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Jeffery Michael Gordon
Born	(1971-08-04) August 4, 1971 (age 40) Vallejo, California, United States
Height	5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Weight	150 lb (68 kg)
Achievements	USAC Triple Crown champion (1990 Midget, 1991 Silver Crown) 1995, 1997, 1998, 2001 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Champion 1997, 1999, 2005 Daytona 500 Winner 1994, 1998, 2001, 2004 Brickyard 400 Winner Sprint All-Star Race XI, XIII, and XVII Winner
Awards	1991 NASCAR Busch Series Rookie of The Year 1993 Winston Cup Series Rookie of the Year NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame Inductee
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career
665 race(s) run over 21 year(s)
Car no., team	No. 24 (Hendrick Motorsports)
2011 position	8th
Best finish	1st (1995, 1997, 1998, 2001)
First race	1992 Hooters 500 (Atlanta)
Last race	2012 Coca-Cola 600 (Charlotte)
First win	1994 Coca-Cola 600 (Charlotte)
Last win	2011 AdvoCare 500 (Atlanta)
Wins Top tens Poles 85 399 71
NASCAR Nationwide Series career
73 race(s) run over 5 year(s)
Best finish	4th (1992)
First race	1990 AC-Delco 200 (Rockingham)
Last race	2000 Miami 300 (Homestead)
First win	1992 Atlanta 300 (Atlanta)
Last win	2000 Miami 300 (Homestead)
Wins Top tens Poles 5 32 12
Statistics current as of May 27, 2012.

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

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

Early career[link]

Jeff Gordon's signature

Gordon began racing at the age of five, racing quarter midgets. The Roy Hayer Memorial Race Track (Previously the Cracker Jack Track) in Rio Linda, California is noted as the first track Gordon ever competed on. By the age of six Gordon had won 35 main events and set five track records.^[5] By the age of 13, Gordon took an interest in the 650 horsepower (480 kW) sprint cars. Gordon and his family had to overcome an insurance hurdle. The minimum age for driving the sprint cars was 16. His persistence paid off with an all Florida speed weeks. Supporting his career choice, Gordon's family moved from Vallejo, California to Pittsboro, Indiana, where there were more opportunities for younger racers. Before the age of 18, Gordon had already won three short-track races and was awarded USAC Midget Car Racing Rookie of the Year in 1989. That season was highlighted by winning Night Before the 500 midget car race on the day before the Indianapolis 500.^[6] In 1990, Gordon won his second consecutive Night Before the 500, the Hut Hundred, and the Belleville Midget Nationals on his way to winning the USAC national Midget title.^[6] In 1991, Gordon into the USAC Silver Crown, and at the age of 20 became the youngest driver to win the season championship.^[6] He also won the 4 Crown Nationals midget car race that season.^[6] In his midget car career between 1989 and 1992, he finished in the Top 3 in 22 of 40 USAC midget car events.^[6] And he remembered, "the car is heavy"!

Busch Series career[link]

In 1990 Gordon met Hugh Connerty, who owned some Hooters restaurants and was also a partner in Outback Steakhouse. Connerty secured some sponsorship for a car through Outback, and they tested for the last few Busch Grand National races left in 1990. Ray Evernham was called in to work with Jeff in his stock car debut. His first Busch race came on October 20, 1990 at Rockingham in the AC-Delco 200. Gordon drove the No. 67 Outback Steakhouse Pontiac for Connerty. Gordon ran the second fastest lap during qualifying and started on the outside of the front row of the field. Gordon would however, get involved in a wreck on lap 33. He ended up with a 39th place finish.

In 1991 and 1992, Gordon went on to the Busch Series driving Ford Thunderbirds for Bill Davis Racing. In his first year as a Busch driver he won rookie of the year. In 1992, Gordon set a NASCAR record by capturing 11 poles in one season. His time with Bill Davis Racing introduced Gordon to Ray Evernham as his crew chief. He was sponsored by Carolina Ford Dealers in 1991 and Baby Ruth in 1992.^[7]

Cup Series career[link]

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

Gordon began driving the No. 24 full-time in the 1993 Winston Cup season, in which he won a Daytona 500 qualifying race, the Rookie of the Year award, and finished 14th in points. Ray Evernham was placed as Jeff Gordon's first crew chief. Gordon's success in the sport reshaped the paradigm and eventually gave younger drivers an opportunity to compete in NASCAR. However, during the 1993 season, many doubted Gordon's ability to compete at such a level at such a young age because of his tendency to push the cars too hard and crash. His last-place finish at the 1993 First Union 400 was a firm example of this theory.^[8]

1994[link]

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In 1994, Gordon collected his first career victory at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in the Coca-Cola 600, the longest race on the NASCAR circuit. Additionally, Gordon scored a popular hometown victory at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the inaugural Brickyard 400, passing Ernie Irvan for the lead late in the race when Irvan cut down a tire.^[9] Gordon finished eighth in the Winston Cup point standings for the '94 season, as Dale Earnhardt grabbed the driving championship for his 7th and final time.

1995–2001[link]

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Gordon with his 1995 trophy

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

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

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

In 1999, Gordon along with crew chief Evernham formed Gordon/Evernham Motorsports. Though short lived, the race team enjoyed success. The co-owned team received a full sponsorship from Pepsi and ran six races with Gordon as driver and Ray Evernham as crew chief in the NASCAR Busch Series. GEM only survived one year as Evernham was pulled away by Dodge, ending one of the most dominant driver/crew-chief combinations in NASCAR history. Jeff Gordon extended his Busch experiment one more year, through 2000 as co-owner, with Rick Hendrick buying Evernham's half. After the departure of Evernham (who left Hendrick Motorsports to begin his own team, Evernham Motorsports, reintroducing Dodge into the series), the race team was renamed JG Motorsports. While winning seven times in 1999, Gordon's season was a major disappointment, finishing 6th in the series standings. Brian Whitesell was named the interim crew-chief for remainder of the season after Evernham's departure in September. Whitesell scored back to back victories in his first two races.

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

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

2002–03[link]

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

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

2004[link]

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2004 was a huge rebound for the team. Gordon won the Brickyard 400 in August 2004, obtaining his 4th Indy win (1994, 1998, 2001, 2004). He is the only NASCAR driver with four Brickyard 400 victories at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and one of only five drivers to have four victories at the historic track. Prior to this victory, Gordon won at Talladega (ending the DEI dominance on restrictor plate tracks), and followed that up with a victory the following weekend at California. He also won at Infineon Raceway, and followed that up with a victory the following weekend in the Pepsi 400 at Daytona, his second consecutive restrictor plate win. He finished 3rd in the 2004 NEXTEL Cup points standing behind Kurt Busch and teammate Jimmie Johnson even though he scored the most total points throughout the whole season, a consequence of the new Chase system implemented in 2004. While the Hendrick Motorsports team enjoyed success with Johnson and Gordon finished 2nd and 3rd in the points, the team suffered a major off-track tragedy. On October 24, during the race weekend at Martinsville, a Hendrick Motorsports plane carrying engine builder Randy Dorton, team President John Hendrick (Rick Hendrick's brother), Vice President Jeff Turner, Ricky Hendrick (Rick Hendrick's 24 year old son) and more crashed on its way to the track. Everyone on board was killed. The team was clearly affected by this, but continued with impressive performances.

2005[link]

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Jeff Gordon during the 2005 Dickies 500

Gordon started the 2005 season with a win in the Daytona 500, his third win in the event. Inconsistency would plague him throughout the year, however. A late season (notably top 10s at Indy and Bristol) run put him in position to qualify for the Chase, but in the last race before the Chase at Richmond, Gordon made contact with the wall and failed to start for the chase. Despite this disappointment, on October 23 Gordon won the Subway 500 at Martinsville Speedway, his first win in 22 points races, and his 7th career victory at the 0.526-mile (0.847 km) track, which leads all active drivers at the facility. He went on to finish 11th in the Championship and received a $1,000,000 bonus as the top driver finishing outside the Chase. It was Gordon's first time outside the top 10 in the point standings since 1993.

On September 14, 2005 Crew Chief Robbie Loomis resigned from the No. 24 team. Loomis stayed on with Hendrick Motorsports as a consultant for Jimmie Johnson's No. 48 team through the Chase for The NEXTEL Cup in 2005. Steve Letarte, Gordon's car chief for most of the '05 season and long time member of the 24 crew, replaced Loomis as crew chief effective at New Hampshire International Speedway on September 18, 2005

2006[link]

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Gordon won his ninth road race, the 2006 Dodge/Save Mart 350, at the Infineon Raceway – his first win of the season and fifth at Infineon. The day before the race, he announced his engagement to Belgian model Ingrid Vandebosch.

On June 29, 2006, Gordon announced that he would participate in the Rolex 24 endurance sports car event at Daytona International Speedway, teaming up with SunTrust Racing drivers Max Angelelli and Wayne Taylor, who won the 2005 Rolex 24 race.^[12] His team went on to finish third, despite problems, two laps behind the winning team of Juan Pablo Montoya, Scott Pruett, and Salvador Durán.^[13] On July 9, 2006, Gordon won his first race at the Chicagoland Speedway at the running of the USG Sheetrock 400(this was also the first win for Hendrick Motorsports at this track).

Gordon made the "Chase for the NEXTEL Cup" with his improvements on the intermediate 1.5/2-mile downforce racetracks from 2005. His consistency in the latter portions of 2006 made him competitive week-in and week-out, eventually finishing 6th in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Standings.

Jeff Gordon attended the awards ceremony at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City for his top-10 finish in the NEXTEL Cup Standings. While there he collected a check for his 2006 winnings of $7,471,447 which brings his career winnings total to $82,838,526.

2007[link]

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Pulling behind the wall in 2007

August 2007 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Gordon started the 2007 Cup season off by winning his Gatorade Duel qualifying race. Due to a rear shock bolt breaking during the race on his car, he failed the post-race inspection which found that the rear of his car was too low and, as a result, had to start 42nd in the 2007 Daytona 500. He went on to finish 10th in the race despite being involved in a crash during a spectacular last-lap finish.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2008[link]

2008 "Dupont" Cup car

2008 "Nicorette" Cup car

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2009[link]

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Jeff Gordon at Texas Motor Speedway.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2010[link]

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

2011[link]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2012[link]

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

Gordon before start of 2012 Kobalt Tools 400

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

Other racing[link]

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Gordon has also participated in some off-road events, including a winning drive with Team USA at the 2002 Race of Champions. He was slated to run it again in 2004 against Formula One Champion Michael Schumacher but was sidelined by the flu, and Casey Mears took his place. In 2005, Gordon competed in the Race of Champions event again, this time held in Paris, France, where he was partnered with famed motocross racer/X Games winner Travis Pastrana. In 2007, Gordon competed in the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona for the first time. He raced the No. 10 Pontiac for Wayne Taylor racing. His teammates consisted of: Max Angelelli, Jan Magnussen, and Wayne Taylor. The team placed third in Gordon's first ever Rolex 24.

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

Career NASCAR statistics[link]

^* Season in progress.

Data as of May 27, 2012.^[30]

Sponsorship and paint[link]

The Rainbow Warriors doing a pit stop in 1997

Jeff Gordon and his team have carried the nickname "The Rainbow Warriors" throughout the years. Jeff has always carried DuPont^[31] 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, and a Superman theme. In 1997, Gordon signed a long-term contract with Pepsi^[31] 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.^[31] 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 No. 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 .

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.^[32] In 2010 reports surfaced that Hendrick Motorsports was in talks with Walmart to be a sponsor for the No. 24 car,^[33] the deal never materialized.^[34] 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.^[35]

Personal life[link]

Gordon with first wife Brooke

Gordon's parents are Carol Ann Bickford (née Houston) and William Grinnell Gordon of Vacaville, California. He has an older sister named Kim.^{[citation needed]}

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.^[36] 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.^[37] 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.^[38][39] On February 4, 2010, Gordon revealed that he and his wife are expecting their second child in August,^[40] and on March 16, 2010, he revealed that the baby is a boy.^[41] Gordon had Scott Pruett ready to step into the 24 at Watkins Glen because his wife was due to give birth the weekend of August 8, 2010.^[42] 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.^[43]

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^[44] and also owns a Lazzara 106 yacht called the 24 Karat. ^[45]

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.^[46]

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.^[47]

Gordon is a Christian. He has talked about how in the early 1990s he got curious and followed some drivers to the weekly chapel one week, which is how he first started to learn more about God.^{[48][49][50][51]}

Career awards[link]

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 because of his outstanding success on the track.

In popular media[link]

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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 was mentioned in Nelly's song E.I. in 2000.^[52]

He provides his voice as Jeff Gorvette, a Chevrolet Corvette C6.R no. No. 24, in Pixar's 2011 animated movie, Cars 2.^[53]

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."

In 2003 he appeared in the movie Looney Tunes: Back in Action in Las Vegas doing a give away contest for his race car before Yosemite Sam steals the car.

Jeff was shown in an episode of The Red Green Show as an example in Handyman's Corner.

He was shown in the 2009 documentary film Racing Dreams.

His car was used as background artwork in the episode of Last Man Standing featuring Tony Stewart. The DuPont logo was edited to avoid copyright issues.

In the King of the Hill episode "Life In The Fast Lane, Bobby's Saga", Jeff Gordon is portrayed less than favorably, screaming "Daddy!" in a nasal tone when his cars spins out and hits a wall, alluding to earlier comments in the episode about how the main cast doesn't care for him because his father pulled strings to get him the car.^[54]

See also[link]

• List of celebrities who own wineries and vineyards

Further reading[link]

• Gordon, Jeff; Steve Eubanks (2005). Jeff Gordon: Racing Back to the Front—My Memoir. Atria. ISBN 0-7434-9977-8. 
• Cothren, Larry (2005). Jeff Gordon: The NASCAR Superstar's Story. Motorbooks. ISBN 0-7603-2178-7. 

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jeff Gordon

• Jefff Godon's Twitter Account
• Official website
• Official team website
• Jeff Gordon at Racing Reference
• Jeff Gordon at NASCAR.com
• Jeff Gordon at the Internet Movie Database
• Jeff Gordon Racing School
• The Jeff Gordon Foundation
• NPR story about Gordon
• Men's Vogue article on Gordon from April 2008 issue