 1699, the Sikhs also adopted the name "Singh" due to the wishes of Guru Gobind Singh. Along with millions of Hindu Rajputs today, it is also used by over 20 million Sikhs worldwide. Found famously on numerous flags and coats of arms all across Asia and Europe, the Asiatic lions also stand firm on the National Emblem of India. Further south on the Indian subcontinent, the Asiatic lion is symbolic for the Sinhalese, Sri Lanka's ethnic majority; the term derived from the Indo-Aryan ''Sinhala'', meaning the "lion people" or "people with lion blood", while a sword wielding lion is the central figure on the national flag of Sri Lanka.

The Asiatic lion is a common motif in Chinese art. They were first used in art during the late Spring and Autumn Period (fifth or sixth century BC), and became much more popular during the Han Dynasty (206 BC – AD 220), when imperial guardian lions started to be placed in front of imperial palaces for protection. Because lions have never been native to China, early depictions were somewhat unrealistic; after the introduction of Buddhist art to China in the Tang Dynasty (after the sixth century AD), lions were usually depicted without wings, their bodies became thicker and shorter, and their manes became curly. The lion dance is a form of traditional dance in Chinese culture in which performers mimic a lion's movements in a lion costume, often with musical accompaniment from cymbals, drums and gongs. They are performed at Chinese New Year, the August Moon Festival and other celebratory occasions for good luck.

The island nation of Singapore derives its name from the Malay words (lion) and (city/fortress), which in turn is from the Tamil-Sanskrit சிங்க ''singa'' and புர , which is cognate to the Greek , ''pólis''. According to the Malay Annals, this name was given by a fourteenth century Sumatran Malay prince named Sang Nila Utama, who, on alighting the island after a thunderstorm, spotted an auspicious beast on shore which appeared to be a lion.

"Lion" was the nickname of several medieval warrior rulers with a reputation for bravery, such as the English King Richard the Lionheart, Henry the Lion (), Duke of Saxony and Robert III of Flanders nicknamed "The Lion of Flanders"—a major Flemish national icon up to the present. Lions are frequently depicted on coats of arms, either as a device on shields themselves, or as supporters. (The lioness is much more infrequent.) The formal language of heraldry, called blazon, employs French terms to describe the images precisely. Such descriptions specified whether lions or other creatures were "rampant" or "passant", that is whether they were rearing or crouching. The lion is used as a symbol of sporting teams, from national association football teams such as England, Scotland and Singapore to famous clubs such as the Detroit Lions of the NFL, Chelsea and Aston Villa of the English Premier League, (and the Premiership itself) to a host of smaller clubs around the world.

Lions continue to feature in modern literature, from the messianic Aslan in ''The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'' and following books from The Chronicles of Narnia series written by C. S. Lewis, to the comedic Cowardly Lion in ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz''. The advent of moving pictures saw the continued presence of lion symbolism; one of the most iconic and widely recognised lions is Leo the Lion, which has been the mascot for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) studios since the 1920s. The 1960s saw the appearance of what is possibly the most famous lioness, the Kenyan animal Elsa in the movie ''Born Free'', based on the true-life international bestselling book of the same title. The lion's role as King of the Beasts has been used in cartoons, from the 1950s manga which gave rise to the first Japanese colour TV animation series, ''Kimba the White Lion'', Leonardo Lion of ''King Leonardo and his Short Subjects'', both from the 1960s, up to the 1994 Disney animated feature film ''The Lion King'', which also featured the popular song "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" in its soundtrack. A lion appears on the 50-rand South African banknote.

See also

Tiger versus lion

==Notes==

Cited texts

External links

Animal Diversity Web: ''Panthera leo'' (lion)

African Wildlife Foundation: Lion

Battle at Kruger: video of a pack of lions fighting against a crocodile and buffalos over a kill

Biodiversity Heritage Library bibliography for ''Felis leo''

Biodiversity Heritage Library bibliography for ''Panthera leo''

BBC Nature: Lion news, and video clips from BBC programmes past and present.

Lion Conservation Fund example of a fund and its projects about the research and conservation of the lion

Lion Research Center website of the research group at the University of Minnesota that has conducted field research on lions and published peer-reviewed scientific articles

Walk with Lions Example of a walk with lions educational experience at The Ranch Conservancy in South Africa

Category:Lions Category:Animals described in 1758 Category:Greek loanwords Category:Mammals of Africa Category:Mammals of India Category:Megafauna of Africa Category:National symbols of Burundi Category:National symbols of Chad Category:National symbols of the Republic of the Congo Category:National symbols of the Gambia Category:National symbols of Kenya Category:National symbols of Malawi Category:National symbols of Morocco Category:National symbols of Senegal Category:National symbols of Sierra Leone Category:National symbols of Singapore Category:National symbols of South Africa Category:National symbols of Sri Lanka Category:National symbols of Swaziland Category:National symbols of Togo Category:National symbols of Tunisia Category:Scavengers

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af:Leeu am:አንበሳ ang:Lēo ab:Алым ar:أسد an:Panthera leo arc:ܐܪܝܐ gn:Leõ az:Şir bn:সিংহ zh-min-nan:Sai ba:Арыҫлан be:Леў be-x-old:Леў bo:སེང་གེ། bs:Lav br:Leon (loen) bg:Лъв bxr:Арсалан ca:Lleó cv:Арăслан cs:Lev tum:Nkhalamu co:Lionu cy:Llew da:Løve de:Löwe nv:Náshdóítsoh bitsiijįʼ daditłʼooígíí dsb:Law et:Lõvi el:Λιοντάρι es:Panthera leo eo:Leono eu:Lehoi fa:شیر (گربه‌سان) hif:Ser fo:Leyvur fr:Lion ga:Leon gag:Aslan gd:Leòmhann gl:Panthera leo gu:એશિયાઇ સિંહ got:𐌻𐌹𐍅𐌰/Liwa hak:Sṳ̂-é xal:Арслң ko:사자 ha:Zaki hy:Առյուծ hi:सिंह (पशु) hsb:Law hr:Lav io:Leono (mamifero) ig:Odúm bpy:নংসা id:Singa ia:Leon os:Цомахъ zu:Ibhubesi is:Ljón it:Panthera leo he:אריה jv:Singa kn:ಸಿಂಹ pam:Leon (animal) ka:ლომი csb:Lew kk:Арыстан rw:Intare rn:Intare sw:Simba kg:Nkosi ht:Lyon ku:Şêr lbe:Аслан la:Leo lv:Lauva lb:Léiw lt:Liūtas lij:Lion (bestia) li:Liew ln:Nkɔ́si hu:Oroszlán ml:സിംഹം mt:Iljun mr:सिंह arz:سبع ms:Singa mdf:Орксофта mn:Арслан my:ခြင်္သေ့ nah:Cuāmiztli nl:Leeuw (dier) ne:सिंह ja:ライオン ce:Лом frr:Lööw no:Løve nn:Løve nrm:Lion oc:Panthera leo mrj:Арыслан mhr:Арыслан pa:ਸ਼ੇਰ pnb:ببر شیر ps:زمری pcd:Lion pms:Lion pl:Lew pt:Leão ro:Leu qu:Liyun ru:Лев sah:Хахай stq:Leeuwe st:Tau sq:Luani scn:Panthera leo simple:Lion ss:Libubesi sk:Lev púšťový cu:Львъ sl:Lev so:Libaax sr:Лав sh:Lav su:Singa fi:Leijona sv:Lejon tl:Leon ta:சிங்கம் kab:Izem te:సింహం th:สิงโต ti:ኣንበሳ tg:Шер chr:ᏢᏓᏥ tr:Aslan udm:Арыслан uk:Лев ur:ببر (شیر) ug:شىر vec:Leon vi:Sư tử fiu-vro:Lõvi vls:Lêeuw (bêeste) war:Leon wo:Gaynde yi:לייב yo:Kìnìún zh-yue:獅子 bat-smg:Liūts zh:狮

Coordinates	37°46′45.48″N122°25′9.12″N
Width	200
Position	Shooting guard / Small forward
Height ft	6|height_in 6
Weight lbs	216
Number	23, 45, 9, 12
Birth date	February 17, 1963
Birth place	Brooklyn, New York
High school	Emsley A. Laney
League
Career start	1984
Career end	2003
Draftyear	1984
Draftround	1
Draftpick	3
Draftteam	Chicago Bulls
College	North Carolina (1981–1984)
Years1	–, – |team1 Chicago Bulls
Years2	– |team2 Washington Wizards
Stat1label	Points
Stat1value	32,292 (30.1 ppg)
Stat2label	Rebounds
Stat2value	6,672 (6.2 rpg)
Stat3label	Assists
Stat3value	5,633 (5.3 apg)
Letter	j
Bbr	jordami01
Highlights	6× NBA Champion (–, –) 5× NBA Most Valuable Player (, –, , ) 14× NBA All-Star (–, –, –) 6× NBA Finals MVP (–, –) 10× NBA scoring champion (–, –) 3× NBA steals champion (, , ) NBA Defensive Player of the Year () 10× All-NBA First Team (–, –) All-NBA Second Team () 9× NBA All-Defensive First Team (–, –) NBA Rookie of the Year () NBA All-Rookie First Team () 3× NBA All-Star Game MVP (, , ) 2× NBA Slam Dunk Contest champion (–) NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team #23 Retired by Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat NCAA Champion (1982) 2× Consensus NCAA All-American First Team (1983–1984) ACC Player of the Year (1984) Oscar Robertson Trophy (1984) Naismith College Player of the Year (1984) John R. Wooden Award (1984) Adolph Rupp Trophy (1984)
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Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963) is a former American professional basketball player, active businessman, and majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats. His biography on the National Basketball Association (NBA) website states, "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time." Jordan was one of the most effectively marketed athletes of his generation and was instrumental in popularizing the NBA around the world in the 1980s and 1990s.

After a standout career at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was a member of the Tar Heels' National Championship team in 1982, Jordan joined the NBA's Chicago Bulls in 1984. He quickly emerged as a league star, entertaining crowds with his prolific scoring. His leaping ability, illustrated by performing slam dunks from the free throw line in slam dunk contests, earned him the nicknames "Air Jordan" and "His Airness". He also gained a reputation for being one of the best defensive players in basketball. In 1991, he won his first NBA championship with the Bulls, and followed that achievement with titles in 1992 and 1993, securing a "three-peat". Although Jordan abruptly retired from basketball at the beginning of the 1993–94 NBA season to pursue a career in baseball, he rejoined the Bulls in 1995 and led them to three additional championships (1996, 1997, and 1998) as well as an NBA-record 72 regular-season wins in the 1995–96 NBA season. Jordan retired for a second time in 1999, but returned for two more NBA seasons from 2001 to 2003 as a member of the Washington Wizards.

Jordan's individual accolades and accomplishments include five MVP awards, ten All-NBA First Team designations, nine All-Defensive First Team honors, fourteen NBA All-Star Game appearances, three All-Star Game MVP awards, ten scoring titles, three steals titles, six NBA Finals MVP awards, and the 1988 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award. He holds the NBA records for highest career regular season scoring average (30.12 points per game) and highest career playoff scoring average (33.45 points per game). In 1999, he was named the greatest North American athlete of the 20th century by ESPN, and was second to Babe Ruth on the Associated Press's list of athletes of the century. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009.

Jordan is also noted for his product endorsements. He fueled the success of Nike's Air Jordan sneakers, which were introduced in 1985 and remain popular today. Jordan also starred in the 1996 feature film ''Space Jam'' as himself. He is the majority owner and head of basketball operations for the NBA's Charlotte Bobcats, having won a bidding war to buy controlling interest in the team from founding owner Robert L. Johnson.

Early years

Jordan was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Deloris (née Peoples), who worked in banking, and James R. Jordan, Sr., an equipment supervisor. His family moved to Wilmington, North Carolina, when he was a toddler. Jordan attended Emsley A. Laney High School in Wilmington, where he anchored his athletic career by playing baseball, football, and basketball. He tried out for the varsity basketball team during his sophomore year, but at 5'11" (1.80 m), he was deemed too short to play at that level. His taller friend, Harvest Leroy Smith, was the only sophomore to make the team.

Motivated to prove his worth, Jordan became the star of Laney's junior varsity squad, and tallied several 40 point games. The following summer, he grew four inches (10 cm) and trained rigorously. Upon earning a spot on the varsity roster, Jordan averaged about 20 points per game over his final two seasons of high school play. As a senior, he was selected to the McDonald's All-American Team During his three seasons at North Carolina, he averaged 17.7 ppg on 54.0% shooting, and added 5.0 rebounds per game (rpg). He was selected by consensus to the NCAA All-American First Team in both his sophomore (1983) and junior (1984) seasons. After winning the Naismith and the Wooden College Player of the Year awards in 1984, Jordan left North Carolina one year before his scheduled graduation to enter the 1984 NBA Draft. The Chicago Bulls selected Jordan with the third overall pick, after Hakeem Olajuwon (Houston Rockets) and Sam Bowie (Portland Trail Blazers). Jordan returned to North Carolina to complete his degree in 1986.

Professional career

During his first season in the NBA, Jordan averaged 28.2 ppg on 51.5% shooting. He quickly became a fan favorite even in opposing arenas, and appeared on the cover of ''Sports Illustrated'' with the heading "A Star is Born" just over a month into his professional career. Jordan was also voted in as an All-Star starter by the fans in his rookie season. Controversy arose before the All-Star game when word surfaced that several veteran players, led by Isiah Thomas, were upset by the amount of attention Jordan was receiving. This led to a so called "freeze-out" on Jordan, where players refused to pass him the ball throughout the game. The controversy left Jordan relatively unaffected when he returned to regular season play, and he would go on to be voted Rookie of the Year. The Bulls finished the season 38–44, and lost in the first round of the playoffs in four games to the Milwaukee Bucks.

Jordan's second season was cut short by a broken foot which caused him to miss 64 games. Despite Jordan's injury and a 30–52 record, the Bulls made the playoffs. Jordan recovered in time to participate in the playoffs and performed well upon his return. Against a 1985–86 Boston Celtics team that is often considered one of the greatest in NBA history, Jordan set the still-unbroken record for points in a playoff game with 63 in Game 2. The Celtics, however, managed to sweep the series.

Jordan had recovered completely by the 1986–87 season, and had one of the most prolific scoring seasons in NBA history. He became the only player other than Wilt Chamberlain to score 3,000 points in a season, averaging a league high 37.1 points on 48.2% shooting. In addition, Jordan demonstrated his defensive prowess, as he became the first player in NBA history to record 200 steals and 100 blocks in a season. Despite Jordan's success, Magic Johnson won the league's Most Valuable Player Award. The Bulls reached 40 wins, and advanced to the playoffs for the third consecutive year. However, they were again swept by the Celtics.

Mid-career: Pistons roadblock

Jordan led the league in scoring again in the 1987–88 season, averaging 35.0 ppg on 53.5% shooting and won his first league MVP award. He was also named the Defensive Player of the Year, as he had averaged 1.6 blocks and a league high 3.16 steals per game. The Bulls finished 50–32, and made it out of the first round of the playoffs for the first time in Jordan's career, as they defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers in five games. However, the Bulls then lost in five games to the more experienced Detroit Pistons, who were led by Isiah Thomas and a group of physical players known as the "Bad Boys".

In the 1988–89 season, Jordan again led the league in scoring, averaging 32.5 ppg on 53.8% shooting from the field, along with 8 rpg and 8 assists per game (apg). The Bulls finished with a 47–35 record, and advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals, defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks along the way. The Cavaliers series included a career highlight for Jordan when he hit a series-winning shot over Craig Ehlo in the closing moments of the deciding fifth game of the series. However, the Pistons again defeated the Bulls, this time in six games, by utilizing their "Jordan Rules" method of guarding Jordan, which consisted of double and triple teaming him every time he touched the ball.

The Bulls entered the 1989–90 season as a team on the rise, with their core group of Jordan and young improving players like Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant, and under the guidance of new coach Phil Jackson. Jordan averaged a league leading 33.6 ppg on 52.6% shooting, to go with 6.9 rpg and 6.3 apg in leading the Bulls to a 55–27 record. They again advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals beating the Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers en route. However, despite pushing the series to seven games, the Bulls lost to the Pistons for the third consecutive season.

First three-peat

In the 1990–91 season, Jordan won his second MVP award after averaging 31.5 ppg on 53.9% shooting, 6.0 rpg, and 5.5 apg for the regular season. The Bulls finished in first place in their division for the first time in 16 years and set a franchise record with 61 wins in the regular season. With Scottie Pippen developing into an All-Star, the Bulls had elevated their play. The Bulls defeated the New York Knicks and the Philadelphia 76ers in the opening two rounds of the playoffs. They advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals where their rival, the Detroit Pistons, awaited them. However, this time the Bulls beat the Pistons in a surprising sweep. In an unusual ending to the fourth and final game, Isiah Thomas led his team off the court before the final minute had concluded. Most of the Pistons went directly to their locker room instead of shaking hands with the Bulls.

The Bulls compiled an outstanding 15–2 record during the playoffs, and advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history, where they beat the Los Angeles Lakers four games to one. Perhaps the best known moment of the series came in Game 2 when, attempting a dunk, Jordan avoided a potential Sam Perkins block by switching the ball from his right hand to his left in mid-air to lay the shot in. In his first Finals appearance, Jordan posted per game averages of 31.2 points on 56% shooting from the field, 11.4 assists, 6.6 rebounds, 2.8 steals and 1.4 blocks. Jordan won his first NBA Finals MVP award, and he cried while holding the NBA Finals trophy.

Jordan and the Bulls continued their dominance in the 1991–92 season, establishing a 67–15 record, topping their franchise record from 1990 to 91. Jordan won his second consecutive MVP award with averages of 30.1 points, 6.4 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game on 52% shooting. After winning a physical 7-game series over the New York Knicks in the second round of the playoffs and finishing off the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Conference Finals in 6 games, the Bulls met Clyde Drexler and the Portland Trail Blazers in the Finals. The media, hoping to recreate a Magic-Bird rivalry, highlighted the similarities between "Air" Jordan and Clyde "The Glide" during the pre-Finals hype. In the first game, Jordan scored a Finals-record 35 points in the first half, including a record-setting six three-point field goals. After the sixth three-pointer, he jogged down the court shrugging as he looked courtside. Marv Albert, who broadcast the game, later stated that it was as if Jordan was saying, "I can't believe I'm doing this." The Bulls went on to win Game 1, and defeat the Blazers in six games. Jordan was named Finals MVP for the second year in a row and finished the series averaging 35.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg, and 6.5 apg, while shooting 53% from the floor.

In 1992–93, despite a 32.6 ppg, 6.7 rpg and 5.5 apg campaign, Jordan's streak of consecutive MVP seasons ended as he lost the award to his friend Charles Barkley. Coincidentally, Jordan and the Bulls met Barkley and his Phoenix Suns in the 1993 NBA Finals. The Bulls captured their third consecutive NBA championship on a game-winning shot by John Paxson and a last-second block by Horace Grant, but Jordan was once again Chicago's catalyst. He averaged a Finals-record 41.0 ppg during the six-game series, and became the first player in NBA history to win three straight Finals MVP awards. He scored more than 30 points in every game of the series, including 40 or more points in 4 consecutive games. With his third Finals triumph, Jordan capped off a seven-year run where he attained seven scoring titles and three championships, but there were signs that Jordan was tiring of his massive celebrity and all of the non-basketball hassles in his life.

Gambling controversy

During the Bulls' playoff run in 1993, controversy arose when Jordan was seen gambling in Atlantic City, New Jersey the night before a game against the New York Knicks. In that same year, he admitted to having to cover $57,000 in gambling losses, and author Richard Esquinas wrote a book claiming he had won $1.25 million from Jordan on the golf course. In 2005, Jordan talked to Ed Bradley of the CBS evening show ''60 Minutes'' about his gambling and admitted that he made some reckless decisions. Jordan stated, "Yeah, I've gotten myself into situations where I would not walk away and I've pushed the envelope. Is that compulsive? Yeah, it depends on how you look at it. If you're willing to jeopardize your livelihood and your family, then yeah." When Bradley asked him if his gambling ever got to the level where it jeopardized his livelihood or family, Jordan replied, "No."

First retirement and baseball career

On October 6, 1993, Jordan announced his retirement, citing a loss of desire to play the game. Jordan later stated that the murder of his father earlier in the year shaped his decision. James R. Jordan, Sr. was murdered on July 23, 1993, at a highway rest area in Lumberton, North Carolina, by two teenagers, Daniel Green and Larry Martin Demery. The assailants were traced from calls they made on James Jordan's cellular phone, caught, convicted, and sentenced to life in prison. Jordan was close to his father; as a child he had imitated his father's proclivity to stick out his tongue while absorbed in work. He later adopted it as his own signature, displaying it each time he drove to the basket. In 1996 he founded a Chicago area Boys & Girls Club and dedicated it to his father.

In his 1998 autobiography ''For the Love of the Game'', Jordan wrote that he had been preparing for retirement as early as the summer of 1992. The added exhaustion due to the Dream Team run in the 1992 Olympics solidified Jordan's feelings about the game and his ever-growing celebrity status. Jordan's announcement sent shock waves throughout the NBA and appeared on the front pages of newspapers around the world.

Jordan then further surprised the sports world by signing a minor league baseball contract with the Chicago White Sox. He reported to spring training and was assigned to the team's minor league system on March 31, 1994. Jordan has stated this decision was made to pursue the dream of his late father, who had always envisioned his son as a Major League Baseball player. The White Sox were another team owned by Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf, who continued to honor Jordan's basketball contract during the years he played baseball. In 1994, Jordan played for the Birmingham Barons, a Double-A minor league affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, batting .202 with three home runs, 51 runs batted in, 30 stolen bases, and 11 errors. He also appeared for the Scottsdale Scorpions in the 1994 Arizona Fall League, batting .252 against the top prospects in baseball.

"I'm back": Return to the NBA

In the 1993–94 season, the Bulls, without Jordan, achieved a 55–27 record, and lost to the New York Knicks in the second round of the playoffs. But the 1994–95 version of the Bulls was a shell of the championship squad of just two years earlier. Struggling at mid-season to ensure a spot in the playoffs, Chicago was 31–31 at one point in mid-March. The team received a lift, however, when Jordan decided to return to the NBA for the Bulls.

On March 18, 1995, Jordan announced his return to the NBA through a pithy press release: "I'm back." The next day, Jordan donned jersey number 45 (his number with the Barons), as his familiar 23 had been retired in his honor following his first retirement. He took to the court with the Bulls to face the Indiana Pacers in Indianapolis, scoring 19 points. The game had the highest Nielsen rating of a regular season NBA game since 1975.

Although he had not played in an NBA game in a year and a half, Jordan played well upon his return, making a game-winning jump shot against Atlanta in his fourth game back. He then scored 55 points in his fifth game back against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden on March 28, 1995 (his first appearance at Madison Square Garden since retiring). Boosted by Jordan's comeback, the Bulls went 13-4 to make the playoffs and advanced to the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Orlando Magic. At the end of the first game of the series, though, Orlando's Nick Anderson would strip Jordan from behind, leading to the game-winning basket for the Magic; he would later comment that Jordan "didn't look like the old Michael Jordan", after which Jordan returned to wearing his old number (23). Jordan averaged 31 points per game in that series, but Orlando prevailed in six games.

Second three-peat

Freshly motivated by the playoff defeat, Jordan trained aggressively for the 1995–96 season. Strengthened by the addition of rebound specialist Dennis Rodman, the Bulls dominated the league, starting the season 41–3, and eventually finishing with the best regular season record in NBA history: 72–10. Jordan led the league in scoring with 30.4 ppg, and won the league's regular season and All-Star Game MVP awards. In the playoffs, the Bulls lost only three games in four series, defeating the Seattle SuperSonics in the NBA Finals to win the championship. Jordan was named Finals MVP for a record fourth time, surpassing Magic Johnson's three Finals MVP awards. He also achieved only the second sweep of the MVP Awards in the All-Star Game, regular season and NBA Finals, Willis Reed having achieved the first, during the 1969–70 season. Because this was Jordan's first championship since his father's death, and it was won on Father's Day, Jordan reacted very emotionally upon winning the title, including a memorable scene of him sobbing on the locker room floor with the game ball.

In the 1996–97 season, the Bulls started out 69–11, but narrowly missed out on a second consecutive 70-win season by losing their final two games to finish 69–13. However, this year Jordan was beaten for the NBA MVP Award by Karl Malone. The team again advanced to the Finals, where they faced Malone and the Utah Jazz. The series against the Jazz featured two of the more memorable clutch moments of Jordan's career. He won Game 1 for the Bulls with a buzzer-beating jump shot. In Game 5, with the series tied 2–2, Jordan played despite being feverish and dehydrated from a stomach virus. In what is known as the "flu game", Jordan scored 38 points including the game-deciding three-pointer with less than a minute remaining. The Bulls won 90–88 and went on to win the series in six games. For the fifth time in as many Finals appearances, Jordan received the Finals MVP award. During the 1997 NBA All-Star Game, Jordan posted the first triple double in All-Star Game history in a victorious effort; however, he did not receive the MVP award.

Jordan and the Bulls compiled a 62–20 record in the 1997–98 season. Jordan led the league with 28.7 points per game, securing his fifth regular-season MVP award, plus honors for All-NBA First Team, First Defensive Team and the All-Star Game MVP. The Bulls captured the Eastern Conference Championship for a third straight season, including surviving a grueling seven-game series with Reggie Miller's Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals; it was the first time Jordan had played in a Game 7 since the 1992 series with the Knicks. After prevailing, they moved on for a rematch with the Jazz in the Finals.

The Bulls returned to Utah for Game 6 on June 14, 1998 leading the series 3–2. Jordan executed a series of plays, considered to be one of the greatest clutch performances in NBA Finals history. With the Bulls trailing 86–83 with 40 seconds remaining, coach Jackson called a timeout. When play resumed, Jordan received the inbound pass, drove to the basket, and hit a layup over several Jazz defenders. The Jazz brought the ball upcourt and passed the ball to forward Karl Malone, who was set up in the low post and was being guarded by Rodman. Malone jostled with Rodman and caught the pass, but Jordan cut behind him and swatted the ball out of his hands for a steal. Jordan then slowly dribbled upcourt and paused at the top of the key, eyeing his defender, Jazz guard Bryon Russell. With fewer than 10 seconds remaining, Jordan started to dribble right, then crossed over to his left, possibly pushing off Russell, although the officials did not call a foul. Jordan then made what would become the climactic shot of his career. After a desperation three-point shot by John Stockton missed, Jordan and the Bulls claimed their sixth NBA championship, and secured a second three-peat. Once again, Jordan was voted the Finals MVP, having led all scorers by averaging 33.5 points per game, including 45 in the deciding Game 6. Jordan's six Finals MVPs is a record; Shaquille O'Neal, Magic Johnson, and Tim Duncan are tied for second place with three apiece. The 1998 Finals holds the highest television rating of any Finals series in history, and Game 6 holds the highest television rating of any game in NBA history.

Second retirement

With Phil Jackson's contract expiring, the pending departures of Scottie Pippen (who stated his desire to be traded during the season) and Dennis Rodman (who would sign with the Los Angeles Lakers as a free agent) looming, and being in the latter stages of an owner-induced lockout of NBA players, Jordan retired for the second time on January 13, 1999.

On January 19, 2000, Jordan returned to the NBA not as a player, but as part owner and President of Basketball Operations for the Washington Wizards. Jordan's responsibilities with the Wizards were comprehensive. He controlled all aspects of the Wizards' basketball operations, and had the final say in all personnel matters. Opinions of Jordan as a basketball executive were mixed. He managed to purge the team of several highly paid, unpopular players (such as forward Juwan Howard and point guard Rod Strickland), but used the first pick in the 2001 NBA Draft to select high schooler Kwame Brown, who did not live up to expectations and was traded away after four seasons.

Despite his January 1999 claim that he was "99.9% certain" that he would never play another NBA game, in the summer of 2001 Jordan expressed interest in making another comeback, this time with his new team. Inspired by the NHL comeback of his friend Mario Lemieux the previous winter, Jordan spent much of the spring and summer of 2001 in training, holding several invitation-only camps for NBA players in Chicago. In addition, Jordan hired his old Chicago Bulls head coach, Doug Collins, as Washington's coach for the upcoming season, a decision that many saw as foreshadowing another Jordan return.

Washington Wizards comeback

On September 25, 2001 Jordan announced his return to professional play with the Wizards, indicating his intention to donate his salary as a player to a relief effort for the victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks. In an injury-plagued 2001–02 season, he led the team in scoring (22.9 ppg), assists (5.2 apg), and steals (1.42 spg). However, torn cartilage in his right knee ended Jordan's season after only 60 games, the fewest he had played in a regular season since playing 17 games after returning from his first retirement during the 1994–95 season.

Playing in his 14th and final NBA All-Star Game in 2003, Jordan passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the all-time leading scorer in All-Star game history. That year, Jordan was the only Washington player to play in all 82 games, starting in 67 of them. He averaged 20.0 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.5 steals per game. He also shot 45% from the field, and 82% from the free throw line. Even though he turned 40 during the season, he scored 20 or more points 42 times, 30 or more points nine times, and 40 or more points three times. On February 21, 2003, Jordan became the first 40-year-old to tally 43 points in an NBA game. During his stint with the Wizards, all of Jordan's home games at the MCI Center were sold out, and the Wizards were the second most-watched team in the NBA, averaging 20,172 fans a game at home and 19,311 on the road. However, neither of Jordan's final two seasons resulted in a playoff appearance for the Wizards, and Jordan was often unsatisfied with the play of those around him. At several points he openly criticized his teammates to the media, citing their lack of focus and intensity, notably that of the number one draft pick in the 2001 NBA Draft, Kwame Brown.

With the recognition that 2002–03 would be Jordan's final season, tributes were paid to him throughout the NBA. In his final game at his old home court, the United Center in Chicago, Jordan received a four-minute standing ovation. The Miami Heat retired the number 23 jersey on April 11, 2003, even though Jordan had never played for the team. At the 2003 All-Star Game, Jordan was offered a starting spot from Tracy McGrady and Allen Iverson, but refused both; in the end, however, he accepted the spot of Vince Carter, who decided to give it up under great public pressure.

Jordan's final NBA game was on April 16, 2003 in Philadelphia. After scoring only 13 points in the game, Jordan went to the bench with 4 minutes and 13 seconds remaining in the third quarter and with his team trailing the Philadelphia 76ers, 75–56. Just after the start of the fourth quarter, the First Union Center crowd began chanting "We want Mike!". After much encouragement from coach Doug Collins, Jordan finally rose from the bench and re-entered the game for Larry Hughes with 2:35 remaining. At 1:45, Jordan was intentionally fouled by the 76ers' Eric Snow, and stepped to the line to make both free throws. After the second foul shot, the 76ers in-bounded the ball to rookie John Salmons, who in turn was intentionally fouled by Bobby Simmons one second later, stopping time so that Jordan could return to the bench. Jordan received a three-minute standing ovation from his teammates, his opponents, the officials and a crowd of 21,257 fans.

Olympic career

Jordan played on two Olympic gold medal-winning American basketball teams. As a college player he participated, and won the gold, in the 1984 Summer Olympics. Jordan led the team in scoring averaging 17.1 ppg for the tournament.

In the 1992 Summer Olympics he was a member of the star-studded squad that included Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and David Robinson and was dubbed the "Dream Team". Playing limited minutes due to the frequent blowouts, Jordan averaged 12.7 ppg, finishing fourth on the team in scoring. Jordan, Patrick Ewing, and fellow Dream Team member Chris Mullin are the only American men's basketball players to win Olympic gold as amateurs (all in 1984) and professionals.

In addition, Jordan and fellow Dream Team member (and Bulls teammate) Scottie Pippen are the only players to have won both NBA championship and Olympic gold medal in the same year (1992).

After retiring as a player

After his third retirement, Jordan assumed that he would be able to return to his front office position of Director of Basketball Operations with the Wizards. However, his previous tenure in the Wizards' front office had produced the aforementioned mixed results and may have also influenced the trade of Richard "Rip" Hamilton for Jerry Stackhouse (although Jordan was not technically Director of Basketball Operations in 2002). On May 7, 2003, Wizards owner Abe Pollin fired Jordan as Washington's President of Basketball Operations. Jordan later stated that he felt betrayed, and that if he knew he would be fired upon retiring he never would have come back to play for the Wizards.

Jordan kept busy over the next few years by staying in shape, playing golf in celebrity charity tournaments, spending time with his family in Chicago, promoting his Jordan Brand clothing line, and riding motorcycles. Since 2004, Jordan has owned Michael Jordan Motorsports, a professional closed-course motorcycle road racing team that competes with two Suzukis in the premier Superbike class sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA). Jordan and his then-wife Juanita pledged $5 million to Chicago's Hales Franciscan High School in 2006, and the Jordan Brand has made donations to Habitat for Humanity and a Louisiana branch of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. On June 15, 2006, Jordan bought a minority stake in the Charlotte Bobcats, becoming the team's second-largest shareholder behind majority owner Robert L. Johnson. As part of the deal, Jordan was named "Managing Member of Basketball Operations," with full control over the basketball side of the operation. Despite Jordan's previous success as an endorser, he has made an effort not to be included in Charlotte's marketing campaigns.

In February 2010, it was reported that Jordan was seeking majority ownership of the Bobcats. As February wore on, it emerged that the leading contenders for the team were Jordan and former Houston Rockets president George Postolos. On February 27, the Bobcats announced that Johnson had reached an agreement with Jordan and his group, MJ Basketball Holdings, to buy the team pending NBA approval. On March 17, the NBA Board of Governors unanimously approved Jordan's purchase, making him the first former NBA player ever to become the majority owner of a league franchise.

Player profile

Jordan was a shooting guard who was also capable of playing small forward (the position he would primarily play during his second return to professional basketball with the Washington Wizards). Jordan was known throughout his career for being a strong clutch performer. He decided numerous games with last-second plays (e.g., The Shot) and performed at a high level even under adverse circumstances (e.g., Flu Game). His competitiveness was visible in his prolific trash-talk and well-known work ethic.

Jordan had a versatile offensive game. He was capable of aggressively driving to the basket, as well as drawing fouls from his opponents at a high rate; his 8,772 free throw attempts are the ninth highest total of all time. As his career progressed, Jordan also developed the ability to post up his opponents and score with his trademark fadeaway jump shot, using his leaping ability to "fade away" from block attempts. According to Hubie Brown, this move alone made him nearly unstoppable. Despite media criticism as a "selfish" player early in his career, Jordan's 5.3 assists per game also indicate his willingness to defer to his teammates. In later years, the NBA shortened its three-point line to 22 feet (from 23 feet, 9 inches), which coupled with Jordan's extended shooting range to make him a long-range threat as well—his 3-point stroke developed from a low 9 / 52 rate (.173) in his rookie year into a stellar 111 / 260 (.427) shooter in the 1995–96 season. For a guard, Jordan was also a good rebounder (6.2 per game).

In 1988, Jordan was honored with the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year Award and became the first NBA player to win both the Defensive Player of the Year and MVP awards in a career (since equaled by Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson, and Kevin Garnett; Olajuwon is the only player other than Jordan to win both during the same season). In addition he set both seasonal and career records for blocked shots by a guard, and combined this with his ball-thieving ability to become a standout defensive player. His 2,514 steals are the second highest total of all-time behind John Stockton, while his steals per game average is third all-time. Jerry West often stated that he was more impressed with Jordan's defensive contributions than his offensive ones.

Legacy

Jordan's basketball talent was clear from his rookie season. In his first game in Madison Square Garden against the New York Knicks, Jordan received a prolonged standing ovation, a rarity for an opposing player. After Jordan scored a playoff record 63 points against the Boston Celtics in 1986, Celtics star Larry Bird described him as "God disguised as Michael Jordan."

Jordan led the NBA in scoring in 10 seasons (NBA record) and tied Wilt Chamberlain's record of seven consecutive scoring titles. He was also a fixture on the NBA All-Defensive First Team, making the roster nine times (NBA record shared with Gary Payton). Jordan also holds the top career regular season and playoff scoring averages of 30.1 and 33.4 points per game, respectively. By 1998, the season of his Finals-winning shot against the Jazz, he was well known throughout the league as a clutch performer. In the regular season, Jordan was the Bulls' primary threat in the final seconds of a close game and in the playoffs, Jordan would always demand the ball at crunch time. Jordan's total of 5,987 points in the playoffs is the highest in NBA history. He retired with 32,292 points in regular season play, placing him third on the NBA's all-time scoring list behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone.

With five regular-season MVPs (tied for second place with Bill Russell; only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has won more, six), six Finals MVPs (NBA record), and three All-Star MVPs, Jordan is the most decorated player ever to play in the NBA. Jordan finished among the top three in regular-season MVP voting a record 10 times, and was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996.

Many of Jordan's contemporaries label Jordan as the greatest basketball player of all time. An ESPN survey of journalists, athletes and other sports figures ranked Jordan the greatest North American athlete of the 20th century, above icons such as Babe Ruth and Muhammad Ali. Jordan placed second to Babe Ruth in the Associated Press's list of 20th century athletes. In addition, the Associated Press voted him as the basketball player of the 20th century. Jordan has also appeared on the front cover of ''Sports Illustrated'' a record 49 times. In the September 1996 issue of ''Sport'', which was the publication's 50th anniversary issue, Jordan was named the greatest athlete of the past 50 years.

Jordan's athletic leaping ability, highlighted in his back-to-back slam dunk contest championships in 1987 and 1988, is credited by many with having influenced a generation of young players. Several current NBA All-Stars have stated that they considered Jordan their role model while growing up, including LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. In addition, commentators have dubbed a number of next-generation players "the next Michael Jordan" upon their entry to the NBA, including Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway, Grant Hill, Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Vince Carter, and Dwyane Wade. Although Jordan was a well-rounded player, his "Air Jordan" image is also often credited with inadvertently decreasing the jump shooting skills, defense, and fundamentals of young players, a fact which Jordan himself has lamented. Although Jordan has done much to increase the status of the game, some of his impact on the game's popularity in America appears to be fleeting. Television ratings in particular increased only during his time in the league and have subsequently lowered each time he left the game.

In August 2009, the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts, opened a Michael Jordan exhibit containing items from his college and NBA careers, as well as from the 1992 "Dream Team". The exhibit also has a batting glove to signify Jordan's short career in baseball. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in September 2009, with former Bulls teammates Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Charles Oakley, Ron Harper, Steve Kerr, and Toni Kukoc in attendance.

Personal life

Jordan is the fourth of five children. He has two older brothers, Larry Jordan and James R. Jordan, Jr., one older sister, Deloris, and a younger sister, Roslyn. Jordan's brother James retired in 2006 as the Command Sergeant Major of the 35th Signal Brigade of the XVIII Airborne Corps in the U.S. Army.

He married Juanita Vanoy in September 1989, and they have two sons, Jeffrey Michael and Marcus James, and a daughter, Jasmine. Jordan and Vanoy filed for divorce on January 4, 2002, citing irreconcilable differences, but reconciled shortly thereafter. They again filed for divorce and were granted a final decree of dissolution of marriage on December 29, 2006, commenting that the decision was made "mutually and amicably". It is reported that Juanita received a $168 million settlement, making it the largest celebrity divorce settlement in history at the time on public record.

On July 21, 2006, a Cook County, Illinois judge determined that Jordan did not owe his alleged former lover Karla Knafel $5 million. Jordan had allegedly paid Knafel $250,000 to keep their relationship a secret. Knafel claimed Jordan promised her $5 million for remaining silent and agreeing not to file a paternity suit after Knafel learned she was pregnant in 1991. A DNA test showed Jordan was not the father of the child.

As of 2007, Jordan lived in Highland Park, Illinois, and both of his sons attended Loyola Academy, a private Roman Catholic high school located in Wilmette, Illinois. Jeffrey graduated as a member of the 2007 graduating class and played his first collegiate basketball game on November 11, 2007, for the University of Illinois. After two seasons, Jeffrey left the Illinois basketball team in 2009. He later rejoined the team for a third season, then received a release to transfer to the University of Central Florida, where Marcus was attending. Marcus transferred to Whitney Young High School after his sophomore year and graduated in 2009. He began attending UCF in the fall of 2009.

Media figure and business interests

Jordan is one of the most marketed sports figures in history. He has been a major spokesman for such brands as Nike, Coca-Cola, Chevrolet, Gatorade, McDonald's, Ball Park Franks, Rayovac, Wheaties, Hanes, and MCI. Jordan has had a long relationship with Gatorade, appearing in over 20 commercials for the company since 1991, including the "Like Mike" commercials in which a song was sung by children wishing to be like Jordan.

Nike created a signature shoe for him, called the ''Air Jordan''. One of Jordan's more popular commercials for the shoe involved Spike Lee playing the part of Mars Blackmon. In the commercials Lee, as Blackmon, attempted to find the source of Jordan's abilities and became convinced that "it's gotta be the shoes". The hype and demand for the shoes even brought on a spate of "shoe-jackings" where people were robbed of their sneakers at gunpoint. Subsequently Nike spun off the Jordan line into its own division named the "Jordan Brand". The company features an impressive list of athletes and celebrities as endorsers. The brand has also sponsored college sports programs such as those of North Carolina, Cincinnati, Cal, St. John's, Georgetown, and North Carolina A&T;.

Jordan also has been associated with the Looney Tunes cartoon characters. A Nike commercial shown during the 1993 Super Bowl XXVII featured Jordan and Bugs Bunny playing basketball against a group of Martian characters. The Super Bowl commercial inspired the 1996 live action/animated movie ''Space Jam'', which starred Jordan and Bugs in a fictional story set during his first retirement. They have subsequently appeared together in several commercials for MCI.

Jordan's yearly income from the endorsements is estimated to be over forty million dollars. In addition, when Jordan's power at the ticket gates was at its highest point the Bulls regularly sold out every game they played in, whether home or away. Due to this, Jordan set records in player salary by signing annual contracts worth in excess of $30 million US$ per season. An academic study found that Jordan’s first NBA comeback resulted in an increase in the market capitalization of his client firms of more than $1 billion.

Most of Jordan's endorsement deals, including the first deal with Nike, were engineered by his agent, David Falk. Jordan has said of Falk that "he's the best at what he does", and that "marketing-wise, he's great. He's the one who came up with the concept of 'Air Jordan.'"

In June 2010, Jordan was ranked by Forbes Magazine as the 20th most powerful celebrity in the world with $55 million earned between June 2009 and June 2010. According to the Forbes article, Brand Jordan generates $1 billion in sales for Nike.

Honors and awards

Jordan won numerous awards and set many records during his career. The following are some of his achievements:

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2009

2 Olympic Gold Medals – 1984, 1992

6-time NBA Champion

6-time NBA Finals MVP

5-time NBA MVP

10 NBA Scoring Titles

3-time steals leader

3-time minutes leader

14 NBA All-Star Selections

3-time NBA All-Star Game MVP

11 All-NBA Selections

9 All-Defensive First Team Selections

2-time NBA Slam Dunk Contest Champion – 1987, 1988

NBA Rookie of the Year – NBA Defensive Player of the Year –

NCAA National Championship – University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: 1981–82

ACC Freshman of the Year – 1981–82

2-time Consensus NCAA All-American First Team – 1982–83, 1983–84

ACC Men's Basketball Player of the Year – 1983–84

USBWA College Player of the Year – 1983–84

Naismith College Player of the Year – 1983–84

John R. Wooden Award – 1983–84

Adolph Rupp Trophy – 1983–84

''Sports Illustrated'' Sportsman of the Year – 1991

Named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996

Ranked No.1 by SLAM Magazine's Top 50 Players of All-Time

Ranked No.1 by ESPN Sportscentury's Top 100 Athletes of the 20th century

Elected to North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame

See also

Michael Jordan Steakhouse

Michael Jordan's Restaurant

''Michael Jordan: Chaos in the Windy City''

''Michael Jordan in Flight''

''NBA 2K11''

References

Further reading

External links

Michael Jordan biography at NBA Encyclopedia

Michael Jordan player profile at NBA.com

Michael Jordan Motorsports

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Coordinates	37°46′45.48″N122°25′9.12″N
Name	Jeffery Michael Gordon
Birth date	August 04, 1971
Birth place	Vallejo, California, U.S.
Hometown	Pittsboro, Indiana, U.S.
Death date
Height
Weight
Nickname	(("Wonder Boy" given to him by Dale Earnhardt))
Cup car team	24 – Hendrick Motorsports
Previous year	2010
Prev cup pos	9th
Best cup pos	1st – 1995, 1997, 1998, 2001
Cup wins	84
Cup top tens	385
Cup poles	70
First cup race	1992 Hooters 500 (Atlanta)
First cup win	1994 Coca-Cola 600 (Charlotte)
Last cup win	2011 5-hour Energy 500 (Pocono)
Years in busch	5
Total busch races	73
Best busch pos	4th – 1992
Busch wins	5
Busch top tens	32
Busch poles	12
First busch win	1992 Atlanta 300 (Atlanta)
Last busch win	2000 Miami 300 (Homestead)
First busch race	1990 AC-Delco 200 (Rockingham)
Last busch race	2000 Miami 300 (Homestead)
Achievements	USAC Triple Crown champion (1990 Midget, 1991 Silver Crown) 1991 NASCAR Busch Series Rookie of The Year 1995 / 1997 / 1998 / 2001 / 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	1993 NASCAR Sprint Cup Rookie of the Year Listed as one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers 2009 inductee in the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame
Updated	July 31, 2011 }}

Jeffery Michael "Jeff" Gordon (born August 4, 1971) is a professional NASCAR driver. He is the driver of the #24 Drive to End Hunger/DuPont/Pepsi Chevrolet Impala. He is a four-time Sprint Cup Series champion and a three-time Daytona 500 winner. He is tied for third with Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip on the all-time wins list, and is also tied with Waltrip for the most wins in NASCAR's modern era (1972–present). He has won a total of 84 career races and was the fastest to reach 50 wins. In 2009, Gordon became the first driver to reach $100 million in career winnings in the Cup series.

Gordon, along with Rick Hendrick, are the co-owners of the #48 Lowe's Chevrolet, driven by Jimmie Johnson, who won the 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010 Cup series championships. Gordon also has an equity stake in his own #24 team. He was born in Vallejo, California, raised in Pittsboro, Indiana, and currently lives in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Early career

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 6 Gordon had won 35 main events and set 5 track records. By the age of 13 Gordon took an interest in the 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. In 1990, Gordon won his second consecutive Night Before the 500, the Hut Hundred, and the Belleville Midget Nationals on his way to winning the USAC national Midget title. In 1991, Gordon into the USAC Silver Crown, and at the age of 20 became the youngest driver to win the season championship. He also won the 4 Crown Nationals midget car race that season. In his midget car career between 1989 and 1992, he finished in the Top 3 in 22 of 40 USAC midget car events. And he remembered, "the car is heavy".

Busch Series career

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 #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.

Cup Series career

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 #24 DuPont Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports that he has driven for his entire Cup Series career.

Gordon began driving the #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.

1994

In 1994, Gordon collected his first career victory at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in the Coca-Cola 600, NASCAR's longest and most demanding race. Additionally, Gordon scored a popular hometown victory at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the inaugural Brickyard 400, passing Ernie Irvan for the lead late in the race when Irvan cut down a tire. 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

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, 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 six 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

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. 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 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 5th in points.

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

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 were killed. The team was clearly affected by this, but continued with impressive performances.

2005

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 track, which leads all active drivers at the facility. He went on to finish 11th in the Championship and received a $1,000,000 bonus as the top driver finishing outside the Chase. It was Gordon's first time outside the top 10 in the point standings since 1993.

On September 14, 2005 Crew Chief Robbie Loomis resigned from the #24 team. Loomis stayed on with Hendrick Motorsports as a consultant for Jimmie Johnson's #48 team through the Chase for The NEXTEL Cup in 2005. Steve Letarte, Gordon's car chief for most of the '05 season and long time member of the 24 crew, replaced Loomis as crew chief effective at New Hampshire International Speedway on September 18, 2005.

2006

Gordon won his ninth road race, the 2006 Dodge/Save Mart 350, at the Infineon Raceway – his first win of the season and fifth at Infineon. The day before the race, he announced his engagement to 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. His team went on to finish third, despite problems, two laps behind the winning team of Juan Pablo Montoya, Scott Pruett, and Salvador Durán. 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

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. 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. 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.

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 into the race, ending his streak of completing every lap during the season. Gordon finished 41st.

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 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.

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

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. 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. 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. Other drivers who have publicly supported Gordon's call for safety improvements include Jeff Burton, Tony Stewart, Robby Gordon, and Kurt Busch.

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.

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.

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.

Gordon was caught up in an accident with David Reutimann in the Amp Energy 500 after Reutimann's rear tire exploded and he spun out into Gordon. Gordon criticized Goodyear for tire quality during his interview. He finished 35th, while Reutimann continued to race, until his engine expired.

On October 31, 2008, Gordon earned his 67th career pole, his fourth of the 2008 season, and first ever at Texas Motor Speedway. 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

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. 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. 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.

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

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 #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 (he went winless in 1993 and 2008).

2011

Gordon started the 2011 season in Daytona driving the #24 "Drive to End Hunger" Chevrolet Impala and new crew chief Alan Gustafson. He started the race in the 2nd position but after an unfortunate multi-car accident, finished the race in 28th, right behind teammate Jimmie Johnson. The following week at Phoenix, Jeff started 17th, but as soon as the green flag dropped, he knew he had the car to beat. In the early going, Carl Edwards had the car to beat. But on lap 59, Kyle Busch bounced off the wall in turn 2, throwing Edwards across the backstretch rumble strips. Jeff shot around the outside of Edwards, but entering turn 3, Carl's car didn't turn, sending him and Gordon into the wall. Gordon received minimal damage, saying he "hit the wall square" (meaning it didn't mess up the steering). He dominated the race, leading 138 of the 312 laps. On a restart with 22 laps to go, Jeff restarted behind Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch. He almost immediately got around Stewart, who took 2 tires. With 8 to go, Jeff came up beside Kyle, then entering turn 1, he got loose and slid up and into Kyle. The contact hurt Busch more than Gordon as Gordon drove away to a half-second lead. He held off Kyle in the remaining 7 laps to win. It was Jeff's first win since Texas in April 2009, and 2nd 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 Talladega breaking a 3rd place tie with Cale Yarborough for most poles. At Talladega the 2-car drafted with Mark Martin 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 about 10 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. squeezed to their inside. Jr. 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 3 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 Jeff 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, but not being good on restarts hurt him, as a green-white-checkered moved him from 6th to a 12th place finish. After Darlington, Gordon was 17th 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, was a huge leap forward for the 24 team, as Gordon finished 4th behind some fuel-strategy winners. He ran 2nd all day. His fourth place finished was his first top 10 since Talladega, bringing the total for the season to a disappointing 4 (Phoenix, Martinsville). 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, who did not pit but eventually did, 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. This was also the first time Jeff Gordon's daughter Ella was in victory lane since Talladega in October 2007 (when she was 2 months old). 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 great 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 4th. His drafting buddy Mark Martin started on pole, and chose the outside line at the start, and that quickly put he and Gordon out front. Earnhardt Jr. and Johnson followed as the four Hendrick cars dominated the first 10 or so laps. Gordon had a scare early as Carl Edwards spun off of turn 4 and came very close to Jeff's front end. Jeff and Mark 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. An incredible save by Gordon minimized his damage. Busch got into the wall, so he followed Gordon coming to pit road. They restarted back in 30th place. Gordon's restart was terrible, but managed to avoid a huge 12 car pileup, started by drafting partner Mark Martin. After, Gordon restarted 18th behind Kyle Busch. With Gordon pushing, Kyle made great moves. They got by most of the field before a final last-turn last-lap wreck took out 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, and he had his fourth top 10 in the past 5 races after having only 3 top 10s before Kansas, proving that Gordon was running with consistency. 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, would start 14th. However, the handling of the 24 DuPont Chevrolet 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. It turned out to be a good call, since a caution for oil on track came out about 15 laps later. 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. 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

List of Jeff Gordon's wins

February 11, 1993 February 13, 1994 May 21, 1994 May 29, 1994 August 6, 1994 February 26, 1995 March 12, 1995 April 2, 1995 May 22, 1995 July 1, 1995 July 9, 1995 September 3, 1995 September 17, 1995 March 3, 1996 March 24, 1996 March 31, 1996 June 2, 1996 June 16, 1996 July 28, 1996 September 1, 1996 September 15, 1996 September 22, 1996 September 29, 1996 February 9, 1997 February 16, 1997 February 23, 1997 April 13, 1997 April 20, 1997 May 17, 1997 May 25, 1997 June 8, 1997 June 22, 1997 August 10, 1997 August 31, 1997 September 14, 1997 February 22, 1998 March 29, 1998 May 24, 1998 June 28, 1998 July 26, 1998 August 1, 1998 August 9, 1998 August 16, 1998 August 30, 1998 September 6, 1998 October 17, 1998 November 1, 1998 November 8, 1998 February 14, 1999 March 14, 1999 May 2, 1999 June 27, 1999 August 15, 1999 October 3, 1999 October 11, 1999 April 16, 2000 June 25, 2000 September 9, 2000 March 4, 2001 May 19, 2001 June 3, 2001 June 10, 2001 August 5, 2001 August 12, 2001 September 30, 2001 February 14, 2002 August 24, 2002 September 1, 2002 September 29, 2002 April 13, 2003 October 19, 2003 October 26/27, 2003 April 25, 2004 May 2, 2004 June 27, 2004 July 3, 2004 August 8, 2004 February 20, 2005 April 10, 2005 May 1, 2005 October 23, 2005 February 16, 2006 June 25, 2006 July 9, 2006 February 15, 2007 April 21, 2007 April 29, 2007 May 13, 2007 June 10, 2007 October 7, 2007 October 13, 2007 February 12, 2009 April 5, 2009 February 27, 2011 June 12, 2011

!Win No.!!Date!!Race Name!!Track
–	|	Gatorade Twin 125 Qualifiers #1†	Daytona International Speedway at Daytona Beach, FL
–	|	Busch Clash†	Daytona International Speedway at Daytona Beach, FL
–	|	Winston Select Open†	Charlotte Motor Speedway at Concord, NC
1	|	Coca-Cola 600	Charlotte Motor Speedway at Concord, NC
2	|	Brickyard 400	Indianapolis Motor Speedway at Speedway, IN
3	|	Goodwrench 500	North Carolina Speedway at Rockingham, NC
4	|	Purolator 500	Atlanta Motor Speedway at Hampton, GA
5	|	Food City 500	Bristol Motor Speedway at Bristol, TN
–	|	The Winston Select†	Charlotte Motor Speedway at Concord, NC
6	|	Pepsi 400	Daytona International Speedway at Daytona Beach, FL
7	|	Slick 50 300	New Hampshire Motor Speedway at Loudon, NH
8	|	Mountain Dew Southern 500	Darlington Raceway at Darlington, SC
9	|	MBNA 500	Dover International Speedway at Dover, DE
10	|	Pontiac Excitement 400	Richmond International Raceway at Richmond, VA
11	|	TranSouth Financial 400	Darlington Raceway at Darlington, SC
12	|	Food City 500	Bristol Motor Speedway at Bristol, TN
13	|	Miller 500	Dover International Speedway at Dover, DE
14	|	UAW-GM Teamwork 500	Pocono Raceway at Long Pond, PA
15	|	DieHard 500	Talladega Superspeedway at Talladega, AL
16	|	Mountain Dew Southern 500	Darlington Raceway at Darlington, SC
17	|	MBNA 500	Dover International Speedway at Dover, DE
18	|	Hanes 500	Martinsville Speedway at Martinsville, VA
19	|	Tyson Holly Farms 400	North Wilkesboro Speedway at North Wilkesboro, NC
–	|	Busch Clash†	Daytona International Speedway at Daytona Beach, FL
20	|	Daytona 500	Daytona International Speedway at Daytona Beach, FL
21	|	Goodwrench Service 400	North Carolina Speedway at Rockingham, NC
22	|	Food City 500	Bristol Motor Speedway at Bristol, TN
23	|	Goody's Headache Powder 500	Martinsville Speedway at Martinsville, VA
–	|	The Winston†	Charlotte Motor Speedway at Concord, NC
24	|	Coca-Cola 600	Charlotte Motor Speedway at Concord, NC
25	|	Pocono 500	Pocono Raceway at Long Pond, PA
26	|	California 500 Presented by NAPA	Auto Club Speedway at Fontana, CA
27	|	The Bud At The Glen	Watkins Glen International at Watkins Glen, NY
28	|	Mountain Dew Southern 500	Darlington Raceway at Darlington, SC
29	|	CMT 300	New Hampshire Motor Speedway at Loudon, NH
30	|	GM Goodwrench Service Plus 400	North Carolina Speedway at Rockingham, NC
31	|	Food City 500	Bristol Motor Speedway at Bristol, TN
32	|	Coca-Cola 600	Charlotte Motor Speedway at Concord, NC
33	|	Save Mart / Kragen 350	Infineon Raceway at Sonoma, CA
34	|	Pennsylvania 500	Pocono Raceway at Long Pond, PA
35	|	Brickyard 400	Indianapolis Motor Speedway at Speedway, IN
36	|	The Bud At The Glen	Watkins Glen International at Watkins Glen, NY
37	|	Pepsi 400 Presented by DeVilbiss	Michigan International Speedway at Brooklyn, MI
38	|	Farm Aid on CMT 300	New Hampshire Motor Speedway at Loudon, NH
39	|	Pepsi Southern 500	Darlington Raceway at Darlington, SC
40	|	Pepsi 400	Daytona International Speedway at Daytona Beach, FL
41	|	AC Delco 400	North Carolina Speedway at Rockingham, NC
42	|	NAPA 500	Atlanta Motor Speedway at Hampton, GA
43	|	Daytona 500	Daytona International Speedway at Daytona Beach, FL
44	|	Cracker Barrel 500	Atlanta Motor Speedway at Hampton, GA
45	|	California 500 Presented by NAPA	Auto Club Speedway at Fontana, CA
46	|	Save Mart / Kragen 350	Infineon Raceway at Sonoma, CA
47	|	Frontier @ the Glen	Watkins Glen International at Watkins Glen, NY
48	|	NAPA AutoCare 500	Martinsville Speedway at Martinsville, VA
49	|	UAW-GM Quality 500	Charlotte Motor Speedway at Concord, NC
50	|	DieHard 500	Talladega Superspeedway at Talladega, AL
51	|	Save Mart / Kragen 350	Infineon Raceway at Sonoma, CA
52	|	Chevrolet Monte Carlo 400	Richmond International Raceway at Richmond, VA
53	|	UAW-Daimler Chrysler 400	Las Vegas Motor Speedway at Las Vegas, NV
–	|	The Winston†	Charlotte Motor Speedway at Concord, NC
54	|	MBNA Platinum 400	Dover International Speedway at Dover, DE
55	|	Kmart 400	Michigan International Speedway at Brooklyn, MI
56	|	Brickyard 400	Indianapolis Motor Speedway at Speedway, IN
57	|	Global Crossing at the Glen	Watkins Glen International at Watkins Glen, NY
58	|	Protection One 400	Kansas Speedway at Kansas City, KS
–	|	Gatorade Twin 125 Qualifiers #1†	Daytona International Speedway at Daytona Beach, FL
59	|	Sharpie 500	Bristol Motor Speedway at Bristol, TN
60	|	Mountain Dew Southern 500	Darlington Raceway at Darlington, SC
61	|	Protection One 400	Kansas Speedway at Kansas City, KS
62	|	Virginia 500	Martinsville Speedway at Martinsville, VA
63	|	Subway 500	Martinsville Speedway at Martinsville, VA
64	|	Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500	Atlanta Motor Speedway at Hampton, GA
65	|	Aaron's 499	Talladega Superspeedway at Talladega, AL
66	|	Auto Club 500	Auto Club Speedway at Fontana, CA
67	|	Dodge / Save Mart 350	Infineon Raceway at Sonoma, CA
68	|	Pepsi 400	Daytona International Speedway at Daytona Beach, FL
69	|	Brickyard 400	Indianapolis Motor Speedway at Speedway, IN
70	|	Daytona 500	Daytona International Speedway at Daytona Beach, FL
71	|	Advance Auto Parts 500	Martinsville Speedway at Martinsville, VA
72	|	Aaron's 499	Talladega Superspeedway at Talladega, AL
73	|	Subway 500	Martinsville Speedway at Martinsville, VA
–	|	Gatorade Duel #2†	Daytona International Speedway at Daytona Beach, FL
74	|	Dodge / Save Mart 350	Infineon Raceway at Sonoma, CA
75	|	USG Sheetrock 400	Chicagoland Speedway at Joliet, IL
–	|	Gatorade Duel #2†	Daytona International Speedway at Daytona Beach, FL
76	|	Subway Fresh Fit 500	Phoenix International Raceway at Avondale, AZ
77	|	Aaron's 499	Talladega Superspeedway at Talladega, AL
78	|	Dodge Avenger 500	Darlington Raceway at Darlington, SC
79	|	Pocono 500	Pocono Raceway at Long Pond, PA
80	|	UAW-Ford 500	Talladega Superspeedway at Talladega, AL
81	|	Bank Of America 500	Charlotte Motor Speedway at Concord, NC
–	|	Gatorade Duel #1†	Daytona International Speedway at Daytona Beach, FL
82	|	Samsung 500	Texas Motor Speedway at Fort Worth, TX
83	|	Subway Fresh Fit 500	Phoenix International Raceway at Avondale, AZ
84	|	5-hour Energy 500	Pocono Raceway at Long Pond, PA

^†Non-points race

Other racing

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 #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.

Career NASCAR statistics

Races 1 30 31 31 31 32 33 34 34 36 36 36 36 36 36 36 36 36 36 18 636

Season	|	Wins	Poles	Top 5	Top 10	DNF	Position	Team(s)
1992	|	0	0	0	0	1	79th	Hendrick Motorsports
1993	|	0	1	7	11	11	14th	Hendrick Motorsports
1994	|	2	1	7	14	10	8th	Hendrick Motorsports
1995	|	7	8	17	23	3	1st	Hendrick Motorsports
1996	|	10	5	21	24	5	2nd	Hendrick Motorsports
1997	|	10	1	22	23	2	1st	Hendrick Motorsports
1998	|	13	7	26	28	2	1st	Hendrick Motorsports
1999	|	7	7	18	21	7	6th	Hendrick Motorsports
2000	|	3	3	11	22	2	9th	Hendrick Motorsports
2001	|	6	6	18	24	2	1st	Hendrick Motorsports
2002	|	3	3	13	20	3	4th	Hendrick Motorsports
2003	|	3	4	15	20	5	4th	Hendrick Motorsports
2004	|	5	6	16	25	4	3rd	Hendrick Motorsports
2005	|	4	2	8	14	9	11th	Hendrick Motorsports
2006	|	2	2	14	18	7	6th	Hendrick Motorsports
2007	|	6	7	21	30	1	2nd	Hendrick Motorsports
2008	|	0	4	13	19	6	7th	Hendrick Motorsports
2009	|	1	1	16	25	1	3rd	Hendrick Motorsports
2010	|	0	1	11	17	4	9th	Hendrick Motorsports
2011	|	2	1	6	8	2	7th*	Hendrick Motorsports
colspan=12 bgcolor=#808080 height="5px"
Totals	|	84	70	280	386	87

Season in progress.

Data as of June 12, 2011.

Sponsorship and paint

Jeff Gordon and his team have carried the nickname "The Rainbow Warriors" throughout the years. Jeff has always carried DuPont as a sponsor. From 1993 to 2000, Gordon carried a rainbow scheme that got the team their nickname. Throughout the years, Gordon has sometimes carried different paint, such as ''Jurassic Park'' the ride in 1997, ''Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace'' in 1999, and Snoopy in the 2000 Brickyard 400. In 1997, Gordon signed a long-term contract with Pepsi that is still in place today. Every year Gordon has driven a car with the Pepsi scheme (he almost always has car with a Pepsi paint scheme at a night race, particularly Daytona International Speedway in July). In 2001, Gordon debuted a new scheme designed by NASCAR artist Sam Bass, which kept a blue base but changed the rainbow pattern to flames. In 2006, Gordon acquired a new sponsor, Nicorette. In 2007, Gordon increased his partnership with Nicorette, and ran the paint scheme in 4 races. At Talladega in 2007, Gordon had a fan design contest. The design got a real treat, as Gordon won the race. Since 2007, Gordon has had the same design with different colors. (e.g. Nicorette scheme, green and yellow flames). Gordon will occasionally run a scheme that will support a different type of DuPont paint such as Cromax Pro.

Gordon announced that the primary scheme of the DuPont #24 Chevrolet was to change for 2009 & beyond on the QVC show ''For Race Fans Only''. The 2009 scheme kept the flames format but the colors were radically changed to red and orange flames on a black base color. The new 2009 DuPont paint scheme was unveiled on NBC's ''Today'' show. In 2009, National Guard signed a contract with Gordon, replacing Nicorette. National Guard was the primary sponsor on Gordon's car for 6–8 races per season through 2010. Occasionally, a one-race sponsor steps in to sponsor Gordon's car for one race. For example, Gordon ran a Megatron scheme at Charlotte in the Fall of 2009 to promote the movie ''Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen'' that was soon to come out on DVD.

Hendrick Motorsports owner, Rick Hendrick, said in November 2009 that he is working on signing a contract extension with DuPont, Gordon's primary sponsor since the beginning of his career. DuPont's current contract with Jeff Gordon expires at the end of 2010, and Hendrick said he wants it to be Gordon's primary sponsor for the rest of his career. In 2010 reports surfaced that Hendrick Motorsports was in talks with Walmart to be a sponsor for the #24 car, the deal never materialized. In October 2010, Hendrick Motorsports announced a scaled-down three-year extension of its sponsorship agreement with DuPont: DuPont will be Gordon's primary sponsor for 14 races, with AARP picking up 22 of the remaining races and long-term sponsor Pepsi continuing as primary sponsor for 2 races.

NASCAR drug testing

Gordon has announced that he supports the new drug policy implemented by NASCAR on September 20, 2008. Other drivers who support the annual drug test policy include, Kevin Harvick, Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin, Greg Biffle, Jimmie Johnson, and Kasey Kahne.

Personal life

Gordon's parents are Carol Ann Bickford (''née'' Houston) and William Grinnell Gordon of Vacaville, California. He has an older sister named Kim. He is not, however, related to NASCAR driver Robby Gordon.

Gordon met first wife Brooke Sealey after he won a Busch race. Sealey was then a college student and had been present as Ms. Winston in the victory lane in 1992. The pair began dating in secret, due to a rule that did not allow drivers to date Ms. Winston, and they were married in 1994. In 2003, Gordon's divorce from Sealey became tabloid fodder. In court papers, she asked for "exclusive use of the couple's oceanfront home, valued at $9 million, as well as alimony, two cars and periodic use of their boats and an airplane."

Gordon was introduced to Ingrid Vandebosch by a mutual friend in 2002, but they did not begin dating until 2004. Jeff announced their engagement on June 24, 2006, at a croquet event at Meadowood Resort in St. Helena, California. According to Gordon, they had kept the engagement secret for the following 30 days. Gordon and Vandebosch were married in a small, private ceremony in Mexico on Nov. 7, 2006. On June 20, 2007, Vandebosch gave birth to their first child, Ella Sofia Gordon in New York City. On February 4, 2010, Gordon revealed that he and his wife are expecting their second child in August, and on March 16, 2010, he revealed that the baby is a boy. Gordon had a backup driver, Scott Pruett, at Watkins Glen because his wife was due to give birth the weekend of August 8, 2010. On August 9, 2010, Vandebosch delivered their son, Leo Benjamin Gordon, at 8:53 am. He weighed 7 lbs., 2 oz., and was 19 inches long.

Gordon owns a private jet, a British Aerospace BAE-125-800, also known as a Hawker 800, with a tail number on this jet matching his car number, N24JG and also owns a Lazzara 106 yacht called the ''24 Karat''.

In 1999, Jeff Gordon established The Jeff Gordon Foundation to help support children facing life-threatening and chronic illnesses. In 2007, Jeff Gordon along with Andre Agassi, Muhammad Ali, Lance Armstrong, Warrick Dunn, Mia Hamm, Tony Hawk, Andrea Jaeger, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Mario Lemieux, Alonzo Mourning, and Cal Ripken, Jr. founded Athletes for Hope, a charitable organization which helps professional athletes get involved in charitable causes and inspires millions of non-athletes to volunteer and support the community.

It was announced in 2009 that Gordon would receive the Silver Buffalo Award, the Boy Scouts of America's highest award for his work as a Scout Recruiter and humanitarian work.

Gordon is a Christian. He has talked about how in the early nineties he got curious and followed some drivers to the weekly chapel one week, which is how he first started to learn more about God.

Career awards

He was inducted in the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame at the January 10, 2009, Chili Bowl Nationals race at Tulsa.Most recently jeff was inducted into the Watkins Glen International Hall of Fame becuse of his outstanding success on the track.

In popular media

Gordon occasionally appears on television shows. He has co-hosted ''Live with Regis and Kelly'' ten times on days when Regis Philbin was unavailable. In January 2003, Gordon became the first NASCAR driver to host NBC's ''Saturday Night Live''. In 2005, he played himself in ''Herbie Fully Loaded''. In 2009 he voiced a character on the animated series Speed Racer/Next Generation. On April 11, 2010, Jeff was the guest celebrity on an episode of ABC's ''Extreme Makeover: Home Edition''.

He provides his voice as Jeff Gorvette, a Chevrolet Corvette C6.R no. #24, in Pixar's 2011 animated movie, Cars 2.

Jeff appears in PlayStation 3 videogame ''Gran Turismo 5'' as himself, providing tutorials on racing in NASCAR.

He also appears on the cover of NASCAR Thunder 2002 and NASCAR 09. He is also on the cover of NASCAR 06: Total Team Control with Jimmie Johnson.

In the movie "Couple's Retreat", Jeff was mentioned when Jason Bateman said: "If Jeff Gordon told you the oil was low, you'd want to change it."

NASCAR Sprint Cup stats

NASCAR Sprint Cup results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

! Year

! Team

! No.

! Sponsor

! Make

! 1

! 2

! 3

! 4

! 5

! 6

! 7

! 8

! 9

! 10

! 11

! 12

! 13

! 14

! 15

! 16

! 17

! 18

! 19

! 20

! 21

! 22

! 23

! 24

! 25

! 26

! 27

! 28

! 29

! 30

! 31

! 32

! 33

! 34

! 35

! 36

! NSCC

! Points

1992 NASCAR Winston Cup Series>1992

! Hendrick Motorsports

24

! DuPont

! Chevrolet

style="background:#EFCFFF;"

! 79th

! 70

1993 NASCAR Winston Cup Series>1993

! Hendrick Motorsports

24

! DuPont

! Chevrolet

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#EFCFFF;"

style="background:#ffdf9f;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#EFCFFF;"

style="background:#EFCFFF;"

style="background:#EFCFFF;"

style="background:#ffdf9f;"

style="background:#dfffdf;"

style="background:#dfffdf;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#dfffdf;"

style="background:#cfcfff;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#ffdf9f;"

style="background:#EFCFFF;"

style="background:#EFCFFF;"

style="background:#EFCFFF;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#dfffdf;"

style="background:#cfcfff;"

style="background:#ffdf9f;"

style="background:#EFCFFF;"

style="background:#dfffdf;"

style="background:#EFCFFF;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#cfcfff;"

style="background:#EFCFFF;"

style="background:#EFCFFF;"

! 14th

! 3447

1994 NASCAR Winston Cup Series>1994

! Hendrick Motorsports

24

! DuPont

! Chevrolet

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#EFCFFF;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#ffdf9f;"

style="background:#EFCFFF;"

style="bafdfdf;"

style="background:#EFCFFF;"

style="background:#dfffdf;"

style="background:#cfcfff;"

style="background:#cfcfff;"

style="background:#ffffbf;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#ffdf9f;"

style="background:#dfffdf;"

style="background:#ffdf9f;"

style="background:#EFCFFF;"

style="background:#ffdf9f;"

style="background:#EFCFFF;"

style="background:#ffffbf;"

style="background:#ffdf9f;"

style="background:#EFCFFF;"

style="background:#EFCFFF;"

style="background:#ffdf9f;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#dfffdf;"

style="background:#dfffdf;"

style="background:#ffdf9f;"

style="background:#EFCFFF;"

style="background:#EFCFFF;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#dfffdf;"

! 8th

! 3776

1995 NASCAR Winston Cup Series>1995

! Hendrick Motorsports

24

! DuPont

! Chevrolet

style="background:#cfcfff;"

style="background:#ffffbf;"

style="background:#EFCFFF;"

style="background:#ffffbf;"

style="background:#EFCFFF;"

style="background:#ffffbf;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#EFCFFF;"

style="background:#ffdf9f;"

style="background:#dfffdf;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#ffffbf;"

style="background:#ffffbf;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#ffdf9f;"

style="background:#ffdf9f;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#ffdf9f;"

style="background:#ffffbf;"

style="background:#ffdf9f;"

style="background:#ffffbf;"

style="background:#ffdf9f;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#cfcfff;"

style="background:#dfffdf;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#cfcfff;"

! 1st

! 4614

1996 NASCAR Winston Cup Series>1996

! Hendrick Motorsports

24

! DuPont

! Chevrolet

style="background:#EFCFFF;"

style="background:#EFCFFF;"

style="background:#ffffbf;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#ffffbf;"

style="background:#ffffbf;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#EFCFFF;"

style="background:#ffdf9f;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#ffffbf;"

style="background:#ffffbf;"

style="background:#ffdf9f;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#EFCFFF;"

style="background:#ffdf9f;"

style="background:#ffffbf;"

style="background:#EFCFFF;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#ffffbf;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#ffffbf;"

style="background:#ffffbf;"

style="background:#ffffbf;"

style="background:#cfcfff;"

style="background:#dfffdf;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

! 2nd

! 4620

1997 NASCAR Winston Cup Series>1997

! Hendrick Motorsports

24

! DuPont

! Chevrolet

style="background:#ffffbf;"

style="background:#ffffbf;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#EFCFFF;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#EFCFFF;"

style="background:#ffffbf;"

style="background:#ffffbf;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#ffffbf;"

style="background:#EFCFFF;"

style="background:#ffffbf;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#ffffbf;"

style="background:#cfcfff;"

style="background:#cfcfff;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#fffrbf;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#EFCFFF;"

style="background:#ffffbf;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#ffffbf;"

style="background:#ffdf9f;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#cfcfff;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#dfffdf;"

style="background:#dfffdf;"

! 1st

! 4710

1998 NASCAR Winston Cup Series>1998

! Hendrick Motorsports

24

! DuPont

! Chevrolet

style="background:#dfffdf;"

style="background:#ffffbf;"

style="background:#dfffdf;"

style="background:#dfffdf;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#ffffbf;"

style="background:#EFCFFF;"

style="background:#ffdf9f;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#ffffbf;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#EFCFFF;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#ffffbf;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#ffffbf;"

style="background:#ffffbf;"

style="background:#ffffbf;"

style="background:#ffffbf;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#ffffbf;"

style="background:#ffffbf;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#ffffbf;"

style="background:#ffdf9f;"

style="background:#ffffbf;"

style="background:#ffffbf;"

! 1st

! 5328

1999 NASCAR Winston Cup Series>1999

! Hendrick Motorsports

24

! DuPont

! Chevrolet

style="background:#ffffbf;"

style="background:#EFCFFF;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#ffffbf;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#EFCFFF;"

style="background:#ffdf9f;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#EFCFFF;"

style="background:#ffffbf;"

style="background:#cfcfff;"

style="background:#EFCFFF;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#ffffbf;"

style="background:#cfcfff;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#EFCFFF;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#ffffbf;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#dfffdf;"

style="background:#EFCFFF;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#dfffdf;"

style="background:#ffffbf;"

style="background:#ffffbf;"

style="background:#dfffdf;"

style="background:#dfffdf;"

style="background:#ffdf9f;"

style="background:#ffdf9f;"

style="background:#EFCFFF;"

! 6th

! 4620

2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Series>2000

! Hendrick Motorsports

24

! DuPont

! Chevrolet

style="background:#cfcfff;"

style="background:#ffdf9f;"

style="background:#cfcfff;"

style="background:#ffdf9f;"

style="background:#ffdf9f;"

style="background:#ffdf9f;"

style="background:#cfcfff;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#ffffbf;"

style="background:#dfffdf;"

style="background:#dfffdf;"

style="background:#ffdf9f;"

style="background:#cfcfff;"

style="background:#dfffdf;"

style="background:#ffdf9f;"

style="background:#ffffbf;"

style="background:#ffdf9f;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#cfcfff;"

style="background:#cfcfff;"

style="background:#EFCFFF;"

style="background:#cfcfff;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#ffffbf;"

style="background:#ffdf9f;"

style="background:#ffdf9f;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#EFCFFF;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#ffdf9f;"

style="background:#ffdf9f;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

! 9th

! 4361

2001 NASCAR Winston Cup Series>2001

! Hendrick Motorsports

24

! DuPont

! Chevrolet

style="background:#EFCFFF;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#ffffbf;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#EFCFFF;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#dfffdf;"

style="background:#cfcfff;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#cfcfff;"

style="background:#ffffbf;"

style="background:#ffffbf;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#cfcfff;"

style="background:#dfffdf;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#ffdf9f;"

style="background:#ffffbf;"

style="background:#ffffbf;"

style="background:#ffdf9f;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#cfcfff;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#ffffbf;"

style="background:#dfffdf;"

style="background:#ffdf9f;"

style="background:#ffdf9f;"

style="background:#ffdf9f;"

style="background:#cfcfff;"

style="background:#cfcfff;"

style="background:#ffdf9f;"

style="background:#dfffdf;"

! 1st

! 5112

2002 NASCAR Winston Cup Series>2002

! Hendrick Motorsports

24

! DuPont

! Chevrolet

style="background:#ffdf9f;"

style="background:#ffdf9f;"

style="background:#dfffdf;"

style="background:#dfffdf;"

style="background:#ffdf9f;"

style="background:#cfcfff;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#cfcfff;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#dfffdf;"

style="background:#ffdf9f;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#ffdf9f;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#cfcfff;"

style="background:#cfcfff;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#cfcfff;"

style="background:#dfffdf;"

style="background:#ffdf9f;"

style="background:#cfcfff;"

style="background:#dfffdf;"

style="background:#ffffbf;"

style="background:#ffffbf;"

style="background:#EFCFFF;"

style="background:#dfffdf;"

style="background:#EFCFFF;"

style="background:#ffffbf;"

style="background:#EFCFFF;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#cfcfff;"

style="background:#ffdf9f;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

! 5th

! 4607

2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Series>2003

! Hendrick Motorsports

24

! DuPont

! Chevrolet

style="background:#dfffdf;"

style="background:#dfffdf;"

style="background:#EFCFFF;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#cfcfff;"

style="background:#ffdf9f;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#ffdf9f;"

style="background:#ffffbf;"

style="background:#dfffdf;"

style="background:#dfffdf;"

style="background:#ffdf9f;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#dfffdf;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#dfffdf;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#cfcfff;"

style="background:#EFCFFF;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#EFCFFF;"

style="background:#cfcfff;"

style="background:#EFCFFF;"

style="background:#EFCFFF;"

style="background:#ffdf9f;"

style="background:#dfffdf;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

style="background:#cfcfff;"

style="background:#ffffbf;"

style="background:#ffdf9f;"

style="background:#cfcfff;"

style="background:#dfdfdf;"

! 4th

! 4785

2004 NASCAR Winston Cup Series>2004

! Hendrick Motorsports

24

! DuPont

! Chevrolet

style="background:#fff;"

style="background:#fff;"

style="background:#fff;"

style="background:#fff;"

style="background:#fff;"

style="background:#fff;"

style="background:#fff;"

style="background:#fff;"

style="background:#fff;"

style="background:#fff;"

style="background:#fff;"

style="background:#fff;"

style="background:#fff;"

style="background:#fff;"

style="background:#fff;"

style="background:#fff;"

style="background:#fff;"

style="background:#fff;"

style="background:#fff;"

style="background:#fff;"

style="background:#fff;"

style="background:#fff;"

style="background:#fff;"

style="background:#fff;"

style="background:#fff;"

style="background:#fff;"

style="background:#fff;"

style="background:#fff;"

style="background:#fff;"

style="background:#fff;"

style="background:#fff;"

style="background:#fff;"

style="background:#fff;"

style="background:#fff;"

style="background:#fff;"

style="background:#fff;"

! ''''''

! ''''''

See also

List of celebrities who own wineries and vineyards

Further reading

References

External links

Official website

Official team website

Driver's statistics at racing-reference.info

NASCAR.com driver page

Jayski team/driver page

Jeff Gordon Racing School

The Jeff Gordon Foundation

Athletes for Hope

NPR story about Gordon

''Men's Vogue'' article on Gordon from April 2008 issue

}}

Category:1971 births Category:American Christians Category:American racecar drivers Category:Brickyard 400 winners Category:Daytona 500 winners Category:Grand-Am drivers Category:Hendrick Motorsports drivers Category:International Race of Champions drivers Category:Living people Category:NASCAR Cup Series champions Category:NASCAR drivers Category:NASCAR Rookies of the Year Category:People from Charlotte, North Carolina Category:People from Hendricks County, Indiana Category:People from Indianapolis, Indiana Category:People from the San Francisco Bay Area Category:People from Vallejo, California Category:Racecar drivers from California Category:Sportspeople from California

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