Cecil Gordon

Cecil Gordon (June 21, 1941 – September 19, 2012) was an American stock car racing driver. A competitor in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series between 1968 and 1985, he competed in 449 events without winning a race.

Cecil Gordon
Born	Cecil Owen Gordon (1941-06-21)June 21, 1941 Horse Shoe, North Carolina
Died	September 19, 2012(2012-09-19) (aged 71) Lexington, North Carolina
NASCAR Cup Series career
449 races run over 17 years
Best finish	3rd (1971, 1973)
First race	1968 Pickens 200 (Greenville-Pickens Speedway)
Last race	1985 Miller High Life 400 (Richmond)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 111 0
NASCAR Grand National East Series career
5 races run over 2 years
Best finish	29th (1973)
First race	1972 Greenville 200 (Greenville-Pickens Speedway)
Last race	1973 Tar Heel 200 (Fayetteville)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 4 1

NASCAR

 

Gordon's 1983 Winston Cup car

Career as driver

Gordon drove in the NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series for 17 years and drove in a total of 449 races. He never won and never got a pole, he did not even finish a race on the lead lap, but got 29 top fives and 111 top tens.^[1] He finished third in points in 1971 and 1973.^[1] He completed 112,908 laps and only led 23 of them.^[1] By the end of his career, he had earned $940,000.^[1] His average finish for his entire career was 17.3.^[1] Racing Champions released a replica of 1969 Mercury Cyclone in 1992 and later in 1998 in honor of NASCAR's 50th anniversary.

Career as owner

He started racing in Henley Gray and Bill Seifert cars. He generally raced in his own car beginning in 1970.^[2] He had a few other racers make an occasional start for him.^[2] He raced GM products (mostly Chevrolet vehicles) until the end of 1982 when he crashed out his Buick Regal.^[2] He purchased a Chrysler Imperial at the beginning of 1983 from the defunct Negre Bros. Racing team and managed to qualify for eight races during that season, though he only finished five of them.^[2] His best finish was 15th that year in the Imperial. He also had Jim VanDiver drive the car in two races.^[2] At the end of that year he sold the Imperial to Buddy Arrington. Gordon returned for one more race in 1985 for the family-owned team of Greg Sacks.

Career as crewman

Following the end of his career as a driver and owner, Gordon worked for other racing teams as a crewman, first for Richard Childress Racing, and then later for Travis Carter Enterprises.^[3]

Personal life

Gordon is not related to four-time NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon,^[4] yet, coincidentally, they both drove the 24 car.

Gordon, who was married with four children, Charlene (who died in 2006), Douglas, Stefanie and Jonathon. Gordon died on September 19, 2012 in Lexington, North Carolina.^[3]

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Grand National Series

NASCAR Grand National Series results
Year	Team	No.	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	37	38	39	40	41	42	43	44	45	46	47	48	49	50	51	52	53	54	NGNC	Pts	Ref
1968	Gray Racing	95	Ford	MGR	MGY	RSD	DAY	BRI	RCH	ATL	HCY	GPS	CLB	NWS	MAR	AUG	AWS	DAR	BLV	LGY	CLT	ASH	MGR	SMR	BIR	CAR	GPS 19	DAY	ISP	OXF	FDA	TRN	BRI	SMR	NSV	ATL	CLB	BGS	AWS	SBO	LGY	DAR																55th	-	^[5]
		19																																									HCY 19	RCH 17	BLV 13	HBO 20
	Seifert Racing	47	Ford																																												MAR 38	NWS 27	AUG
		45																																																CLT 28	CAR	JFC 19
1969				MGR 11				DAY 11																																																		10th	3002	^[6]
		47			MGY 9	RSD	DAY		DAY 27	CAR 32	AUG 18	BRI DNQ	ATL 18	CLB 22	HCY 15	GPS 14	RCH 21		MAR 35	AWS 12	DAR 18	BLV 17	LGY 24	CLT 21	MGR 21	SMR 18	MCH 16	KPT 17	GPS 18	NCF 21	DAY 38	DOV 10	TPN 15	TRN 17	BLV 11	BRI 5	NSV 16	SMR 6	ATL 16	MCH 26	SBO 11	BGS 21	AWS 9	DAR 18	HCY 14	RCH 7	TAL DNQ	CLB 9	MAR 13	NWS 15	CLT 19	SVH 19	AUG 11	CAR 14	JFC 12	MGR 7	TWS 11
	Larry Wehrs	00	Chevy									BRI 25
	Wayne Smith	33	Chevy															NWS 17
1970	Gordon Racing	24	Ford	RSD	DAY	DAY 15	DAY 40	RCH 19	CAR 12	SVH 12	ATL 35	BRI 8	TAL 21	NWS 9	CLB 27	DAR 29	BLV 17	LGY 18	CLT 37	SMR 8	MAR 10	MCH 32	RSD	HCY 22	KPT 12	GPS 26	DAY 19	AST 13	TPN 17	TRN 35	BRI 10	SMR 10	NSV 4	ATL 37	CLB 24	ONA 6	MCH 40	TAL 21	BGS 18	SBO 11	DAR 22	HCY	RCH 13	DOV 10		NWS 14	CLT 17	MAR 26	MGR 10	CAR 21	LGY 24							11th	2514	^[7]
		97																																											NCF 5
1971		24		RSD 10				ONT 19	RCH 9																																																	3rd	3677	^[8]
			Mercury		DAY 10	DAY	DAY 17			CAR 13	HCY 11	BRI 14	ATL 17	CLB 11	GPS 12	SMR 9	NWS 10	MAR 7	DAR 15	SBO 5	TAL 13	ASH 3	KPT 4	CLT 17	DOV 28	MCH 19	RSD 3	HOU 6	GPS 9	DAY 17	BRI 4	AST 8	ISP 8	TRN 11	NSV 16	ATL 12	BGS 24	ONA 5	MCH 6	TAL 38	CLB 13	HCY 12	DAR 9	MAR 12	CLT 15	DOV 11	CAR 11	MGR	RCH 9	NWS 9	TWS 7

Winston Cup Series

NASCAR Winston Cup Series results
Year	Team	No.	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	NWCC	Pts	Ref
1972	Gordon Racing	24	Mercury	RSD 10	DAY 39	RCH 9	ONT 36		ATL 17	BRI 5	DAR 10	NWS 18	MAR 4	TAL 14	CLT 8	DOV 8	MCH 11	RSD 8	TWS 15	DAY 11	BRI 8	TRN 5	ATL 9	TAL 43	MCH 15	NSV 6	DAR 28	RCH 20	DOV 5	MAR 10	NWS 7	CLT 17	CAR 20	TWS 8	4th	7326.05	^[9]
			Ford					CAR 26
1973			Chevy	RSD 20	DAY 21	RCH 8	CAR 22	BRI 29	ATL 8	NWS 5	DAR 21	MAR 5	TAL 5	NSV 4	CLT 8	DOV 5	TWS 5	RSD 5	MCH 8	DAY 13	BRI 3	ATL 24	TAL 8	NSV 8	DAR 11	RCH 7	DOV 27	NWS 9	MAR 7	CLT 9	CAR 11				3rd	7046.8	^[10]
1974				RSD 8	DAY 13	RCH 11	CAR 29	BRI 6	ATL 34	DAR 11	NWS 11	MAR 15	TAL 21	NSV 25	DOV 27	CLT 28	RSD 4	MCH 10	DAY 10	BRI 6	NSV 20	ATL 10	POC 7	TAL 15	MCH 12	DAR 19	RCH 9	DOV 7	NWS 27	MAR 26	CLT 15	CAR 21	ONT 29		9th	1000.65	^[11]
1975				RSD 3	DAY 15	RCH 7	CAR 20	BRI 4	ATL 8	NWS 9	DAR 21	MAR 23	TAL 21	NSV 5	DOV 2	CLT 37	RSD 18	MCH 33	DAY 29	NSV 5	POC 10	TAL 10	MCH 13	DAR 6	DOV 29	NWS 16	MAR 9	CLT 5	RCH 4	CAR 30	BRI 8	ATL 9	ONT 19		6th	3702	^[12]
1976				RSD 23	DAY 18	CAR 34	RCH 7	BRI 28	ATL 16	NWS 12	DAR 11	MAR 10	TAL 6	NSV 14	DOV 36		RSD 12	MCH 10	DAY 34		POC 6	TAL 29	MCH 26	BRI 21	DAR 12	RCH 13	DOV 35	MAR 15	NWS 13	CLT 28	CAR 15	ATL 23	ONT 16		15th	3247	^[13]
	Gray Racing	19	Chevy													CLT 20
	Dalton Racing	7	Chevy																	NSV 15
1977	Gordon Racing	24	Chevy	RSD 11	DAY 17	RCH 13	CAR 10	ATL 16	NWS 13	DAR 12	BRI 17	MAR 13	TAL 16	NSV 13	DOV 12	CLT 22	RSD 9	MCH 21	DAY 11	NSV 20	POC 21	TAL 16	MCH 19	BRI 29	DAR 19	RCH 17	DOV 21	MAR 18	NWS 15	CLT 37	CAR 23	ATL 20	ONT 32		10th	3294	^[14]
1978				RSD 25	DAY 21	RCH 17	CAR 22	ATL 17	BRI 18	DAR 33	NWS 17	MAR 9	TAL 25	DOV 25	CLT	NSV 19	RSD 12	MCH 17	DAY 32	NSV 19	POC 40	TAL	MCH 17	BRI 13	DAR	RCH 17	DOV 14	MAR 30			CAR 15	ATL 18	ONT 15		19th	2641	^[15]
	Hollar Racing	29	Chevy																										NWS 26	CLT
1979	Gordon Racing	24	Olds	RSD 25	DAY DNQ	CAR 11	RCH 25	ATL 23	NWS 22	BRI 15	DAR 31	MAR 17	TAL 11	NSV	DOV 23	CLT 17	TWS 21	RSD 11	MCH	DAY 35	NSV 11	POC 18	TAL 40	MCH 18	BRI 22	DAR 26	RCH 18	DOV 20	MAR 24			CAR 13	ATL 38	ONT 24	19th	2737	^[16]
	Gray Racing	19	Chevy																											CLT 32	NWS 18
1980	Gordon Racing	24	Olds	RSD	DAY 21	RCH 8	CAR 33	ATL 24	BRI 22			MAR 17	TAL 23	NSV 19	DOV 9	CLT 37	TWS 14	RSD 10	MCH 20	DAY 29		POC 16	TAL 23	MCH 21	BRI 19	DAR 19	RCH 18	DOV 15	NWS 14	MAR 13	CLT 24	CAR 15	ATL DNQ	ONT 17	15th	2993	^[17]
	Negre Racing	82	Chrysler							DAR 34	NWS
	Oswald Racing	09	Buick																		NSV 21
	Gray Racing	19	Chevy																														ATL 25
1981	Gordon Racing	24	Olds	RSD 36																															23rd	2320	^[18]
			Buick		DAY 37	RCH 19	CAR 23	ATL 37	BRI 21		DAR 21	MAR 24	TAL 15		DOV 15	CLT	TWS 18	RSD 13		DAY 25		POC 21	TAL 17	MCH 24								CAR 15	ATL	RSD
	Jimmy Means Racing	53	Buick							NWS 31
	Gordon Racing	24	Pontiac											NSV 19
	Gray Racing	19	Buick																MCH 27
	Wawak Racing	94	Buick																		NSV 29
	Ulrich Racing	40	Buick																						BRI 30	DAR	RCH 23			NWS 19	CLT
	Newsom Racing	20	Chevy																									DOV 26	MAR
1982	Gordon Racing	24	Buick	DAY	RCH	BRI DNQ	ATL	CAR	DAR	NWS	MAR	TAL	NSV	DOV	CLT	POC	RSD	MCH	DAY	NSV	POC 14	TAL	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV 16	NWS 18	CLT	MAR	CAR	ATL DNQ	RSD 17		82nd	-	^[19]
1983			Chrysler	DAY	RCH DNQ	CAR	ATL	DAR	NWS DNQ	MAR	TAL 16	NSV	DOV 21	BRI	CLT	RSD	POC 23	MCH	DAY 22	NSV	POC 23	TAL 33	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV 15	MAR	NWS	CLT	CAR	ATL	RSD		40th	649	^[20]
1985	Sacks & Sons	51	Chevy	DAY	RCH 30	CAR	ATL	BRI	DAR	NWS	MAR	TAL	DOV	CLT	RSD	POC	MCH	DAY	POC	TAL	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	MAR	NWS	CLT	CAR	ATL	RSD				NA	0	^[21]

Daytona 500

Year	Team	Manufacturer	Start	Finish
1969	Seifert Racing	Ford	34	27
1970	Gordon Racing	Ford	30	40
1971		Mercury	19	17
1972			11	39
1973		Chevrolet	31	21
1974			32	13
1975			15	15
1976			17	18
1977			41	17
1978			41	21
1979		Oldsmobile	DNQ
1980			19	21
1981		Buick	42	37

References

1. Cecil Gordon's Driver's Statistics at racing-reference.info
2. Cecil Gordon's Owner's Statistics at racing-reference.info
3. "Cecil O. Gordon, 71". Times-News. Hendersonville, NC. Retrieved 2012-09-20.
4. "Your Turn: Letters from our readers". Portsmouth Daily Times. Portsmouth, OH. July 9, 1999. p. B4. Retrieved 2012-09-20.
5. "Cecil Gordon – 1968 NASCAR Grand National Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
6. "Cecil Gordon – 1969 NASCAR Grand National Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
7. "Cecil Gordon – 1970 NASCAR Grand National Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
8. "Cecil Gordon – 1971 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
9. "Cecil Gordon – 1972 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
10. "Cecil Gordon – 1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
11. "Cecil Gordon – 1974 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
12. "Cecil Gordon – 1975 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
13. "Cecil Gordon – 1976 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
14. "Cecil Gordon – 1977 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
15. "Cecil Gordon – 1978 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
16. "Cecil Gordon – 1979 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
17. "Cecil Gordon – 1980 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
18. "Cecil Gordon – 1981 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
19. "Cecil Gordon – 1982 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
20. "Cecil Gordon – 1983 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
21. "Cecil Gordon – 1985 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 19, 2017.

External links

• Cecil Gordon driver statistics at Racing-Reference