When Gordon was four years old, his stepfather gave him a BMX bike that he rode at a track near his home. At age five, Gordon began competing in Quarter Midget racing locally. He won 35 main events, set five track records, and earned a local championship by age six. In 1979, Gordon began racing quarter midgets nationally; that year he won 52 main events and set eight track records. At age nine, Gordon began competing in kart racing, and by age twelve, he had won over 200 races in Quarter Midgets and go-karts. Gordon briefly attempted waterskiing before returning to racing.
At age thirteen, Gordon became interested in sprint car racing, and he competed in his first sprint car events in Florida. Under California law, the minimum age to drive a sprint car was 16. In 1986, with Gordon's family supporting his career choice, he moved from Vallejo to Pittsboro, Indiana. At age sixteen, Gordon became the youngest driver ever awarded a USAC license. He was named the 1989 USAC National Midget Series Rookie of the Year, and captured the series championship in 1990. In 1991, Gordon won the USAC Silver Crown Series championship; at age twenty he was the youngest driver to do so.
Gordon was born on August 4, 1971, at KaiserHospital in Vallejo, California, and named Jeffery Michael Gordon.[7][8][9][10] He is the son of Caroline and William G. Gordon II.[9][10] He is the couple's second child;[9][10] they have a daughter, Kimberly "Kim" Coykendall,[8][11] who is older than Jeff by four years.[12] Gordon is of Scotch-Irish descent.[13] At the time of his birth, Gordon's family lived at 208 Westwood Street.[9]
Gordon's mother and biological father separated when he was a few months old.[N 2] In January 1972, Carol was hired to work in the billing department for a medical supply company called Robin-Aids.[15][10] As a single mother, Carol worked to support her two children.[16][10] Through her job, Carol met John Bickford, who worked for the company as a designer.[17][18][10] Bickford, who was involved in racing as a car builder and parts supplier,[14] was divorced from a woman named Rosie and had a son together,[15] John Jr.[19] When Bickford met Carol, he was due to be married again, but his second marriage was annulled after just four months.[15] Bickford moved on and asked Carol out on a date to an auto race during Labor Day weekend.[20][10] Carol brought her two children to the event at Vallejo Speedway, marking Jeff's first trip to a race track at a year old.[21][18][22][10] Carol and John were married in May 1973.[8][23] The family resided at 534 Brooke Drive in Vallejo.[24]
When Gordon was four years old, Billy gave his son a secondhandbicycle.[25] John challenged his stepson to attempt to learn how to ride the bicycle without training wheels.[26] Within a day, Gordon learned how to ride with help from Carol.[26] He then asked John to take him to a track used for BMX racing in their neighborhood.[26] Before letting his stepson compete, John bought a new bike and customized the frame to fit Jeff's body.[21][26] The BMX bike was given to Gordon for his birthday.[26] He began to practice with John at the track,[26] and later competed in sanctioned racing there.[14][27] Gordon earned a third-place trophy in his first race.[26] He advanced to the 1976 state championships, in which he finished fourth overall.[26][10] At age five, Gordon was competing against children older and bigger than him.[8][26][28] When one of Gordon's competitors broke an arm in a crash,[29] Carol successfully convinced John to make Jeff quit racing bicycles after just a few months,[10] due to the number of injuries and concussions in the sport.[30]
John purchased two Quarter Midget cars from Paul Stornetta of Napa, California for US$450 ($2,428 in 2023 dollars),[22][31] and brought them home to Gordon's surprise.[21][12] Although Carol was not pleased at first, John convinced her that Quarter Midgets are safer, and she later drove with her son on a makeshift track John created at the Solano County Fairgrounds.[21][12][30][32][24][33] Gordon's first car, which was black,[22] was known as the "fuzz car."[34] In this car, Gordon ran over an estimated 2,000 laps around a flat surface at the fairgrounds.[33][35] Gordon's stepfather and mother then took him to the Cracker Jack Track (now known as the Roy Hayer Memorial Speedway) in Rio Linda, California to learn.[24] While Gordon was in kindergarten, he practiced after school up to three days a week, logging laps in while competing against a stopwatch John used.[8][30] Gordon was licensed to race by track official Tom Van Inwagen,[24] earning his first racing license in April 1977 at five years old.[35] Gordon made his first competitive laps at the Cracker Jack Track.[24] In one of his first attempts at the track, Gordon flipped the car in turn two and snapped the rear axle.[35][36] It took John an hour to repair the car for Gordon, who crashed it twice more in the same spot.[35] After another repair, Gordon posted the fastest time out of the eight children competing.[35] A month later, Gordon earned his first trophy with a four-place finish.[35] In July, Gordon won the 1977 Western States Novice championship at Baylands Quarter Midget Track in Sunnyvale, California,[37] and the "fuzz car" was retired after just a few months in competition.[35] By age six, Gordon had won 35 main events and set five track records.[37][38][10] It was around this time when Gordon's stepfather was accused of using illegal parts and rigging a hot car to gain a competitive advantage.[38][39] Bickford often sold Jeff's cars to his competitors in response, later building similar vehicles which Gordon would drive to victory.[40] Early in his career, Gordon was featured in segments on Kids Are People Too and PM Magazine, and was the subject of an episode for a series titled Super Kids.[38][10] He was featured in Vallejo Times Herald in 1978, at age six.[41]
In 1979, Gordon began competing in Quarter Midgets nationally, racing every week.[39] He won his first Grand National championship in Denver, Colorado;[42][10] scored 52 victories and set eight track records;[39][43][10] and won the Pacific Northwest Indoor championships.[44] In 1980, Gordon posted the fastest time in all fifty races he entered and scored 46 victories.[43] Gordon finished second in the 1981 Grand National championship held in Oklahoma.[43]
When Gordon was nine years old, he began competing in kart racing.[14] In his first race in a go-kart, Gordon scored a victory in a major International Kart Federation event.[14] Gordon won all 25 races he entered in his first year of karting competition,[37] and won all 12 races he entered in his second year.[44] Between 1981 and 1982, Gordon won three California State Monza Championships;[44] he also won his second Grand National championship in Sunnyvale during the latter year.[42] By the age of twelve, Gordon had won over two hundred races in Quarter Midgets and go-karts.[37][45][8]
As Gordon was about to reach adolescence, he "got bored" of racing regularly.[45] With support from his parents, Gordon began practicing waterskiing at age twelve.[48][10] Gordon's stepfather enrolled him in professional ski schools,[48] and by age thirteen, coaches from California State University, Sacramento scouted him.[32] Gordon learned how to slalom but struggled with jumping.[49] Although Gordon had fun with waterskiing, he believed he wasn't tall enough to be competitive.[49]
Between 1983 and 1984, Gordon competed in limited races as he was searching for a transition in his career.[59] He attended his first Indianapolis 500 as a spectator in 1983 and met his favorite driver, Rick Mears.[60] Gordon also became interested in sprint car racing and attended local events, rooting for Steve Kinser.[59][61] Gordon aspired to become a sprint car driver after reading a story about a young driver named Sport Allen.[62][14][59][10][61]
In October 1984, Gordon competed in an event in Indianapolis, where he won both races.[59][10] Following the event, John introduced Jeff to Lee Osborne, a former driver who operated a business in Jamestown, Indiana building sprint cars.[59][63][10] John was interested in buying a used motor and a sprint car chassis for Jeff.[63][10] Osborne assumed John was in the market for himself, not Gordon.[59][63][10] When John revealed his intentions for his stepson, Osborne initially refused to build a sprint car for Gordon.[59][64][10] Despite receiving a rundown of Gordon's past racing success, Osborne still wasn't convinced that the thirteen-year-old Gordon could handle a sprint car.[59][65] After heading back home in California, John continued to talk to Osborne by phone, later successfully convincing him after weeks of discussions.[59][66][10] By the end of November, a new Osborne sprint chassis arrived at Gordon's home.[59][10][61] John and Jeff worked on the sprint car for months.[59][67][10][61] When it was complete, the car was loaded onto a trailer to Dixon, California,[68] where Gordon first attempted to start the car on a gravel road.[67][10]
In February 1985, Gordon traveled to Florida to compete in Speedweek, a series of racing events sanctioned by the All Star Circuit of Champions.[69][70][10][61] Speedweek consisted of five nights of racing on two tracks: Jax Raceway in Jacksonville and East Bay Raceway in Tampa.[71][72][61] Unlike in California, Florida had no age requirement for sprint car racing.[71][72] Despite this, upon Gordon's arrival in Jacksonville, there was buzz among the racers and fans regarding Gordon's age and physical appearance.[73][74] The owner of the Jax Raceway attempted to prevent Gordon from competing at the track.[75] Series official Bert Emrick also voiced concern to John over letting Gordon compete in the races.[76]
In Jacksonville, Gordon recorded his first laps in a sprint car during a practice session.[77] These "hot laps" proved to be difficult for Gordon, who started off slowly in a field of fast drivers.[75][78] When the car finally took off, Gordon lost control while making a turn, shooting the back end around and hitting the wall with the right rear tire.[75][79] Gordon confronted his stepfather in the pits, believing he was not prepared and capable of racing the faster sprint cars.[75][79] The features in Jacksonville were cancelled due to rain, which allowed Gordon to calm down for the night and turn his attention to the next four races in Tampa.[75][79] At East Bay, Gordon was again faced with disapproval from Emrick, who had allowed Gordon to compete in the hot laps at Jax.[80] John convinced Emrick to allow Gordon to race if he started in the back,[80][61] a move that required a liability waiver.[81] Bickford made it to clear to Jeff that they were not competing to try to win,[61] but "we were there for the experience, for the laps."[80] By the third night in Tampa, Gordon was running competitive lap times.[80][82] On the final night, Gordon qualified for the C main event; he started sixth and finished second in a field of twelve drivers.[83] With that performance, he advanced to the B main event, where he started sixteenth in a field of twenty-two drivers; he moved up to the top ten but briefly pulled off the track after dirt from the track wedged into his helmet, resulting in a seventeenth-place finish.[83] Gordon qualified eighteenth in a field of fifty-four for the overall event.[82] This earned Gordon his first racing purse from a professional series, which was worth a little over $300 ($856 in 2023 dollars).[82][84] Following his performance in Florida that week, Gordon was featured on ESPN's SpeedWeek.[82][83]
Gordon returned to Florida for the 1986 Speedweek, this time without opposition from series officials.[85] He improved on his results from the previous year, advancing to the A main event in four of five races and finishing in the top twenty each time.[85] At the final race in Tampa, Gordon started near the front and took the lead from Rick Ferkel four laps into the event.[86][87] Later trailing Gordon in second was Steve Kinser.[88] They traded the lead before Kinser overtook Gordon in the final laps.[87][88] Kinser drove to victory, while Bobby Davis and Keith Kauffman also finished ahead of Gordon,[87] who ended up in fourth.[88] Afterwards, Kinser found Gordon in the garage area and shook hands, telling him "you're going to be a good one."[88]
Limited opportunities in Californiaedit
In March 1985, Gordon was allowed to practice in a sprint car at Kings Speedway, a track located in Hanford, California.[89][90][61] Despite impressing veteran drivers and receiving an invitation to return to Hanford, Gordon continued to face challenges looking for sprint car opportunities statewide.[89] When Cary Agajanian, a Los Angeles attorney and son of the late racing figure J. C. Agajanian, refused to let Gordon compete at Ascot Park due to legal matters, other local racing promoters took notice and banned Gordon as well.[91][61] However, Agajanian helped Gordon by drafting a document that would give him partial emancipation,[61] thus allowing Gordon to sign liability waivers from tracks in other various areas.[92] Agajanian is commonly viewed as being responsible for Gordon's exit from California.[93][94]
Following the conclusion of the school year, Gordon and his stepfather hit the road with the sprint car and traveled throughout the Midwestern United States, participating in racing events each week during the summer of 1985.[95][61] They lived in an apartment in Findlay, Ohio during this time.[96][97][92] Gordon was introduced to tracks such as Millstream Speedway in Findlay;[92][61] KC Raceway in Chillicothe, Ohio;[92][98] and Bloomington Speedway in Bloomington, Indiana.[98][61] He earned his first sprint car victory in a heat race at Millstream.[99] Gordon primarily raced on the All Star circuit, in which he competed in twenty-two races and advanced to twelve A main events in his first season.[98] Beginning in September 1985, John and Carol worked for extra money to give Jeff an opportunity to race and relocate in the Midwest.[100] Gordon earned his first main event victory in a sprint car at KC Raceway in 1986.[101][102]
In June 1986, Gordon formally moved from his birthplace of Vallejo to Pittsboro, Indiana.[8][103][61] Prior to that, Gordon's mother traveled alone to Pittsboro in search of a home for the family to live in,[100] while he and his stepfather were racing.[85] After Carol picked out a house and signed the contract,[85][61] she stayed in Indiana until Jeff and John arrived to see the property for the first time, giving their sprint car a new base.[100] Carol briefly remained in California to run the medical supply business, which she and John eventually sold part of,[104] along with the family house in Vallejo.[85] John built a shop behind the new house in Pittsboro, which he used to make and sell sprint car parts.[104] Jeff earned money on the side by fabricating sprint car parts for Shirley Kear.[105] By this time, Gordon's race earnings became the family's primary source of income.[8][104]
The decision to move had been made the previous year, after Gordon began racing in the Midwest.[100][61] It had no effect on Gordon's sister Kimberly, who graduated from high school in the spring and began attending San Diego State University in the fall of 1985.[100][106] The move occurred just before Gordon transferred from middle school to high school.[106] Both Carol and John were concerned about the crowd Gordon associated with in California,[106] and Kimberly had suggested them to pull Jeff out of his school.[100] The move to Pittsboro allowed Gordon to attend Tri-West Hendricks High School in nearby Lizton, Indiana.[107][102][108] While Jeff was a student at Tri-West Hendricks High, he was taught driver's education by teacher Larry Sparks, who Gordon remembered as "one of my biggest fans" following Sparks' sudden death in a 2014 road accident at the age of 78.[109][110][111]
Gordon's former home in Pittsboro, which is a brick ranch located just down County Road 100, is now owned by Michael and Sherry Lang.[97][112] Before purchasing the house, Michael Lang was a racer and competed against Gordon.[97] The Langs own Fluid Transfer Products, a company based out of the race shop previously used by John Bickford.[97]
In November 1986, John and Carol launched a successful campaign urging for donations to allow Jeff to race inAustralia.[113] In February 1987, Gordon traveled to Perth, Western Australia to compete in the inaugural World Sprint Car Championship at Claremont Speedway.[113][61] The three-day event was held from February 5 to 7.[114] The 15-year-old Gordon was the youngest driver and one of eleven Americans in the field.[115] Garry Rush won the main event, while Gordon came in 12th.[116]
In December 1988, Kiwi car owner John Rae of Taranaki invited Gordon to compete in a series of races inNew Zealand.[117] Rae watched Gordon race in Perth the previous year and followed his progress in the United States.[118] Gordon participated in fifteen races during a two-week stretch, winning fourteen of them.[108][118] He competed on tracks such as Western Springs.[119][120]
Major national sanctioned racingedit
In July 1987, Gordon drove the No. 20 car for Bob Trostle at Knoxville Raceway.[121][122] Also that summer, Gordon earned a three-race deal from car owner Gary Stanton,[123] whose No. 40 machine scored a victory in the fourth annual King's Royal at Eldora Speedway with driver Jac Haudenschild.[124] In this ride, Gordon competed in the Knoxville Nationals.[125][61] This partnership did not last long but the two remained in touch.[126]
Gordon became street legal when he earned his driver's license in Indiana.[104] Now age sixteen,[118] Gordon was eyeing to make a name for himself in races sanctioned by the United States Auto Club and the World of Outlaws.[104] He became the youngest driver to earn a USAC license.[127][128][129] Gordon made his USAC debut at Eldora on March 17, 1988, finishing 20th.[129] He applied to join the speedway's Big "E" Club a month later.[130]
Gordon spent most of the 1988 season driving the No. 6 for owner Terry Winterbotham.[131] In their first race together, Gordon broke the track record and earned a victory in the main event.[118] The season concluded with Gordon winning thirteen races and three track championships in Ohio.[118]
On the night of May 13, 1989, shortly after graduating from Tri-West High, Gordon traveled to Bloomington to race, only changing his uniform after arriving at the speedway.[58] On May 20, Gordon earned his first USAC victory in a sprint car at Florence Speedway in Union, Kentucky.[129]
Thursday/Saturday Night Thunder, Night Before the 500 triumphs, and USAC championshipsedit
Gordon discovered midget car racing through Thursday Night Thunder, a television program that premiered on ESPN in 1988.[132][61] At the time, he was primarily competing on dirt tracks in winged sprint car racing, which did not have a national television broadcast.[132] Gordon and his stepfather began attending midget races in hopes that they could find somebody in the community who was willing to give them an opportunity in midget racing.[132]
Gordon made his debut in a midget car at the running of the 1989 Night Before the 500 at Indianapolis Raceway Park on May 27, driving for businessman and car owner Rollie Helmling of Vincennes, Indiana.[123][133] Earlier that month, Gordon had met Helmling briefly at the season opener held at Louisville Motor Speedway in Louisville, Kentucky.[133][121] In the May 1 event at Louisville, Helmling's driver crashed in turn one after the checkered flag.[134] With three weeks left before the 500 at IRP, Helmling had to search for a new car and driver.[121] Helmling purchased the car from builder Bob East, who in turn recommended the 17-year-old Gordon for the ride.[121] Gordon and Helmling had a nice exchange over the phone, and arranged a meeting at East's shop a couple days later.[121] Though skeptical, Helmling decided to give Gordon the opportunity.[121] Sixty one drivers attempted to qualify for the prestigious event.[132] Gordon, primarily a dirt track sprint car racer, conquered the asphalt by putting his midget on the pole, setting a track record.[132] Despite posting the fastest time, Gordon started 12th due to an inverting of the twelve fastest vehicles.[58] Gordon quickly worked his way up and drove away to a surprise victory in the biggest race yet of his young career.[123][58][135] The race, which was aired live on television, earned Gordon attention from a national audience.[123][121][58][61] A year later, he earned his second consecutive victory in the 1990 Night Before the 500.[136]
Following their win in the 1989 Night Before the 500, Gordon and Helmling agreed to a partnership that would see Jeff compete in more Thunder races.[58] He continued to race locally for Terry Winterbotham until he earned an offer from Stan Shoff to compete in major events behind the wheel of the No. 23 McBride & Shoff Motorsports car.[137][58] Gordon scored two victories in the All Star Circuit of Champions that year,[129] including his first major feature at Sandusky Speedway.[104] He qualified for the main event at the 1989 Knoxville Nationals,[58] finishing 23rd.[87][138] However, Gordon also tore up much of Shoff's equipment.[139][140] After wrecking two cars in two nights at Peoria Speedway in Peoria, Illinois, Gordon was replaced with driver Frankie Kerr.[141] Shoff's dismissal of Gordon marked the only time Jeff was ever fired by a team owner.[137][58] Gordon ended 1989 on a high note, earning the USAC National Midget Series Rookie of the Year award at age eighteen.[142][61] By the end of the decade, Gordon was one of the most popular drivers on the Thunder circuit.[142] Under Helmling, Gordon secured sponsorships from RC Cola and later Diet Pepsi.[143] This marked the first time Gordon participated in a promotionalphoto shoot.[143]
He established a rivalry with fellow racer Rich Vogler,[144] which tragically ended on July 21, 1990, when Vogler died from massive head injuries sustained in a crash on the final lap of a sprint car event at Salem Speedway.[145][146] Vogler, who was leading Gordon at the time of the crash, was declared the race winner, as USAC rules stated that the leader of the last green-flag lap before a race-ending red flag be credited with the victory.[147][148][146]
On August 4, 1990— his 19th birthday, Gordon earned a victory in the prestigious Belleville Midget Nationals.[149] Hemling considered the win to be Gordon's "most dynamic" performance in a midget.[146] By the end of 1990, Gordon had dominated in the USAC National Midget Series, as he captured nine wins en route to the series championship, the youngest driver to do so.[150][143][136][61] Gordon won a combined 15 midget races for Helmling between the National and Western States Series.[143] In 1991, Gordon drove the No. 4 car for California-based car owner Fred Ede in the USAC Silver Crown Series.[151] He scored two victories at Phoenix International Raceway and Indiana Fairgrounds, which was enough to capture the series championship, the youngest driver to do so.[152][151][153] Gordon was the runner-up in the 1991 Night Before the 500.[151] He earned his final midget win in the 4-Crown Nationals at Eldora Speedway in September 1991.[154][155]
At the beginning of the new decade, Gordon was thinking about the next chapter of his still-young racing career.[150][143][172] He aspired a career in open-wheel racing,[107][8][61] particularly with an American organization such as Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART).[150][173] He considered Indy Lights and Formula Three, the latter of which Jackie Stewart attempted to help Gordon pursue with the possibility of moving up to Formula One.[136] Neither offered Gordon assurance, however, and in the case of Formula racing, he felt the switch would force him to move to Europe and would need to learn multiplelanguages, commitments Gordon found unappealing at the time.[136][173] He ultimately realized that the open-wheel industry was changing,[61] as car owners began to prioritize foreign drivers who brought in big money and sponsorships,[150][172] which resulted in young and unknown drivers with less money like Gordon being passed over.[173][136]
Gordon had an opportunity from car owner Cal Wells to drive a Toyota truck for a Stadium Truck series.[174] Gordon flew to California for a test session, in which the truck rolled over three times.[174] The incident shattered Gordon's confidence to pursue a stadium truck career, and despite calls from Wells to continue to try out, this did not result in a mutual agreement for a permanent ride.[174]
At this point in Gordon's life, stock car racing emerged as a realistic possibility.[150][174][136] During a visit to the Grand Prix of Cleveland, where Jeff attempted to shop himself to Indy teams, he earned chance meetings with Al Unser Jr. and A. J. Foyt, who both recommended NASCAR to Gordon.[136]
"He came to my father's driving school. (After one) night, he called his mom, and said, 'Mom, I've made up my mind what I want to do with the rest of my life.' He wanted Winston Cupcars. As far as Indy racing goes, that was a kick in the pants for them. Because stars like him don't come along that often."
Buddy Baker, recalling Gordon's visit to Buck Baker Racing School.[175]
"I don't know if I'd be where I am if it wasn't for Buck and his racing school."
The driving program marked Gordon's first laps in a stock car and on a track with high banking.[181][178] Aside from the cars having manual transmissions, Gordon's lone concern was that Baker would not let him go faster than he wanted.[179] By the first day, Gordon was hooked, and at age nineteen, he knew he wanted to do stock car racing for a living.[182][183][8][178][179] On the second day of the program, Baker introduced Gordon to Hugh Connerty, a property developer and a son-in-law of Cup team owner Leo Jackson.[184][185][179][186][187][172] A wealthy businessman and aspiring racer himself,[172] Connerty owned several Hooters, Longhorn Steakhouse, and Outback Steakhouse restaurants; and also owned the cars used at the driving school.[186][184][179][187]Benny Parsons, a former Winston Cup Series champion and ESPN broadcaster, was aware of his network's intentions to film Gordon's session and knew Connerty was a regular at the track, so he called Jackson and made the suggestion that Connerty put Gordon behind the wheel of his car.[187] Baker worked out a deal with Connerty to let Gordon run some laps in the car built for the NASCAR Busch Grand National Series.[184][179][187][172] Gordon not only ran the best laps run that week, but he also bested every lap that Connerty himself ran in the car.[184][179][187] Connerty then offered Gordon a limited-race deal to compete in the Busch Grand National Series late in the 1990 season.[188][178][179][186][187] On the third and final day of the program, Gordon successfully convinced his mother to ride with him on the track for a few laps as one of the cars had a passenger seat installed; Jeff reached the car up to 150 miles per hour (240 km/h) with Carol riding along.[189]
NASCAR Busch Grand National Seriesedit
This section is about Gordon's first stint in the series from 1990 to 1992. For details about his second stint from 1999 to 2000, see JG Motorsports.
Connerty was able to put together a three-race deal for Gordon,[187] with sponsorship from Outback Steakhouse.[185][172] While putting the team together, Connerty and Jackson sought assistance from Andy Petree, who was the Winston Cup crew chief for Harry Gant at the time.[185][178][190][191][192][172] As Petree himself was too busy to prepare the Busch Series car, he enlisted help from Phil Barkdoll and his son Steve to prepare the car for Gordon.[190][191][192] Still in need of a crew chief for Gordon, Petree made a phone call to his friend Ray Evernham to offer him an opportunity to meet Jeff for a September test session at Charlotte Motor Speedway.[185][178][192][172] Evernham arranged a visit with Jeff and Carol at a hotel in Hendersonville, North Carolina.[192][172] Evernham was amused by Gordon's small height, as he thought Jeff looked about thirteen to fifteen years old; and for the briefcase the young driver brought with him, which contained a cell phone, Game Boy, stock-car magazine, gum and peanuts.[193][8][178][192] Gordon instantly felt he and Evernham had chemistry.[193][192][172] They celebrated the beginning of their partnership by going to Hooters.[194] The following day, they rolled the No. 67 Outback Steakhouse Pontiac out for their first laps together at the Charlotte test session.[178][194] An open-practice day, the test session included notable competitors such as Davey Allison and eventual Busch Grand National Series championChuck Bown.[194] Gordon started off slow, so Evernham asked Bown if he could get into Jeff's car to see whether the car itself was slow or if it was the driver.[194] Bown agreed to help and outran Gordon's initial laps, which proved the car was fast.[194] When Gordon realized the car was capable of going faster than he expected, he went ahead and outran Bown's laps; Jeff ultimately continued to improve throughout the day and was second fastest overall, just behind Allison.[194] As impressed as Evernham was with Gordon's laps, he was even more impressed by Jeff's feedback.[194] Gordon felt that his partnership with Evernham reminded him of that of his stepfather.[193][194] Gordon's stint in the Busch Grand National Series marked the first time in his fifteen years of racing he did not have any input or hands-on assistance from Bickford.[195]
Three-race deal for Hugh Connertyedit
Gordon planned to make his debut in the All Pro 300 at Charlotte on October 6.[190][191][196][195]Qualifying was rained out, and the starting positions were awarded based on drivers' points standings.[190][191][195][187] Gordon still had a chance to qualify via a hooligan's race— a last chance event for drivers at the bottom of the points to make their way into the main event.[190][195][187] Despite running well, Gordon was tapped by Randy Baker—Buck's son and ironically Gordon's instructor at Buck's driving school—and hit the wall.[190][195][187] Therefore, Gordon did not qualify (DNQ) in his first attempt.[197][190][191][196][195][187][172]
Gordon's final attempt of 1990 came in the season finale— the Winston Classic at Martinsville Speedway— on October 28.[191][196][199][172] Gordon was third quickest in practice but rain washed out qualifying, just like it did at Charlotte, and as Gordon was not locked in on points he had to run a hooligan's race to make one last attempt into the main event.[190][199] Ultimately a broken crankshaft resulted in his second DNQ in three attempts.[202][198][190][191][196][199][172] Gordon ended the season 115th in the standings; the season featured 117 drivers who made at least one start.[203]
Split with Connerty and introduction to Bill Davisedit
Connerty was unable to put a deal together for Gordon to race in the upcoming 1991 season, citing the Gulf War and an uncertain economic future.[198][204][199][172] Gordon remained grateful for the partnership, which he remembered as an "opportunity of a lifetime" in his 2003 memoirRacing Back to the Front.[198] The 1990 season also marked his introduction to Ray Evernham—a man who would later play a central role in Gordon's NASCAR career—but for now the two would part ways, as Evernham returned to his home in New Jersey.[198][199][172] Gordon returned to Indiana and continued to race midgets and sprints during NASCAR's off-season.[199]
Lee Morse, the head of Ford Motor Company's racing division, was aware of Gordon through his Thunder races and witnessed his second-place qualifying run at Rockingham.[199] Morse agreed to meet with Gordon at the end of the season in Dearborn, Michigan, where they sat in Michael Kranefuss' office and watched a videotape Larry Nuber made highlighting Jeff's fifteen-year career in racing.[199] Morse was impressed with the videotape, but had nothing to offer Jeff at the time.[199] It was not much longer when Morse learned of a driver vacancy for the No. 1 Carolina Ford Dealers car owned by Bill Davis.[199][172]Mark Martin, who drove the No. 1 for Davis, decided to leave the operation to run his own program.[204][199][172] Morse made a call to Gordon to let him know about the opportunity, and he convinced Davis to arrange a meeting with Gordon.[204][191][205]
On December 4, Gordon participated in a Goodyear tire test session for Davis at Rockingham, which featured Martin and one other driver; Gordon was the quickest out of the three.[206][191][205] He also drove for Davis in a December 16 test session at Daytona International Speedway.[191] In the December 9 edition of The Indianapolis Star, Curt Cavin reported that Gordon was prepared to sign a contract for Davis.[206] Davis and his wife Gail flew to Indianapolis, where they met with Carol and John at the airport.[204] They settled in at Frank & Mary's Tavern, a well-known catfish restaurant in Pittsboro, to discuss a Busch Grand National contract for Gordon.[207][205] They agreed to an unconventional deal where Gordon would not make a salary, but rather he would receive half of the car's earnings.[207][205] Gordon signed a one-year contract to drive for Davis in 1991—a deal which guaranteed at least fifteen races, enough to compete for NASCAR Rookie of the Year.[208][205][172] Connerty formally signed Gordon over to Davis at an Outback Steakhouse restaurant in Jacksonville.[191] Keith Simmons would serve as the crew chief under Gordon.[191] At age nineteen, a full-time move to NASCAR meant Gordon had to relocate to North Carolina, giving him independence from Carol and John.[205] He shared an apartment in North Charlotte with Andy Graves, who had a job in the chassis-building division at Hendrick Motorsports, a two-car team in the Winston Cup Series.[151]
Gordon's 1991 campaign started off slow, as he was one of fifteen drivers not fast enough to qualify for the season opener— the Goody's 300 at Daytona— on February 16.[209][208][210][151][172] This was Gordon's first racing experience at the superspeedway; apart from the December test session, he had only seen the track while traveling between Jacksonville and Tampa during All-Star Speedweeks.[208] Gordon formally made his first start of the season in the Pontiac 200 at Richmond International Raceway on February 23; he crashed the car and finished 17th, four laps down.[211][208][210] Gordon drove the No. 4 in a one-off ride for Richmond.[212]
Gordon earned his first career pole—along with manufacturer Ford's first Busch pole since August 1987—for the running of the Roses Stores 300 at Orange County Speedway on June 8.[210][222] Following the drop of the green flag, Gordon was quickly passed by Ward Burton, but he was able to retake the lead by lap 16 and remained out front for 75 laps; he went on to finish ninth.[223][210] A week later, he qualified eighth and finished second behind Jimmy Hensley in the Granger Select 400 at Hickory on June 15.[224]
Second half: Summer slump and ROTY win in an Oldsmobileedit
The summer solstice of 1991 occurred in the Northern Hemisphere on June 21.[225] The following day, the second half of the Busch Grand National season began with the running of the Carolina Pride / Budweiser 250 at Myrtle Beach Speedway, where Gordon started eighth and finished 13th.[226] By the end of the Fay's 150 at Watkins Glen International Raceway on June 29—in which Gordon finished sixth in his road course debut—with seventeen races complete in the 31-race season, Gordon had qualified for sixteen races (with one DNQ at Daytona);[227] earned seven top-10s and four top-5s, including three runner-up finishes; and ranked 10th in the standings, now 352 points behind leader Bobby Labonte.[228][222] However, Gordon would enter a summer slump, as in the next eight races he only registered one top-ten finish— a third in the August 23 Jay Johnson 250 at Bristol Motor Speedway;[227] at this point the twenty-year-old driver was 11th in the standings, 500 points behind leader Kenny Wallace.[229][210][222] Gordon put on a show in the September 14 SplitFire 200 at Dover, where he crashed on the final lap but backed the car in reverse to cross the line in eighth, the final spot on the lead lap.[230][210]
Gordon participated in a test session for Cale Yarborough, the retired three-time Winston Cup Series champion, who also fielded his own Cup team.[155] Midway through the 1991 Winston Cup Series season, Yarborough had fired drivers Dick Trickle and Lake Speed, so he reached out to Gordon to help him with his organization.[155] It was Gordon's first experience driving a Winston Cup car, and Yarborough was so impressed that he offered Gordon to finish out the 1991 Cup season in the ride.[155] Gordon turned down the offer, citing his commitment to Bill Davis, who was not thrilled when he found out his driver had tested for another team.[155]
From October 5 to 19, Gordon suffered a late-season dry spell—two engine failures at Charlotte and New Hampshire International Speedway in Loudon—along with a race-ending crash at Rockingham.[231][232][233][155] This doubled his DNF total to six, as he previously had three DNF's—engine failures at Bristol, IRP, and Darlington—in his first 26 starts of the season.[234][235][236][227] Gordon literally had no momentum heading into the season finale at Martinsville, as he had destroyed the team's last remaining car in the wreck at Rockingham.[155] For the second season in a row, Gordon earned some much-needed assistance from the eventual Busch Grand National Series champion—this time from Bobby Labonte—who drove Oldsmobiles for his family's team and decided to lend an extra Olds to Gordon, as he was a friend and neighbor of Davis.[237][155] Lee Morse admitted the team's decision to use a rival General Motors car was ironic, but he believed the move was worth it in order for Ford to win Rookie of the Year with Gordon.[153] In the October 27 Winston Classic, Gordon piloted the Penrose-sponsored Oldsmobile to an eighth-place finish, one lap down.[238][219][239][196][153] Gordon clinched the rookie award over David Green, who finished 25th in the race, by only 12 points.[152][219][210][153][172] Gordon was the youngest Rookie of the Year in series history.[210] Gordon ended the season 11th in the standings, 107 points behind tenth-place driver Steve Grissom and 682 points behind series champion Labonte.[240][210][153] In his 30 starts, Gordon recorded five top-5s,[172] ten top-10s, one pole position, and led 94 laps.[227][219][153]
During the off-season, Gordon, his roommate Andy Graves, and Graves' friend Bob Lutz put a down payment on a house in Withrow Downs, near Charlotte Motor Speedway.[241][153]
Contract extension with Davis and reunion with Evernhamedit
Prior to the start of the 1992 season, Gordon negotiated a new Busch Grand National contract with Bill Davis, with assistance from his stepfather.[153] According to Bickford, they were offered a "Roush contract"—in other words, it was written by Jack Roush but credited to Bill Davis.[153] Bickford called the attorney Cary Agajanian, who previously helped Jeff earn partial emancipation as a teenage racer.[153] Among the changes made was the inclusion of a clause to equally allow either Davis or Gordon to terminate their partnership at the end of the season.[242] Davis agreed to the clause and opted to continue the deal which gave Gordon half of the car's earnings, rather than a salary.[243] In addition to the new contract, on January 13, Gordon secured sponsorship from Baby Ruth.[244][210][243][172]
During the week leading up to the 1992 Daytona 500, Gordon encountered his former crew chief Ray Evernham leaving the track.[241][172] Evernham had been hired as the crew chief for Winston Cup driver Alan Kulwicki, but the two clashed and Evernham quit Kulwicki's team.[241][243][172] When Gordon questioned Evernham and was told about the split, Jeff offered Ray to return as his own crew chief.[241][172] Gordon knew he was in no position to offer Evernham the job, so he had to pitch him to Davis first.[241][172] According to Bickford, Davis was not interested in bringing Evernham on, but he felt that if Ford could commit to covering half of Evernham's $50,000 salary (worth $109,417 in 2023 dollars),[245] he would personally cover the other half.[243] Lee Morse was sold on the deal, and felt the partnership would contribute to a successful season.[246] With Evernham back as Gordon's crew chief,[244][172] Keith Simmons was demoted to the engine builder.[247]
First half: First victory and introduction to Rick Hendrickedit
"He came out of the turn with the back end hanging out. I told the guy with me that I wanted to wait a minute and see him bust his tail. But I stood there for 20 laps, and he just kept on going. He was on the ragged edge all day."
For the second season in a row, Gordon started off slow at Daytona as he was not fast enough to qualify for the season opener— the February 15 Goody's 300—on speed alone.[248][243] This time, however, Gordon was able to get into the race via a "provisional" start; in Gordon's case, he was awarded a starting position for having a high points finish in the previous season.[248][243] Gordon started the race last in the field of 44 drivers and finished 23rd after suffering an engine failure.[249][248][243] He quickly found some speed and won the pole position for the next three consecutive races.[248][247][172] After earning finishes of seventh and ninth at Rockingham and Richmond respectively,[250][251][248] in his 35th career start,[172]Gordon scored his first series victory in the inaugural running of the Atlanta 300 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 14.[252][253][210][247] Gordon led 103 of the 197 laps en route to the win, which moved him up to second in the standings, only 13 points behind leader Kenny Wallace.[252][254] Unbeknownst to Gordon at the time, his performance at Atlanta caught the attention of Rick Hendrick,[255] the owner of a Chevrolet Winston Cup team, who normally did not attend Busch Grand National races but happened to be at the track a day early for a sponsorship appearance ahead of the Motorcraft Quality Parts 500 on Sunday.[256][8][210][247][172] Hendrick, who fielded the No. 5 for Ricky Rudd and the No. 25 for Ken Schrader, was so impressed with Gordon that he contemplated funding a third Cup team for the young driver without having met him.[255][247][172] On the following Monday, Hendrick discussed the possibility with general manager Jimmy Johnson at their shop.[257][247][172] They were under the impression that Gordon had a multi-year deal with Davis and Ford, but Andy Graves, a crew member for Rudd and Gordon's housemate, informed them this was not the case.[257][247][172] Then Graves approached Gordon and told him that Hendrick was interested in meeting him to discuss a potential ride.[258][259] Gordon ignored Graves, believing it was a prank.[260][259]
Focused on his Bill Davis Racing team,[261][262] Gordon followed up his win at Atlanta with a sixth-place finish at Martinsville.[263][260] A week later, an engine/suspension failure took him out of contention at Darlington.[264][260] However, he rebounded at Bristol, as he earned an outside spot on the front row and brought the car to the finish in fifth place.[265][260] Though he suffered another engine failure at Hickory, Gordon won the pole and finished 10th at Lanier.[266][267] Meanwhile, Gordon continued to ignore requests from Graves to meet Hendrick.[268] Desperate, Graves called Bickford to inform him about the situation, and after a discussion with Carol, John decided to call Hendrick himself.[269] Gordon, who was waiting for Davis to put their own Cup deal together, agreed to speak with Hendrick.[269][259] Gordon was impressed with the way Hendrick operated his businesses and felt confident they had a future in Winston Cup together despite having no sponsor,[172] team, or car set up yet.[270][259] Gordon was eager to pitch Evernham as the crew chief when Hendrick did not have one in mind.[271][259] Amid rumors that Gordon may jump to a Chevrolet team, several folks at Ford attempted to convince Jeff to stay with them.[272][262]Roush Racing, Junior Johnson & Associates, and Stavola Brothers Racing were among Ford's Winston Cup teams interested in Gordon, but neither of them were willing to consider Evernham as the crew chief.[262] John Bickford even hung up the phone on Jack Roush when the car owner refused to consider Evernham.[272][273]
He finished fifth in the Granger Select 200 at New River Valley Speedway on May 2.[274] Three days later, on May 5, Gordon formally signed a contract to drive for Hendrick Motorsports in the Winston Cup Series,[172] beginning in 1993.[272][210][275] Coinciding with Gordon's private intentions to sign with Hendrick, Davis announced in the previous week that they may have a sponsor willing to go Cup racing with them.[275] On May 6, one day after signing with Hendrick, Gordon boarded a plane with Davis and PR manager Bill Armour to Minneapolis to meet with Target Corporation executives.[272][275][172] The meeting was arranged by Henry Rischitelli, Armour's friend and the head of motorsports for the International Management Group.[275] Rischitelli worked with Target in Indy racing and the company was interested in expanding to NASCAR with Gordon as their driver.[275] The Target camp was impressed with Gordon in the meeting, as was Davis,[172] but neither of them were aware of Gordon's secret contract with Hendrick.[275] While preparing to leave Minneapolis to return to Charlotte, Gordon informed Davis of his intentions to drive for Hendrick following the end of the season.[276][275][172] Davis was so shocked that he left alone to return home, while Rischitelli returned to Cleveland.[277] Gordon and Armour stayed overnight at an airport hotel before flying off to Pennsylvania for the upcoming race at Nazareth.[278] In the Pontiac 200 on May 9, he suffered another engine failure.[279][278] After the early exit, Gordon called Morse to inform him about his decision to leave Ford for Chevrolet.[278] When the news became public, there was a massive uproar among those who believed Gordon had betrayed Ford.[280][276][278] Michael Kranefuss questioned Gordon's motive and called him "an ungrateful punk".[276][278] Some commentators, such as ESPN's Dave Despain and Terry Lingner, came to Gordon's defense.[281]
Despite the early engine and mechanical issues, Gordon was consistently a top-ten contender in the first three months of the season.[282] Now mid-May, Gordon, still shaken from the bad press over the Hendrick announcement, sought to return to victory lane.[282][281] He would capture a series record $113,844 ($249,130 in 2023 dollars),[283] fueled by a bonus worth $100,000 ($218,835 in 2023 dollars),[284] with his second series victory from the pole position in the Champion 300 at Charlotte on May 23.[285][286][287][210][281] He led 58 laps to take the checkered flag and was now third in the standings, 70 points behind leader Kenny Wallace and one point behind second-place driver Bobby Labonte.[285] He thanked Davis for keeping him in the car this season despite the controversy over the switch to Hendrick for 1993.[210] The tensions were high within the Ford camp, however, and according to Armour, Davis allegedly questioned to Kranefuss and Morse whether they would have a problem with firing Gordon in victory lane.[281] On May 28, Evernham was formally signed on as Gordon's crew chief at Hendrick.[210]
Second half: Pole record and split with Davisedit
The summer solstice of 1992 occurred in the Northern Hemisphere on June 20.[288] This marked the second half of the Busch Grand National season, which began with the running of the Carolina Pride / Budweiser 250 at Myrtle Beach that same day; Gordon earned his sixth pole position of the season and finished 5th after leading 91 laps.[289] By the end of the Fay's 150 at Watkins Glen on June 27—in which Gordon finished 19th after suffering a late race-ending crash—with sixteen races complete in the 31-race season, Gordon had no DNQs;[290] earned ten top-10s and six top-5s, including two wins; and ranked fifth in the standings, now 150 points behind leader Kenny Wallace.[291] By July, Evernham began working at the Hendrick shop to prepare for 1993.[210]
Gordon would enter a summer slump for the second season in a row, as between June 27 and September 19, he only registered three top-10s in 12 starts;[290] following the conclusion of the September 19 SplitFire 200 at Dover, Gordon was sixth in the standings, 278 points behind leader Todd Bodine.[292] On the same day, DuPont announced a four-year deal to sponsor Gordon's Cup ride beginning in 1993.[210] He continued to remain fast throughout the season, with additional pole positions at Volusia,[293]Michigan International Speedway,[294] Dover,[292] Charlotte,[295] and Rockingham.[296][210] On October 10, Gordon earned his third and final series victory for Davis in the All Pro 300 at Charlotte, which marked the first racetrack sweep of his NASCAR career.[295][297][298][210] In the season finale at Hickory— The Pantry 500 on November 8—Gordon competed in his final start for Davis, in which he started on the outside of the front row and finished 11th.[299][298] Gordon ended the season fourth in the standings,[286][172] 222 points behind series champion Joe Nemechek.[300][281] In his 31 starts, Gordon recorded three wins,[286][172] 10 top-5s, 15 top-10s, and 7 DNFs.[290] He led the series with 1160 laps as the race leader and earned the most prize money with $371,578 ($813,144 in 2023 dollars).[290][281][301] His 11 pole positions broke Sam Ard's record for the most poles in a single season; this record remains active today.[290][286][8][210][281]
On November 15, one week after his final Busch race for Davis, Gordon began his Winston Cup Series career with Hendrick Motorsports, competing in the 1992 Hooters 500 at Atlanta behind the wheel of the No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet.[302][303][304][210][281][172] He went on to compete full-time in the Cup Series between 1993 and 2015, making a record797 consecutive starts.[305][306]
Off the track, Gordon received media attention for his marriage to former Miss Winston model Brooke Sealey, which lasted from 1994 to 2003.[307][8][308][309][310][311][312][313] He married Ingrid Vandebosch in 2006,[8][314][315][316] and they have two children together.[314][317][318][319] Gordon's relationship with his mother and stepfather became strained during his marriage to Brooke,[8][308][320] but they made amends when the couple separated.[308][321] Gordon also became a philanthropist.[322] He began visiting children in hospitals while he drove for Davis in the Busch Grand National Series.[323] In July 1992, Evernham's son Ray J was diagnosed with leukemia, which prompted Gordon to do more to make a difference to children.[210][323] In 1999, he established his own foundation dedicated to childhood cancer.[324][325]
Referencesedit
Notesedit
^This article covers Gordon's life before his NASCAR Cup Series career; therefore, these statistics span Gordon's NASCAR Busch Grand National Series career from 1990 to 1992 only. See the parent article Jeff Gordon for statistics spanning his entire career, including his results in the series from 1999 to 2000 while driving for his own team.
^In the authorized biography Jeff Gordon: His Dream, Drive & Destiny (2016), author Joe Garner wrote that the couple separated when Jeff was three months old,[9] although in the Motor Racing NetworkpodcastJeff Gordon: A Colorful Career (2019), host Brian Nelson stated that the couple separated when Jeff was six months old.[10] According to a February 1993 article in Stock Car Racing, and an episode of the ESPN biography television programSportsCentury, the couple divorced when Jeff was a year old.[14][8]
Citationsedit
^. Hoosier Auto Racing Fans. Archived from the original on January 24, 2016. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
^"AARWBA All America Team". American Auto Racing Writers & Broadcasters Association. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
^"Ed Carpenter receives Pat O'Connor Award from Hoosier Auto Racing Fans". INDYCAR. January 26, 2014. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
^. Hoosier Auto Racing Fans. Archived from the original on January 24, 2016. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
^James, Marty (January 17, 2005). "Vallejo Sports Hall of Fame to honor Sabathia, Gordon". Napa Valley Register. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
^"NEMA's Humphrey Earns Midget Hall of Fame Spot". YankeeRacer.com. September 3, 2008. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
^"'The Bickford Effect'". Jeff Gordon Online. Spring 2004. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
^Buchanan, Mary Jo (November 3, 2015). "With Gordon Stepping Away Bickford's Journey Also Ending". Popular Speed. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
^ abCavin, Curt (November 22, 2015). "Cavin: Jeff Gordon's retirement one for the family". The Indianapolis Star. Homestead, FL. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
^@JeffGordonWeb (May 26, 2017). "The @VjoTimesHerald circa 1978. #FlashbackFriday #TeamJG" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
^ abGlick, Shav (January 10, 1991). "MOTOR RACING : Precocious Gordons Move Up to Stock Car Major Leagues". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
^Brewster, Louis (March 21, 2015). "Jeff Gordon's NASCAR legacy: Changing face of the sport, opening door for California drivers". Inland Valley Daily Bulletin. Fontana, CA. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
^Pope, Dennis (March 21, 2015). . The Press-Enterprise. Fontana, CA. Archived from the original on September 20, 2023. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
^Pockrass, Bob (April 13, 2013). "Jeff Gordon's wish: I want to be Shaun White". Sporting News. Fort Worth, TX. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
^Arnold, Brian (June 21, 2015). "Vallejo native and NASCAR star Jeff Gordon visits old middle school in his hometown". Daily Republic. Vallejo, CA. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
^Staff report (June 23, 2015). . NASCAR. Archived from the original on June 25, 2015. Retrieved September 11, 2016.
^Gluck, Jeff (December 1, 2011). "VIDEO: Jeff Gordon Break-Dances At 'NASCAR After The Lap' Event". SB Nation. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
^ abWidjojo, Irma (June 22, 2015). "NASCAR legend Jeff Gordon visits former Vallejo school, answers questions". The Mercury News. Retrieved June 12, 2017.
^ abcdWackerlin, Jeff (August 12, 2015). . Knoxville, IA: Motor Racing Network. Archived from the original on August 15, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
^Jenkins, Chris (August 18, 2005). "Agent steers NASCAR toward other sports' ways". USA Today. Retrieved June 12, 2017.
^AUTOWEEK STAFF (November 13, 2015). "Telling it like it is: Rivals, peers share memories of Jeff Gordon's NASCAR career". Autoweek. Retrieved June 12, 2017.
^Cram, Joanne (August 10, 2012). "Exciting New Attractions at the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum". Knoxville Raceway. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
^"The History of the Kings Royal at Eldora Speedway". PennLive. July 17, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
^@VntgSprintCars (November 22, 2015). "Jeff Gordon behind the wheel of the Stanton #40 machine at the 1987 Knoxville Nationals - Jeff Taylor photo #24ever" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
^Kocher, Greg (January 1, 2016). "Nicholasville shop builds engines for sprint, midget racing teams around the world". Lexington Herald-Leader. Nicholasville, KY. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
^@EldoraSpeedway (November 20, 2015). ".@JeffGordonWeb still owes Eldora $10....#24Ever (Thanks to the Baltes & Schmitmeyer families for finding this.)" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
^Billing, Greg (February 21, 2015). "Gordon's racing career hit full throttle in Dayton". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
^Cavin, Curt (July 24, 2014). "Crash 25 years ago helped pave way for Jeff Gordon's impressive NASCAR career". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
^ aboniadmin (January 26, 2015). "Gordon will be missed". The Journal. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
^Wackerlin, Jeff (August 11, 2019). "Gordon's Amazing Knoxville Week". Motor Racing Network. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
^Gluck, Jeff (February 16, 2011). "Jeff Gordon's Road To The 2011 Daytona 500". SB Nation. Retrieved June 30, 2020. Right before things started going well for me – before I started being kind of a household name on ESPN's "Saturday Night Thunder" and "Thursday Night Thunder" (USAC shows) – I was racing for a guy named Stan Shoff in a sprint car. It was a great ride – they had great cars, good funding. And nothing went right for us. I wrecked everything he had. So things were not going very well for me at that time, because I had an opportunity that I felt like was slipping away. That's when the whole "Night Before The 500" (USAC race) came about on ESPN. We went and set a new track record...and won the race. And that changed my whole career.
^"NASCAR PRESEASON THUNDER TESTING - January 9, 2014 - Jeff Gordon". ASAP Sports. January 9, 2014. Retrieved September 5, 2017. Q. What would you say in your opinion would that be that twist of fate that got you to where you are as far as today? JEFF GORDON: I mean, there's so many. You don't make it to this level without having some moments that kind of maybe separated you from others in the field and got you that opportunity, and I look at the successes and the failures. Prior to me being hired by Raleigh Helming to drive on ESPN's Thursday Night Thunder the night before the 500 where we set a new track record and won that race in fairly spectacular fashion, prior to that I was racing for McBride and Shoff in a sprint car in the All‑Star Series and got fired because I was tearing up too much of their equipment and wasn't winning enough. To me that moment where I did not succeed in that sprint car gave me a new opportunity to go and be very successful in a midget in a sprint car on pavement in front of a big audience that took my name from being an up and coming sprint car driver to being a talent in the open‑wheel field as well as a couple years later being a driver that even an owner in NASCAR would consider. I don't know if it was a specific moment, but I guess winning that race the night before the 500 would be the specific moment.
^Adams, Jeff (November 19, 2015). "Jeff Gordon's career took turn at Peoria Speedway". Journal Star. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
^Terhune, Jim (July 22, 1990). "Rich Vogler killed after smacking wall at Salem Speedway". The Courier-Journal. Salem, IN. Retrieved July 19, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
^"Vogler Killed in Sprint Car Crash". Los Angeles Times. July 22, 1990. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
^Busbee, Jay (September 2, 2012). "Race of ages: Jeff Gordon's first, Richard Petty's last and a championship on the line to boot". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
^Cain, Holly (November 22, 2015). . HOMESTEAD, FL: NASCAR. Archived from the original on November 23, 2015. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
^"Jeff Gordon's 2015 farewell tour: Homestead-Miami". USA Today. November 24, 2015. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
early, life, career, jeff, gordon, jeffery, michael, jeff, gordon, born, august, 1971, american, professional, auto, racing, driver, competed, nascar, series, over, year, career, born, vallejo, california, carol, houston, billy, gordon, couple, separated, mont. Jeffery Michael Jeff Gordon born August 4 1971 is an American professional auto racing driver who competed in the NASCAR Cup Series over a 25 year career He was born in Vallejo California to Carol Houston and Billy Gordon the couple separated a few months later Gordon s mother then married John Bickford a car builder and parts supplier Jeff GordonGordon in August 1993BornJeffery Michael Gordon 1971 08 04 August 4 1971 age 52 Vallejo California U S NationalityAmericanOccupationRacing driverYears active1976 1992 early career NASCAR Xfinity Series career62 races run over 3 yearsBest finish4th 1992 First race1990 AC Delco 200 Rockingham Last race1992 The Pantry 300 Hickory First win1992 Atlanta 300 Atlanta Last win1992 All Pro 300 Charlotte Wins Top tens Poles3 25 12Statistics current as of November 8 1992 N 1 Championship titles1990 USAC National Midget Series Champion1991 USAC Silver Crown Series ChampionAwards1990 HARF Driver of the Year 1 1990 1991 AARWBA All America Team 2 1991 Busch Series Rookie of the Year1992 Pat O Connor Award recipient 3 1994 HARF Hall of Fame inductee 4 2005 Vallejo Sports Hall of Fame inductee 5 2009 National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame inductee 6 When Gordon was four years old his stepfather gave him a BMX bike that he rode at a track near his home At age five Gordon began competing in Quarter Midget racing locally He won 35 main events set five track records and earned a local championship by age six In 1979 Gordon began racing quarter midgets nationally that year he won 52 main events and set eight track records At age nine Gordon began competing in kart racing and by age twelve he had won over 200 races in Quarter Midgets and go karts Gordon briefly attempted waterskiing before returning to racing At age thirteen Gordon became interested in sprint car racing and he competed in his first sprint car events in Florida Under California law the minimum age to drive a sprint car was 16 In 1986 with Gordon s family supporting his career choice he moved from Vallejo to Pittsboro Indiana At age sixteen Gordon became the youngest driver ever awarded a USAC license He was named the 1989 USAC National Midget Series Rookie of the Year and captured the series championship in 1990 In 1991 Gordon won the USAC Silver Crown Series championship at age twenty he was the youngest driver to do so While competing in sprint cars Gordon was looking for new opportunities in racing An impressive stint in a stock car at the North Carolina Motor Speedway as part of the Buck Baker Racing School led to a three race deal from businessman Hugh Connerty to compete in the Busch Grand National Series late in the 1990 season with Ray Evernham as the crew chief Gordon qualified second for his first race but crashed twenty three laps into the event and he failed to qualify for his other two races At the end of the season Gordon and Connerty amicably parted ways when the latter could not secure funding and sponsorship to continue Gordon later reached a deal with car owner Bill Davis to compete in the Busch Grand National Series full time for the 1991 season under crew chief Keith Simmons Gordon was named the 1991 series Rookie of the Year with five top five finishes and a pole Gordon returned to Bill Davis Racing for the 1992 season he was reunited with Evernham for his sophomore season Gordon earned his first series victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway in March and swept both races at Charlotte Motor Speedway held in May and October Gordon ended the season with a record 11 poles and a fourth place points finish before joining Hendrick Motorsports in the Winston Cup Series Contents 1 Childhood 1 1 Birth and family background 1 2 BMX racing 1 3 Quarter Midget and kart racing 1 4 Waterskiing 1 5 Other hobbies 2 Education summary 3 Sprint car and midget racing 3 1 1985 1986 3 1 1 Florida Speedweek 3 1 2 Limited opportunities in California 3 1 3 Midwest racing 3 1 4 Move to Pittsboro Indiana 3 2 1987 1991 3 2 1 Racing in Australia and New Zealand 3 2 2 Major national sanctioned racing 3 2 2 1 Thursday Saturday Night Thunder Night Before the 500 triumphs and USAC championships 3 3 Total ASCoC career achievements 3 4 Total USAC career achievements 4 Stock car racing 4 1 Buck Baker Racing School 4 2 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series 4 2 1 1990 4 2 1 1 Formation of No 67 team and introduction to Ray Evernham 4 2 1 2 Three race deal for Hugh Connerty 4 2 1 3 Split with Connerty and introduction to Bill Davis 4 2 2 1991 4 2 2 1 First half First top 10 finishes and pole 4 2 2 2 Second half Summer slump and ROTY win in an Oldsmobile 4 2 3 1992 4 2 3 1 Contract extension with Davis and reunion with Evernham 4 2 3 2 First half First victory and introduction to Rick Hendrick 4 2 3 3 Second half Pole record and split with Davis 4 3 Aftermath 5 References 5 1 Notes 5 2 Citations 5 3 Sources 6 External linksChildhood editBirth and family background edit See also List of athletes from Vallejo California Gordon was born on August 4 1971 at Kaiser Hospital in Vallejo California and named Jeffery Michael Gordon 7 8 9 10 He is the son of Caroline and William G Gordon II 9 10 He is the couple s second child 9 10 they have a daughter Kimberly Kim Coykendall 8 11 who is older than Jeff by four years 12 Gordon is of Scotch Irish descent 13 At the time of his birth Gordon s family lived at 208 Westwood Street 9 Gordon s mother and biological father separated when he was a few months old N 2 In January 1972 Carol was hired to work in the billing department for a medical supply company called Robin Aids 15 10 As a single mother Carol worked to support her two children 16 10 Through her job Carol met John Bickford who worked for the company as a designer 17 18 10 Bickford who was involved in racing as a car builder and parts supplier 14 was divorced from a woman named Rosie and had a son together 15 John Jr 19 When Bickford met Carol he was due to be married again but his second marriage was annulled after just four months 15 Bickford moved on and asked Carol out on a date to an auto race during Labor Day weekend 20 10 Carol brought her two children to the event at Vallejo Speedway marking Jeff s first trip to a race track at a year old 21 18 22 10 Carol and John were married in May 1973 8 23 The family resided at 534 Brooke Drive in Vallejo 24 BMX racing edit Further information BMX racing When Gordon was four years old Billy gave his son a secondhand bicycle 25 John challenged his stepson to attempt to learn how to ride the bicycle without training wheels 26 Within a day Gordon learned how to ride with help from Carol 26 He then asked John to take him to a track used for BMX racing in their neighborhood 26 Before letting his stepson compete John bought a new bike and customized the frame to fit Jeff s body 21 26 The BMX bike was given to Gordon for his birthday 26 He began to practice with John at the track 26 and later competed in sanctioned racing there 14 27 Gordon earned a third place trophy in his first race 26 He advanced to the 1976 state championships in which he finished fourth overall 26 10 At age five Gordon was competing against children older and bigger than him 8 26 28 When one of Gordon s competitors broke an arm in a crash 29 Carol successfully convinced John to make Jeff quit racing bicycles after just a few months 10 due to the number of injuries and concussions in the sport 30 Quarter Midget and kart racing edit Further information Quarter Midget racing and Kart racing John purchased two Quarter Midget cars from Paul Stornetta of Napa California for US 450 2 428 in 2023 dollars 22 31 and brought them home to Gordon s surprise 21 12 Although Carol was not pleased at first John convinced her that Quarter Midgets are safer and she later drove with her son on a makeshift track John created at the Solano County Fairgrounds 21 12 30 32 24 33 Gordon s first car which was black 22 was known as the fuzz car 34 In this car Gordon ran over an estimated 2 000 laps around a flat surface at the fairgrounds 33 35 Gordon s stepfather and mother then took him to the Cracker Jack Track now known as the Roy Hayer Memorial Speedway in Rio Linda California to learn 24 While Gordon was in kindergarten he practiced after school up to three days a week logging laps in while competing against a stopwatch John used 8 30 Gordon was licensed to race by track official Tom Van Inwagen 24 earning his first racing license in April 1977 at five years old 35 Gordon made his first competitive laps at the Cracker Jack Track 24 In one of his first attempts at the track Gordon flipped the car in turn two and snapped the rear axle 35 36 It took John an hour to repair the car for Gordon who crashed it twice more in the same spot 35 After another repair Gordon posted the fastest time out of the eight children competing 35 A month later Gordon earned his first trophy with a four place finish 35 In July Gordon won the 1977 Western States Novice championship at Baylands Quarter Midget Track in Sunnyvale California 37 and the fuzz car was retired after just a few months in competition 35 By age six Gordon had won 35 main events and set five track records 37 38 10 It was around this time when Gordon s stepfather was accused of using illegal parts and rigging a hot car to gain a competitive advantage 38 39 Bickford often sold Jeff s cars to his competitors in response later building similar vehicles which Gordon would drive to victory 40 Early in his career Gordon was featured in segments on Kids Are People Too and PM Magazine and was the subject of an episode for a series titled Super Kids 38 10 He was featured in Vallejo Times Herald in 1978 at age six 41 In 1979 Gordon began competing in Quarter Midgets nationally racing every week 39 He won his first Grand National championship in Denver Colorado 42 10 scored 52 victories and set eight track records 39 43 10 and won the Pacific Northwest Indoor championships 44 In 1980 Gordon posted the fastest time in all fifty races he entered and scored 46 victories 43 Gordon finished second in the 1981 Grand National championship held in Oklahoma 43 When Gordon was nine years old he began competing in kart racing 14 In his first race in a go kart Gordon scored a victory in a major International Kart Federation event 14 Gordon won all 25 races he entered in his first year of karting competition 37 and won all 12 races he entered in his second year 44 Between 1981 and 1982 Gordon won three California State Monza Championships 44 he also won his second Grand National championship in Sunnyvale during the latter year 42 By the age of twelve Gordon had won over two hundred races in Quarter Midgets and go karts 37 45 8 One of Gordon s fondest go kart memories was competing against former Olympic gold medalist Caitlyn Jenner formerly known as Bruce Jenner in Corona California 46 47 Waterskiing edit As Gordon was about to reach adolescence he got bored of racing regularly 45 With support from his parents Gordon began practicing waterskiing at age twelve 48 10 Gordon s stepfather enrolled him in professional ski schools 48 and by age thirteen coaches from California State University Sacramento scouted him 32 Gordon learned how to slalom but struggled with jumping 49 Although Gordon had fun with waterskiing he believed he wasn t tall enough to be competitive 49 Other hobbies edit Gordon became interested in video games by age five 50 with Pong and Indy 500 being early favorite titles 51 He also enjoyed skateboarding 52 and idolized Tony Hawk 53 Gordon learned how to breakdance in Vallejo where it was popular among his peers in his junior high school 52 54 55 10 Gordon would sneak into the bathroom to breakdance because it wasn t allowed in the hallways 56 Education summary editSchool Location Type Degree notesPennycook Elementary School Vallejo California Public 57 Springstowne Middle School Vallejo California Public 57 Tri West Hendricks High School Lizton Indiana Public High school diploma 1989 58 Sprint car and midget racing editFurther information Sprint car racing and Midget car racing Between 1983 and 1984 Gordon competed in limited races as he was searching for a transition in his career 59 He attended his first Indianapolis 500 as a spectator in 1983 and met his favorite driver Rick Mears 60 Gordon also became interested in sprint car racing and attended local events rooting for Steve Kinser 59 61 Gordon aspired to become a sprint car driver after reading a story about a young driver named Sport Allen 62 14 59 10 61 In October 1984 Gordon competed in an event in Indianapolis where he won both races 59 10 Following the event John introduced Jeff to Lee Osborne a former driver who operated a business in Jamestown Indiana building sprint cars 59 63 10 John was interested in buying a used motor and a sprint car chassis for Jeff 63 10 Osborne assumed John was in the market for himself not Gordon 59 63 10 When John revealed his intentions for his stepson Osborne initially refused to build a sprint car for Gordon 59 64 10 Despite receiving a rundown of Gordon s past racing success Osborne still wasn t convinced that the thirteen year old Gordon could handle a sprint car 59 65 After heading back home in California John continued to talk to Osborne by phone later successfully convincing him after weeks of discussions 59 66 10 By the end of November a new Osborne sprint chassis arrived at Gordon s home 59 10 61 John and Jeff worked on the sprint car for months 59 67 10 61 When it was complete the car was loaded onto a trailer to Dixon California 68 where Gordon first attempted to start the car on a gravel road 67 10 1985 1986 edit Florida Speedweek edit Not to be confused with Florida All Stars Tour or Speedweeks In February 1985 Gordon traveled to Florida to compete in Speedweek a series of racing events sanctioned by the All Star Circuit of Champions 69 70 10 61 Speedweek consisted of five nights of racing on two tracks Jax Raceway in Jacksonville and East Bay Raceway in Tampa 71 72 61 Unlike in California Florida had no age requirement for sprint car racing 71 72 Despite this upon Gordon s arrival in Jacksonville there was buzz among the racers and fans regarding Gordon s age and physical appearance 73 74 The owner of the Jax Raceway attempted to prevent Gordon from competing at the track 75 Series official Bert Emrick also voiced concern to John over letting Gordon compete in the races 76 In Jacksonville Gordon recorded his first laps in a sprint car during a practice session 77 These hot laps proved to be difficult for Gordon who started off slowly in a field of fast drivers 75 78 When the car finally took off Gordon lost control while making a turn shooting the back end around and hitting the wall with the right rear tire 75 79 Gordon confronted his stepfather in the pits believing he was not prepared and capable of racing the faster sprint cars 75 79 The features in Jacksonville were cancelled due to rain which allowed Gordon to calm down for the night and turn his attention to the next four races in Tampa 75 79 At East Bay Gordon was again faced with disapproval from Emrick who had allowed Gordon to compete in the hot laps at Jax 80 John convinced Emrick to allow Gordon to race if he started in the back 80 61 a move that required a liability waiver 81 Bickford made it to clear to Jeff that they were not competing to try to win 61 but we were there for the experience for the laps 80 By the third night in Tampa Gordon was running competitive lap times 80 82 On the final night Gordon qualified for the C main event he started sixth and finished second in a field of twelve drivers 83 With that performance he advanced to the B main event where he started sixteenth in a field of twenty two drivers he moved up to the top ten but briefly pulled off the track after dirt from the track wedged into his helmet resulting in a seventeenth place finish 83 Gordon qualified eighteenth in a field of fifty four for the overall event 82 This earned Gordon his first racing purse from a professional series which was worth a little over 300 856 in 2023 dollars 82 84 Following his performance in Florida that week Gordon was featured on ESPN s SpeedWeek 82 83 Gordon returned to Florida for the 1986 Speedweek this time without opposition from series officials 85 He improved on his results from the previous year advancing to the A main event in four of five races and finishing in the top twenty each time 85 At the final race in Tampa Gordon started near the front and took the lead from Rick Ferkel four laps into the event 86 87 Later trailing Gordon in second was Steve Kinser 88 They traded the lead before Kinser overtook Gordon in the final laps 87 88 Kinser drove to victory while Bobby Davis and Keith Kauffman also finished ahead of Gordon 87 who ended up in fourth 88 Afterwards Kinser found Gordon in the garage area and shook hands telling him you re going to be a good one 88 Limited opportunities in California edit In March 1985 Gordon was allowed to practice in a sprint car at Kings Speedway a track located in Hanford California 89 90 61 Despite impressing veteran drivers and receiving an invitation to return to Hanford Gordon continued to face challenges looking for sprint car opportunities statewide 89 When Cary Agajanian a Los Angeles attorney and son of the late racing figure J C Agajanian refused to let Gordon compete at Ascot Park due to legal matters other local racing promoters took notice and banned Gordon as well 91 61 However Agajanian helped Gordon by drafting a document that would give him partial emancipation 61 thus allowing Gordon to sign liability waivers from tracks in other various areas 92 Agajanian is commonly viewed as being responsible for Gordon s exit from California 93 94 Midwest racing edit See also Sports in the Midwestern United States Following the conclusion of the school year Gordon and his stepfather hit the road with the sprint car and traveled throughout the Midwestern United States participating in racing events each week during the summer of 1985 95 61 They lived in an apartment in Findlay Ohio during this time 96 97 92 Gordon was introduced to tracks such as Millstream Speedway in Findlay 92 61 KC Raceway in Chillicothe Ohio 92 98 and Bloomington Speedway in Bloomington Indiana 98 61 He earned his first sprint car victory in a heat race at Millstream 99 Gordon primarily raced on the All Star circuit in which he competed in twenty two races and advanced to twelve A main events in his first season 98 Beginning in September 1985 John and Carol worked for extra money to give Jeff an opportunity to race and relocate in the Midwest 100 Gordon earned his first main event victory in a sprint car at KC Raceway in 1986 101 102 Move to Pittsboro Indiana edit See also List of race car drivers from Indiana In June 1986 Gordon formally moved from his birthplace of Vallejo to Pittsboro Indiana 8 103 61 Prior to that Gordon s mother traveled alone to Pittsboro in search of a home for the family to live in 100 while he and his stepfather were racing 85 After Carol picked out a house and signed the contract 85 61 she stayed in Indiana until Jeff and John arrived to see the property for the first time giving their sprint car a new base 100 Carol briefly remained in California to run the medical supply business which she and John eventually sold part of 104 along with the family house in Vallejo 85 John built a shop behind the new house in Pittsboro which he used to make and sell sprint car parts 104 Jeff earned money on the side by fabricating sprint car parts for Shirley Kear 105 By this time Gordon s race earnings became the family s primary source of income 8 104 The decision to move had been made the previous year after Gordon began racing in the Midwest 100 61 It had no effect on Gordon s sister Kimberly who graduated from high school in the spring and began attending San Diego State University in the fall of 1985 100 106 The move occurred just before Gordon transferred from middle school to high school 106 Both Carol and John were concerned about the crowd Gordon associated with in California 106 and Kimberly had suggested them to pull Jeff out of his school 100 The move to Pittsboro allowed Gordon to attend Tri West Hendricks High School in nearby Lizton Indiana 107 102 108 While Jeff was a student at Tri West Hendricks High he was taught driver s education by teacher Larry Sparks who Gordon remembered as one of my biggest fans following Sparks sudden death in a 2014 road accident at the age of 78 109 110 111 Gordon s former home in Pittsboro which is a brick ranch located just down County Road 100 is now owned by Michael and Sherry Lang 97 112 Before purchasing the house Michael Lang was a racer and competed against Gordon 97 The Langs own Fluid Transfer Products a company based out of the race shop previously used by John Bickford 97 1987 1991 edit Racing in Australia and New Zealand edit See also Dirt track racing in Australia and Dirt track racing in New Zealand In November 1986 John and Carol launched a successful campaign urging for donations to allow Jeff to race in Australia 113 In February 1987 Gordon traveled to Perth Western Australia to compete in the inaugural World Sprint Car Championship at Claremont Speedway 113 61 The three day event was held from February 5 to 7 114 The 15 year old Gordon was the youngest driver and one of eleven Americans in the field 115 Garry Rush won the main event while Gordon came in 12th 116 In December 1988 Kiwi car owner John Rae of Taranaki invited Gordon to compete in a series of races in New Zealand 117 Rae watched Gordon race in Perth the previous year and followed his progress in the United States 118 Gordon participated in fifteen races during a two week stretch winning fourteen of them 108 118 He competed on tracks such as Western Springs 119 120 Major national sanctioned racing edit In July 1987 Gordon drove the No 20 car for Bob Trostle at Knoxville Raceway 121 122 Also that summer Gordon earned a three race deal from car owner Gary Stanton 123 whose No 40 machine scored a victory in the fourth annual King s Royal at Eldora Speedway with driver Jac Haudenschild 124 In this ride Gordon competed in the Knoxville Nationals 125 61 This partnership did not last long but the two remained in touch 126 Gordon became street legal when he earned his driver s license in Indiana 104 Now age sixteen 118 Gordon was eyeing to make a name for himself in races sanctioned by the United States Auto Club and the World of Outlaws 104 He became the youngest driver to earn a USAC license 127 128 129 Gordon made his USAC debut at Eldora on March 17 1988 finishing 20th 129 He applied to join the speedway s Big E Club a month later 130 Gordon spent most of the 1988 season driving the No 6 for owner Terry Winterbotham 131 In their first race together Gordon broke the track record and earned a victory in the main event 118 The season concluded with Gordon winning thirteen races and three track championships in Ohio 118 On the night of May 13 1989 shortly after graduating from Tri West High Gordon traveled to Bloomington to race only changing his uniform after arriving at the speedway 58 On May 20 Gordon earned his first USAC victory in a sprint car at Florence Speedway in Union Kentucky 129 Thursday Saturday Night Thunder Night Before the 500 triumphs and USAC championships edit Further information Thursday Night Thunder Night Before the 500 USAC National Midget Championship and USAC Silver Crown Series Gordon discovered midget car racing through Thursday Night Thunder a television program that premiered on ESPN in 1988 132 61 At the time he was primarily competing on dirt tracks in winged sprint car racing which did not have a national television broadcast 132 Gordon and his stepfather began attending midget races in hopes that they could find somebody in the community who was willing to give them an opportunity in midget racing 132 Gordon made his debut in a midget car at the running of the 1989 Night Before the 500 at Indianapolis Raceway Park on May 27 driving for businessman and car owner Rollie Helmling of Vincennes Indiana 123 133 Earlier that month Gordon had met Helmling briefly at the season opener held at Louisville Motor Speedway in Louisville Kentucky 133 121 In the May 1 event at Louisville Helmling s driver crashed in turn one after the checkered flag 134 With three weeks left before the 500 at IRP Helmling had to search for a new car and driver 121 Helmling purchased the car from builder Bob East who in turn recommended the 17 year old Gordon for the ride 121 Gordon and Helmling had a nice exchange over the phone and arranged a meeting at East s shop a couple days later 121 Though skeptical Helmling decided to give Gordon the opportunity 121 Sixty one drivers attempted to qualify for the prestigious event 132 Gordon primarily a dirt track sprint car racer conquered the asphalt by putting his midget on the pole setting a track record 132 Despite posting the fastest time Gordon started 12th due to an inverting of the twelve fastest vehicles 58 Gordon quickly worked his way up and drove away to a surprise victory in the biggest race yet of his young career 123 58 135 The race which was aired live on television earned Gordon attention from a national audience 123 121 58 61 A year later he earned his second consecutive victory in the 1990 Night Before the 500 136 Following their win in the 1989 Night Before the 500 Gordon and Helmling agreed to a partnership that would see Jeff compete in more Thunder races 58 He continued to race locally for Terry Winterbotham until he earned an offer from Stan Shoff to compete in major events behind the wheel of the No 23 McBride amp Shoff Motorsports car 137 58 Gordon scored two victories in the All Star Circuit of Champions that year 129 including his first major feature at Sandusky Speedway 104 He qualified for the main event at the 1989 Knoxville Nationals 58 finishing 23rd 87 138 However Gordon also tore up much of Shoff s equipment 139 140 After wrecking two cars in two nights at Peoria Speedway in Peoria Illinois Gordon was replaced with driver Frankie Kerr 141 Shoff s dismissal of Gordon marked the only time Jeff was ever fired by a team owner 137 58 Gordon ended 1989 on a high note earning the USAC National Midget Series Rookie of the Year award at age eighteen 142 61 By the end of the decade Gordon was one of the most popular drivers on the Thunder circuit 142 Under Helmling Gordon secured sponsorships from RC Cola and later Diet Pepsi 143 This marked the first time Gordon participated in a promotional photo shoot 143 He established a rivalry with fellow racer Rich Vogler 144 which tragically ended on July 21 1990 when Vogler died from massive head injuries sustained in a crash on the final lap of a sprint car event at Salem Speedway 145 146 Vogler who was leading Gordon at the time of the crash was declared the race winner as USAC rules stated that the leader of the last green flag lap before a race ending red flag be credited with the victory 147 148 146 On August 4 1990 his 19th birthday Gordon earned a victory in the prestigious Belleville Midget Nationals 149 Hemling considered the win to be Gordon s most dynamic performance in a midget 146 By the end of 1990 Gordon had dominated in the USAC National Midget Series as he captured nine wins en route to the series championship the youngest driver to do so 150 143 136 61 Gordon won a combined 15 midget races for Helmling between the National and Western States Series 143 In 1991 Gordon drove the No 4 car for California based car owner Fred Ede in the USAC Silver Crown Series 151 He scored two victories at Phoenix International Raceway and Indiana Fairgrounds which was enough to capture the series championship the youngest driver to do so 152 151 153 Gordon was the runner up in the 1991 Night Before the 500 151 He earned his final midget win in the 4 Crown Nationals at Eldora Speedway in September 1991 154 155 Total ASCoC career achievements edit Race wins2 ASCoC victories 156 ASCoC victoriesNo Date Season Track Location Ref1 August 2 1989 Sandusky Speedway Sandusky Ohio 157 158 2 October 28 Orange County Speedway Rougemont North Carolina 159 Total USAC career achievements edit Race wins12 USAC National Midget victories 160 USAC National Midget victoriesNo Date Season Track Location Ref1 May 27 1989 Indianapolis Raceway Park Brownsburg Indiana 161 2 July 6 Indianapolis Raceway Park Brownsburg Indiana3 May 26 1990 Indianapolis Raceway Park Brownsburg Indiana4 June 17 Salem Speedway Salem Indiana5 July 3 Tri City Speedway Granite City Illinois6 July 14 Angell Park Speedway Sun Prairie Wisconsin7 July 28 Indianapolis Raceway Park Brownsburg Indiana8 July 31 Eagle Raceway Eagle Nebraska9 September 1 Tri City Speedway Granite City Illinois10 September 15 Terre Haute Action Track Terre Haute Indiana11 November 4 Winchester Speedway Winchester Indiana12 September 22 1991 Eldora Speedway Rossburg Ohio5 USAC National Sprint Car victories 162 USAC National Sprint Car victoriesNo Date Season Track Location Ref1 May 20 1989 Florence Speedway Union Kentucky 129 2 May 19 1990 Winchester Speedway Winchester Indiana 163 3 June 9 Indianapolis Raceway Park Brownsburg Indiana4 June 17 Salem Speedway Salem Indiana5 November 4 Winchester Speedway Winchester Indiana3 USAC Western States Midget victories 164 USAC Western States Midget victoriesNo Date Season Track Location Ref1 April 28 1990 Ascot Park Gardena California 165 2 June 24 Ascot Park Gardena California 166 3 July 31 Eagle Raceway Eagle Nebraska 167 2 USAC Silver Crown victories 168 USAC Silver Crown victoriesNo Date Season Track Location Ref1 February 3 1991 Phoenix International Raceway Avondale Arizona 169 2 May 24 Indiana State Fairgrounds Indianapolis IndianaChampionships1990 USAC National Midget Champion 170 1991 USAC Silver Crown Champion 171 Stock car racing editFurther information Stock car racing At the beginning of the new decade Gordon was thinking about the next chapter of his still young racing career 150 143 172 He aspired a career in open wheel racing 107 8 61 particularly with an American organization such as Championship Auto Racing Teams CART 150 173 He considered Indy Lights and Formula Three the latter of which Jackie Stewart attempted to help Gordon pursue with the possibility of moving up to Formula One 136 Neither offered Gordon assurance however and in the case of Formula racing he felt the switch would force him to move to Europe and would need to learn multiple languages commitments Gordon found unappealing at the time 136 173 He ultimately realized that the open wheel industry was changing 61 as car owners began to prioritize foreign drivers who brought in big money and sponsorships 150 172 which resulted in young and unknown drivers with less money like Gordon being passed over 173 136 Gordon had an opportunity from car owner Cal Wells to drive a Toyota truck for a Stadium Truck series 174 Gordon flew to California for a test session in which the truck rolled over three times 174 The incident shattered Gordon s confidence to pursue a stadium truck career and despite calls from Wells to continue to try out this did not result in a mutual agreement for a permanent ride 174 At this point in Gordon s life stock car racing emerged as a realistic possibility 150 174 136 During a visit to the Grand Prix of Cleveland where Jeff attempted to shop himself to Indy teams he earned chance meetings with Al Unser Jr and A J Foyt who both recommended NASCAR to Gordon 136 Buck Baker Racing School edit Further information Buck Baker Racing School He came to my father s driving school After one night he called his mom and said Mom I ve made up my mind what I want to do with the rest of my life He wanted Winston Cup cars As far as Indy racing goes that was a kick in the pants for them Because stars like him don t come along that often Buddy Baker recalling Gordon s visit to Buck Baker Racing School 175 I don t know if I d be where I am if it wasn t for Buck and his racing school Jeff Gordon 176 As one of the biggest stars on ESPN s Thunder program Gordon worked alongside auto racing announcer Larry Nuber who also covered the NASCAR Winston Cup circuit at the time 174 142 136 172 Nuber saw the potential for Jeff to try out in stock cars so he and John Bickford reached a deal with two time Grand National Series champion Buck Baker to allow Gordon to run laps at his stock car driving school which operated at North Carolina Motor Speedway in Rockingham 177 8 178 179 32 172 As part of the agreement Gordon would participate in the three day program with an ESPN crew filming the session giving Baker s school free publicity in exchange for Baker waiving the 4 000 fee worth 9 396 in 2023 dollars 177 179 172 180 The driving program marked Gordon s first laps in a stock car and on a track with high banking 181 178 Aside from the cars having manual transmissions Gordon s lone concern was that Baker would not let him go faster than he wanted 179 By the first day Gordon was hooked and at age nineteen he knew he wanted to do stock car racing for a living 182 183 8 178 179 On the second day of the program Baker introduced Gordon to Hugh Connerty a property developer and a son in law of Cup team owner Leo Jackson 184 185 179 186 187 172 A wealthy businessman and aspiring racer himself 172 Connerty owned several Hooters Longhorn Steakhouse and Outback Steakhouse restaurants and also owned the cars used at the driving school 186 184 179 187 Benny Parsons a former Winston Cup Series champion and ESPN broadcaster was aware of his network s intentions to film Gordon s session and knew Connerty was a regular at the track so he called Jackson and made the suggestion that Connerty put Gordon behind the wheel of his car 187 Baker worked out a deal with Connerty to let Gordon run some laps in the car built for the NASCAR Busch Grand National Series 184 179 187 172 Gordon not only ran the best laps run that week but he also bested every lap that Connerty himself ran in the car 184 179 187 Connerty then offered Gordon a limited race deal to compete in the Busch Grand National Series late in the 1990 season 188 178 179 186 187 On the third and final day of the program Gordon successfully convinced his mother to ride with him on the track for a few laps as one of the cars had a passenger seat installed Jeff reached the car up to 150 miles per hour 240 km h with Carol riding along 189 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series edit This section is about Gordon s first stint in the series from 1990 to 1992 For details about his second stint from 1999 to 2000 see JG Motorsports 1990 edit Further information 1990 NASCAR Busch Series Formation of No 67 team and introduction to Ray Evernham edit See also Ray Evernham Jeff was trying to grow a mustache at the time and when he opened his briefcase he had a video game and a racing magazine in it Ray Evernham recalling his first meeting with Gordon 175 Connerty was able to put together a three race deal for Gordon 187 with sponsorship from Outback Steakhouse 185 172 While putting the team together Connerty and Jackson sought assistance from Andy Petree who was the Winston Cup crew chief for Harry Gant at the time 185 178 190 191 192 172 As Petree himself was too busy to prepare the Busch Series car he enlisted help from Phil Barkdoll and his son Steve to prepare the car for Gordon 190 191 192 Still in need of a crew chief for Gordon Petree made a phone call to his friend Ray Evernham to offer him an opportunity to meet Jeff for a September test session at Charlotte Motor Speedway 185 178 192 172 Evernham arranged a visit with Jeff and Carol at a hotel in Hendersonville North Carolina 192 172 Evernham was amused by Gordon s small height as he thought Jeff looked about thirteen to fifteen years old and for the briefcase the young driver brought with him which contained a cell phone Game Boy stock car magazine gum and peanuts 193 8 178 192 Gordon instantly felt he and Evernham had chemistry 193 192 172 They celebrated the beginning of their partnership by going to Hooters 194 The following day they rolled the No 67 Outback Steakhouse Pontiac out for their first laps together at the Charlotte test session 178 194 An open practice day the test session included notable competitors such as Davey Allison and eventual Busch Grand National Series champion Chuck Bown 194 Gordon started off slow so Evernham asked Bown if he could get into Jeff s car to see whether the car itself was slow or if it was the driver 194 Bown agreed to help and outran Gordon s initial laps which proved the car was fast 194 When Gordon realized the car was capable of going faster than he expected he went ahead and outran Bown s laps Jeff ultimately continued to improve throughout the day and was second fastest overall just behind Allison 194 As impressed as Evernham was with Gordon s laps he was even more impressed by Jeff s feedback 194 Gordon felt that his partnership with Evernham reminded him of that of his stepfather 193 194 Gordon s stint in the Busch Grand National Series marked the first time in his fifteen years of racing he did not have any input or hands on assistance from Bickford 195 Three race deal for Hugh Connerty edit Gordon planned to make his debut in the All Pro 300 at Charlotte on October 6 190 191 196 195 Qualifying was rained out and the starting positions were awarded based on drivers points standings 190 191 195 187 Gordon still had a chance to qualify via a hooligan s race a last chance event for drivers at the bottom of the points to make their way into the main event 190 195 187 Despite running well Gordon was tapped by Randy Baker Buck s son and ironically Gordon s instructor at Buck s driving school and hit the wall 190 195 187 Therefore Gordon did not qualify DNQ in his first attempt 197 190 191 196 195 187 172 Gordon formally made his Busch Grand National start with the running of the AC Delco 200 at Rockingham on October 20 152 178 190 191 196 195 187 172 He qualified second in a field of 40 drivers and started on the outside of the front row 152 198 178 190 191 196 195 187 172 In practice Gordon wanted his crew to loosen the car so it would turn easier but this move backfired once the green flag waved 199 Gordon was able to maintain a top five run but after nearly 30 laps his tires wore out and he hit the wall 198 178 190 191 196 199 172 Gordon did not finish DNF the race and was credited with a 39th place finish in his debut 200 201 178 196 199 Gordon s final attempt of 1990 came in the season finale the Winston Classic at Martinsville Speedway on October 28 191 196 199 172 Gordon was third quickest in practice but rain washed out qualifying just like it did at Charlotte and as Gordon was not locked in on points he had to run a hooligan s race to make one last attempt into the main event 190 199 Ultimately a broken crankshaft resulted in his second DNQ in three attempts 202 198 190 191 196 199 172 Gordon ended the season 115th in the standings the season featured 117 drivers who made at least one start 203 Split with Connerty and introduction to Bill Davis edit See also Bill Davis Connerty was unable to put a deal together for Gordon to race in the upcoming 1991 season citing the Gulf War and an uncertain economic future 198 204 199 172 Gordon remained grateful for the partnership which he remembered as an opportunity of a lifetime in his 2003 memoir Racing Back to the Front 198 The 1990 season also marked his introduction to Ray Evernham a man who would later play a central role in Gordon s NASCAR career but for now the two would part ways as Evernham returned to his home in New Jersey 198 199 172 Gordon returned to Indiana and continued to race midgets and sprints during NASCAR s off season 199 Lee Morse the head of Ford Motor Company s racing division was aware of Gordon through his Thunder races and witnessed his second place qualifying run at Rockingham 199 Morse agreed to meet with Gordon at the end of the season in Dearborn Michigan where they sat in Michael Kranefuss office and watched a videotape Larry Nuber made highlighting Jeff s fifteen year career in racing 199 Morse was impressed with the videotape but had nothing to offer Jeff at the time 199 It was not much longer when Morse learned of a driver vacancy for the No 1 Carolina Ford Dealers car owned by Bill Davis 199 172 Mark Martin who drove the No 1 for Davis decided to leave the operation to run his own program 204 199 172 Morse made a call to Gordon to let him know about the opportunity and he convinced Davis to arrange a meeting with Gordon 204 191 205 On December 4 Gordon participated in a Goodyear tire test session for Davis at Rockingham which featured Martin and one other driver Gordon was the quickest out of the three 206 191 205 He also drove for Davis in a December 16 test session at Daytona International Speedway 191 In the December 9 edition of The Indianapolis Star Curt Cavin reported that Gordon was prepared to sign a contract for Davis 206 Davis and his wife Gail flew to Indianapolis where they met with Carol and John at the airport 204 They settled in at Frank amp Mary s Tavern a well known catfish restaurant in Pittsboro to discuss a Busch Grand National contract for Gordon 207 205 They agreed to an unconventional deal where Gordon would not make a salary but rather he would receive half of the car s earnings 207 205 Gordon signed a one year contract to drive for Davis in 1991 a deal which guaranteed at least fifteen races enough to compete for NASCAR Rookie of the Year 208 205 172 Connerty formally signed Gordon over to Davis at an Outback Steakhouse restaurant in Jacksonville 191 Keith Simmons would serve as the crew chief under Gordon 191 At age nineteen a full time move to NASCAR meant Gordon had to relocate to North Carolina giving him independence from Carol and John 205 He shared an apartment in North Charlotte with Andy Graves who had a job in the chassis building division at Hendrick Motorsports a two car team in the Winston Cup Series 151 1991 edit Further information 1991 NASCAR Busch Series See also Bill Davis Racing First half First top 10 finishes and pole edit Gordon s 1991 campaign started off slow as he was one of fifteen drivers not fast enough to qualify for the season opener the Goody s 300 at Daytona on February 16 209 208 210 151 172 This was Gordon s first racing experience at the superspeedway apart from the December test session he had only seen the track while traveling between Jacksonville and Tampa during All Star Speedweeks 208 Gordon formally made his first start of the season in the Pontiac 200 at Richmond International Raceway on February 23 he crashed the car and finished 17th four laps down 211 208 210 Gordon drove the No 4 in a one off ride for Richmond 212 In March Gordon began to show some speed with qualifying runs of fourth at Rockingham fourth at Volusia County Speedway and second at Hickory Motor Speedway 213 214 215 216 Gordon earned his first career top 10 with a ninth place finish in the Pontiac 200 at Darlington Raceway on April 6 217 210 151 Three weeks later he finished second behind fellow rookie contender David Green in the Nestle 200 at Lanier Raceway on April 27 218 219 210 151 Gordon scored a fifth place finish in the Pontiac Pacesetters 200 at Pennsylvania International Raceway in Nazareth on May 11 220 151 Three weeks after that he finished second behind Todd Bodine in the Budweiser 200 at Dover Downs International Speedway on June 1 after this race he was 10th in the standings 404 points behind leader Bobby Labonte 221 210 151 Gordon earned his first career pole along with manufacturer Ford s first Busch pole since August 1987 for the running of the Roses Stores 300 at Orange County Speedway on June 8 210 222 Following the drop of the green flag Gordon was quickly passed by Ward Burton but he was able to retake the lead by lap 16 and remained out front for 75 laps he went on to finish ninth 223 210 A week later he qualified eighth and finished second behind Jimmy Hensley in the Granger Select 400 at Hickory on June 15 224 Second half Summer slump and ROTY win in an Oldsmobile edit See also NASCAR Busch Series Rookie of the Year and Oldsmobile in NASCAR The competition in this series is unreal not just for the rookie award but all the way around Jeff Gordon August 1991 210 The summer solstice of 1991 occurred in the Northern Hemisphere on June 21 225 The following day the second half of the Busch Grand National season began with the running of the Carolina Pride Budweiser 250 at Myrtle Beach Speedway where Gordon started eighth and finished 13th 226 By the end of the Fay s 150 at Watkins Glen International Raceway on June 29 in which Gordon finished sixth in his road course debut with seventeen races complete in the 31 race season Gordon had qualified for sixteen races with one DNQ at Daytona 227 earned seven top 10s and four top 5s including three runner up finishes and ranked 10th in the standings now 352 points behind leader Bobby Labonte 228 222 However Gordon would enter a summer slump as in the next eight races he only registered one top ten finish a third in the August 23 Jay Johnson 250 at Bristol Motor Speedway 227 at this point the twenty year old driver was 11th in the standings 500 points behind leader Kenny Wallace 229 210 222 Gordon put on a show in the September 14 SplitFire 200 at Dover where he crashed on the final lap but backed the car in reverse to cross the line in eighth the final spot on the lead lap 230 210 Gordon participated in a test session for Cale Yarborough the retired three time Winston Cup Series champion who also fielded his own Cup team 155 Midway through the 1991 Winston Cup Series season Yarborough had fired drivers Dick Trickle and Lake Speed so he reached out to Gordon to help him with his organization 155 It was Gordon s first experience driving a Winston Cup car and Yarborough was so impressed that he offered Gordon to finish out the 1991 Cup season in the ride 155 Gordon turned down the offer citing his commitment to Bill Davis who was not thrilled when he found out his driver had tested for another team 155 From October 5 to 19 Gordon suffered a late season dry spell two engine failures at Charlotte and New Hampshire International Speedway in Loudon along with a race ending crash at Rockingham 231 232 233 155 This doubled his DNF total to six as he previously had three DNF s engine failures at Bristol IRP and Darlington in his first 26 starts of the season 234 235 236 227 Gordon literally had no momentum heading into the season finale at Martinsville as he had destroyed the team s last remaining car in the wreck at Rockingham 155 For the second season in a row Gordon earned some much needed assistance from the eventual Busch Grand National Series champion this time from Bobby Labonte who drove Oldsmobiles for his family s team and decided to lend an extra Olds to Gordon as he was a friend and neighbor of Davis 237 155 Lee Morse admitted the team s decision to use a rival General Motors car was ironic but he believed the move was worth it in order for Ford to win Rookie of the Year with Gordon 153 In the October 27 Winston Classic Gordon piloted the Penrose sponsored Oldsmobile to an eighth place finish one lap down 238 219 239 196 153 Gordon clinched the rookie award over David Green who finished 25th in the race by only 12 points 152 219 210 153 172 Gordon was the youngest Rookie of the Year in series history 210 Gordon ended the season 11th in the standings 107 points behind tenth place driver Steve Grissom and 682 points behind series champion Labonte 240 210 153 In his 30 starts Gordon recorded five top 5s 172 ten top 10s one pole position and led 94 laps 227 219 153 During the off season Gordon his roommate Andy Graves and Graves friend Bob Lutz put a down payment on a house in Withrow Downs near Charlotte Motor Speedway 241 153 1992 edit Further information 1992 NASCAR Busch Series nbsp Gordon s No 1 Baby Ruth Ford Thunderbird on display in the Martin Auto MuseumContract extension with Davis and reunion with Evernham edit Prior to the start of the 1992 season Gordon negotiated a new Busch Grand National contract with Bill Davis with assistance from his stepfather 153 According to Bickford they were offered a Roush contract in other words it was written by Jack Roush but credited to Bill Davis 153 Bickford called the attorney Cary Agajanian who previously helped Jeff earn partial emancipation as a teenage racer 153 Among the changes made was the inclusion of a clause to equally allow either Davis or Gordon to terminate their partnership at the end of the season 242 Davis agreed to the clause and opted to continue the deal which gave Gordon half of the car s earnings rather than a salary 243 In addition to the new contract on January 13 Gordon secured sponsorship from Baby Ruth 244 210 243 172 During the week leading up to the 1992 Daytona 500 Gordon encountered his former crew chief Ray Evernham leaving the track 241 172 Evernham had been hired as the crew chief for Winston Cup driver Alan Kulwicki but the two clashed and Evernham quit Kulwicki s team 241 243 172 When Gordon questioned Evernham and was told about the split Jeff offered Ray to return as his own crew chief 241 172 Gordon knew he was in no position to offer Evernham the job so he had to pitch him to Davis first 241 172 According to Bickford Davis was not interested in bringing Evernham on but he felt that if Ford could commit to covering half of Evernham s 50 000 salary worth 109 417 in 2023 dollars 245 he would personally cover the other half 243 Lee Morse was sold on the deal and felt the partnership would contribute to a successful season 246 With Evernham back as Gordon s crew chief 244 172 Keith Simmons was demoted to the engine builder 247 First half First victory and introduction to Rick Hendrick edit See also 1992 Atlanta 300 and Rick Hendrick nbsp He came out of the turn with the back end hanging out I told the guy with me that I wanted to wait a minute and see him bust his tail But I stood there for 20 laps and he just kept on going He was on the ragged edge all day Rick Hendrick recalling watching Gordon race at Atlanta layout pictured 175 For the second season in a row Gordon started off slow at Daytona as he was not fast enough to qualify for the season opener the February 15 Goody s 300 on speed alone 248 243 This time however Gordon was able to get into the race via a provisional start in Gordon s case he was awarded a starting position for having a high points finish in the previous season 248 243 Gordon started the race last in the field of 44 drivers and finished 23rd after suffering an engine failure 249 248 243 He quickly found some speed and won the pole position for the next three consecutive races 248 247 172 After earning finishes of seventh and ninth at Rockingham and Richmond respectively 250 251 248 in his 35th career start 172 Gordon scored his first series victory in the inaugural running of the Atlanta 300 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 14 252 253 210 247 Gordon led 103 of the 197 laps en route to the win which moved him up to second in the standings only 13 points behind leader Kenny Wallace 252 254 Unbeknownst to Gordon at the time his performance at Atlanta caught the attention of Rick Hendrick 255 the owner of a Chevrolet Winston Cup team who normally did not attend Busch Grand National races but happened to be at the track a day early for a sponsorship appearance ahead of the Motorcraft Quality Parts 500 on Sunday 256 8 210 247 172 Hendrick who fielded the No 5 for Ricky Rudd and the No 25 for Ken Schrader was so impressed with Gordon that he contemplated funding a third Cup team for the young driver without having met him 255 247 172 On the following Monday Hendrick discussed the possibility with general manager Jimmy Johnson at their shop 257 247 172 They were under the impression that Gordon had a multi year deal with Davis and Ford but Andy Graves a crew member for Rudd and Gordon s housemate informed them this was not the case 257 247 172 Then Graves approached Gordon and told him that Hendrick was interested in meeting him to discuss a potential ride 258 259 Gordon ignored Graves believing it was a prank 260 259 Focused on his Bill Davis Racing team 261 262 Gordon followed up his win at Atlanta with a sixth place finish at Martinsville 263 260 A week later an engine suspension failure took him out of contention at Darlington 264 260 However he rebounded at Bristol as he earned an outside spot on the front row and brought the car to the finish in fifth place 265 260 Though he suffered another engine failure at Hickory Gordon won the pole and finished 10th at Lanier 266 267 Meanwhile Gordon continued to ignore requests from Graves to meet Hendrick 268 Desperate Graves called Bickford to inform him about the situation and after a discussion with Carol John decided to call Hendrick himself 269 Gordon who was waiting for Davis to put their own Cup deal together agreed to speak with Hendrick 269 259 Gordon was impressed with the way Hendrick operated his businesses and felt confident they had a future in Winston Cup together despite having no sponsor 172 team or car set up yet 270 259 Gordon was eager to pitch Evernham as the crew chief when Hendrick did not have one in mind 271 259 Amid rumors that Gordon may jump to a Chevrolet team several folks at Ford attempted to convince Jeff to stay with them 272 262 Roush Racing Junior Johnson amp Associates and Stavola Brothers Racing were among Ford s Winston Cup teams interested in Gordon but neither of them were willing to consider Evernham as the crew chief 262 John Bickford even hung up the phone on Jack Roush when the car owner refused to consider Evernham 272 273 He finished fifth in the Granger Select 200 at New River Valley Speedway on May 2 274 Three days later on May 5 Gordon formally signed a contract to drive for Hendrick Motorsports in the Winston Cup Series 172 beginning in 1993 272 210 275 Coinciding with Gordon s private intentions to sign with Hendrick Davis announced in the previous week that they may have a sponsor willing to go Cup racing with them 275 On May 6 one day after signing with Hendrick Gordon boarded a plane with Davis and PR manager Bill Armour to Minneapolis to meet with Target Corporation executives 272 275 172 The meeting was arranged by Henry Rischitelli Armour s friend and the head of motorsports for the International Management Group 275 Rischitelli worked with Target in Indy racing and the company was interested in expanding to NASCAR with Gordon as their driver 275 The Target camp was impressed with Gordon in the meeting as was Davis 172 but neither of them were aware of Gordon s secret contract with Hendrick 275 While preparing to leave Minneapolis to return to Charlotte Gordon informed Davis of his intentions to drive for Hendrick following the end of the season 276 275 172 Davis was so shocked that he left alone to return home while Rischitelli returned to Cleveland 277 Gordon and Armour stayed overnight at an airport hotel before flying off to Pennsylvania for the upcoming race at Nazareth 278 In the Pontiac 200 on May 9 he suffered another engine failure 279 278 After the early exit Gordon called Morse to inform him about his decision to leave Ford for Chevrolet 278 When the news became public there was a massive uproar among those who believed Gordon had betrayed Ford 280 276 278 Michael Kranefuss questioned Gordon s motive and called him an ungrateful punk 276 278 Some commentators such as ESPN s Dave Despain and Terry Lingner came to Gordon s defense 281 Despite the early engine and mechanical issues Gordon was consistently a top ten contender in the first three months of the season 282 Now mid May Gordon still shaken from the bad press over the Hendrick announcement sought to return to victory lane 282 281 He would capture a series record 113 844 249 130 in 2023 dollars 283 fueled by a bonus worth 100 000 218 835 in 2023 dollars 284 with his second series victory from the pole position in the Champion 300 at Charlotte on May 23 285 286 287 210 281 He led 58 laps to take the checkered flag and was now third in the standings 70 points behind leader Kenny Wallace and one point behind second place driver Bobby Labonte 285 He thanked Davis for keeping him in the car this season despite the controversy over the switch to Hendrick for 1993 210 The tensions were high within the Ford camp however and according to Armour Davis allegedly questioned to Kranefuss and Morse whether they would have a problem with firing Gordon in victory lane 281 On May 28 Evernham was formally signed on as Gordon s crew chief at Hendrick 210 Second half Pole record and split with Davis edit The summer solstice of 1992 occurred in the Northern Hemisphere on June 20 288 This marked the second half of the Busch Grand National season which began with the running of the Carolina Pride Budweiser 250 at Myrtle Beach that same day Gordon earned his sixth pole position of the season and finished 5th after leading 91 laps 289 By the end of the Fay s 150 at Watkins Glen on June 27 in which Gordon finished 19th after suffering a late race ending crash with sixteen races complete in the 31 race season Gordon had no DNQs 290 earned ten top 10s and six top 5s including two wins and ranked fifth in the standings now 150 points behind leader Kenny Wallace 291 By July Evernham began working at the Hendrick shop to prepare for 1993 210 Gordon would enter a summer slump for the second season in a row as between June 27 and September 19 he only registered three top 10s in 12 starts 290 following the conclusion of the September 19 SplitFire 200 at Dover Gordon was sixth in the standings 278 points behind leader Todd Bodine 292 On the same day DuPont announced a four year deal to sponsor Gordon s Cup ride beginning in 1993 210 He continued to remain fast throughout the season with additional pole positions at Volusia 293 Michigan International Speedway 294 Dover 292 Charlotte 295 and Rockingham 296 210 On October 10 Gordon earned his third and final series victory for Davis in the All Pro 300 at Charlotte which marked the first racetrack sweep of his NASCAR career 295 297 298 210 In the season finale at Hickory The Pantry 500 on November 8 Gordon competed in his final start for Davis in which he started on the outside of the front row and finished 11th 299 298 Gordon ended the season fourth in the standings 286 172 222 points behind series champion Joe Nemechek 300 281 In his 31 starts Gordon recorded three wins 286 172 10 top 5s 15 top 10s and 7 DNFs 290 He led the series with 1160 laps as the race leader and earned the most prize money with 371 578 813 144 in 2023 dollars 290 281 301 His 11 pole positions broke Sam Ard s record for the most poles in a single season this record remains active today 290 286 8 210 281 Aftermath edit See also 1992 Hooters 500 Hendrick Motorsports Car No 24 and NASCAR Cup Series career of Jeff Gordon On November 15 one week after his final Busch race for Davis Gordon began his Winston Cup Series career with Hendrick Motorsports competing in the 1992 Hooters 500 at Atlanta behind the wheel of the No 24 DuPont Chevrolet 302 303 304 210 281 172 He went on to compete full time in the Cup Series between 1993 and 2015 making a record 797 consecutive starts 305 306 Off the track Gordon received media attention for his marriage to former Miss Winston model Brooke Sealey which lasted from 1994 to 2003 307 8 308 309 310 311 312 313 He married Ingrid Vandebosch in 2006 8 314 315 316 and they have two children together 314 317 318 319 Gordon s relationship with his mother and stepfather became strained during his marriage to Brooke 8 308 320 but they made amends when the couple separated 308 321 Gordon also became a philanthropist 322 He began visiting children in hospitals while he drove for Davis in the Busch Grand National Series 323 In July 1992 Evernham s son Ray J was diagnosed with leukemia which prompted Gordon to do more to make a difference to children 210 323 In 1999 he established his own foundation dedicated to childhood cancer 324 325 References editNotes edit This article covers Gordon s life before his NASCAR Cup Series career therefore these statistics span Gordon s NASCAR Busch Grand National Series career from 1990 to 1992 only See the parent article Jeff Gordon for statistics spanning his entire career including his results in the series from 1999 to 2000 while driving for his own team In the authorized biography Jeff Gordon His Dream Drive amp Destiny 2016 author Joe Garner wrote that the couple separated when Jeff was three months old 9 although in the Motor Racing Network podcast Jeff Gordon A Colorful Career 2019 host Brian Nelson stated that the couple separated when Jeff was six months old 10 According to a February 1993 article in Stock Car Racing and an episode of the ESPN biography television program SportsCentury the couple divorced when Jeff was a year old 14 8 Citations edit HARF Driver of the Year Hoosier Auto Racing Fans Archived from the original on January 24 2016 Retrieved January 14 2023 AARWBA All America Team American Auto Racing Writers amp Broadcasters Association Retrieved January 14 2023 Ed Carpenter receives Pat O Connor Award from Hoosier Auto Racing Fans INDYCAR January 26 2014 Retrieved January 14 2023 HARF Hall of Fame Hoosier Auto Racing Fans Archived from the original on January 24 2016 Retrieved January 14 2023 James Marty January 17 2005 Vallejo Sports Hall of Fame to honor Sabathia Gordon Napa Valley Register Retrieved January 14 2023 NEMA s Humphrey Earns Midget Hall of Fame Spot YankeeRacer com September 3 2008 Retrieved January 14 2023 Moriarty 1999 p 12 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r SportsCentury 2007 a b c d e Garner 2016 p 16 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab MRN1 2019 Fryer Jenna October 15 2007 The most incredible year Star News Concord NC Retrieved August 12 2016 a b c Gordon 2005 p 26 Webb James October 3 2004 Why You Need To Know the Scots Irish Parade Retrieved November 7 2016 a b c d e f Grissom 2005 p 10 a b c Garner 2016 p 17 The Bickford Effect Jeff Gordon Online Spring 2004 Retrieved July 17 2016 Buchanan Mary Jo November 3 2015 With Gordon Stepping Away Bickford s Journey Also Ending Popular Speed Retrieved July 17 2016 a b Cavin Curt November 22 2015 Cavin Jeff Gordon s retirement one for the family The Indianapolis Star Homestead FL Retrieved July 17 2016 Garner 2016 p 22 Garner 2016 pp 17 18 a b c d Moriarty 1999 p 14 a b c Gordon 2005 p 27 Garner 2016 p 18 a b c d e Hembree Mike June 28 2016 Jeff Gordon s career comes full circle at California track USA Today Vallejo CA Retrieved August 13 2016 Garner 2016 pp 18 19 a b c d e f g h i Garner 2016 p 19 Gordon 2005 p 24 Gordon 2005 p 25 Gordon 2005 pp 25 26 a b c Garner 2016 p 20 450 in 1976 2023 Inflation Calculator www in2013dollars com Retrieved September 28 2023 a b c Argabright 2015 p 54 a b Pashelka Curtis June 20 2015 Jeff Gordon hits home stretch visits Rio Linda track where he first raced The Mercury News Rio Linda CA Archived from the original on April 29 2017 Retrieved September 28 2023 Barber Phil September 23 2015 Jeff Gordon s first car is out there somewhere The Press Democrat Retrieved August 12 2016 a b c d e f g Ryan Nate November 20 2015 The search for Jeff Gordon s first car continues as he nears the end NBC Sports Archived from the original on November 20 2015 Retrieved September 28 2023 Todd John June 18 2012 Jeff Gordon Comes Back Home Rio Linda Online Retrieved August 12 2016 a b c d Moriarty 1999 p 16 a b c Garner 2016 p 23 a b c Gordon 2005 p 30 Gordon 2005 pp 30 31 JeffGordonWeb May 26 2017 The VjoTimesHerald circa 1978 FlashbackFriday TeamJG Tweet via Twitter a b Glick Shav January 10 1991 MOTOR RACING Precocious Gordons Move Up to Stock Car Major Leagues Los Angeles Times Retrieved August 16 2016 a b c Garner 2016 p 24 a b c Race History Archived from the original on December 1 1998 Retrieved August 22 2016 a b Gordon 2005 p 32 Brewster Louis March 21 2015 Jeff Gordon s NASCAR legacy Changing face of the sport opening door for California drivers Inland Valley Daily Bulletin Fontana CA Retrieved July 26 2020 Pope Dennis March 21 2015 NASCAR Gordon takes a moment to reflect The Press Enterprise Fontana CA Archived from the original on September 20 2023 Retrieved September 28 2023 a b Gordon 2005 pp 32 33 a b Gordon 2005 p 33 JEFF GORDON XS Racing by ASC GAMES Archived from the original on August 16 2000 Retrieved September 11 2016 Video King Jeff Gordon Online Harrisburg NC Retrieved September 11 2016 a b Garner 2016 p 25 Pockrass Bob April 13 2013 Jeff Gordon s wish I want to be Shaun White Sporting News Fort Worth TX Retrieved August 12 2016 Arnold Brian June 21 2015 Vallejo native and NASCAR star Jeff Gordon visits old middle school in his hometown Daily Republic Vallejo CA Retrieved September 12 2016 Staff report June 23 2015 GORDON REVEALS FAVORITE NUMBER BREAKDANCING ROOTS NASCAR Archived from the original on June 25 2015 Retrieved September 11 2016 Gluck Jeff December 1 2011 VIDEO Jeff Gordon Break Dances At NASCAR After The Lap Event SB Nation Retrieved September 12 2016 a b Widjojo Irma June 22 2015 NASCAR legend Jeff Gordon visits former Vallejo school answers questions The Mercury News Retrieved June 12 2017 a b c d e f g h i Garner 2016 p 44 a b c d e f g h i j k Garner 2016 p 27 Grissom 2005 p 28 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y MRN2 2019 Gordon 2005 p 34 a b c Gordon 2005 p 35 Gordon 2005 pp 35 36 Gordon 2005 p 36 Gordon 2005 pp 36 37 a b Gordon 2005 p 37 Garner 2016 p 28 Garner 2016 pp 28 29 Gordon 2005 pp 38 39 a b Garner 2016 p 29 a b Gordon 2005 p 39 Garner 2016 pp 29 30 Gordon 2005 pp 39 40 a b c d e Garner 2016 p 30 Gordon 2005 p 40 Gordon 2005 p 38 Gordon 2005 pp 41 42 a b c Gordon 2005 p 42 a b c d Garner 2016 p 31 Gordon 2005 p 41 a b c d Gordon 2005 p 43 a b c Garner 2016 p 32 300 in 1985 2023 Inflation Calculator www in2013dollars com Retrieved September 28 2023 a b c d e Gordon 2005 p 46 Gordon 2005 pp 46 47 a b c d Wackerlin Jeff August 12 2015 Jeff Gordon From Sprint Cars to Sprint Cup Knoxville IA Motor Racing Network Archived from the original on August 15 2015 Retrieved June 30 2017 a b c d Gordon 2005 p 47 a b Garner 2016 p 33 Bickford John May 23 2015 Exclusive Stepfather details decision that led Gordon to NASCAR FoxSports com Archived from the original on May 26 2015 Retrieved July 26 2020 Garner 2016 pp 33 34 a b c d Garner 2016 p 34 Jenkins Chris August 18 2005 Agent steers NASCAR toward other sports ways USA Today Retrieved June 12 2017 AUTOWEEK STAFF November 13 2015 Telling it like it is Rivals peers share memories of Jeff Gordon s NASCAR career Autoweek Retrieved June 12 2017 Gordon 2005 pp 43 44 Jeff Gordon Famous Findlayians Retrieved October 21 2023 a b c d Bruce Kenny July 23 2015 GORDON GOES HOME ONE OF THE BEST DAYS OF MY LIFE NASCAR Archived from the original on July 26 2015 Retrieved June 30 2017 a b c Gordon 2005 p 44 Alter Larry 1996 History of Racing at Millstream Speeedway Millstream Speedway Retrieved July 13 2017 a b c d e f Garner 2016 p 35 Moriarty 1999 p 17 a b Garner 2016 p 37 IMS July 23 2015 Gordon Calls Parade Day in Pittsboro One of the Best Days of My Life Indianapolis Motor Speedway Retrieved June 30 2017 a b c d e f Garner 2016 p 38 Grissom 2005 p 12 a b c Gordon 2005 p 45 a b Moriarty 1999 p 20 a b Gordon 2005 p 48 Downing Kendall October 27 2014 Longtime Hendricks Co school employees killed in RV crash daughter hurt Campbell County TN WXIN Retrieved June 30 2020 Associated Press October 28 2014 Gordon s driver s ed teacher killed ESPN com Pittsboro IN Retrieved June 30 2020 alley October 28 2014 Jeff Gordon s driving instructor and one of my biggest fans dies in road accident Racer Retrieved June 30 2020 Melillo Joe July 23 2015 Jeff Gordon s childhood home filled with memories Pittsboro IN WISH TV Archived from the original on August 12 2015 Retrieved July 5 2017 a b Garner 2016 pp 38 39 1987 CLAREMONT SPEEDWAY speedwayandroadracehistory Retrieved June 30 2020 rce160588 June 4 2007 Jeff Gordon racing sprintcars Retrieved July 5 2017 via YouTube World Sprintcar Championship 1987 standings Driver Database Retrieved July 5 2017 Garner 2016 pp 39 40 a b c d e Garner 2016 p 40 December 17 1988 Wheels of Speed Retrieved July 13 2017 Wylie Todd May 5 2015 Dream Shed speedway shrine The Motherhood Retrieved June 12 2017 a b c d e f g Garner 2016 p 42 Cram Joanne August 10 2012 Exciting New Attractions at the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame amp Museum Knoxville Raceway Retrieved July 13 2017 a b c d Gordon 2005 p 50 The History of the Kings Royal at Eldora Speedway PennLive July 17 2015 Retrieved June 30 2020 VntgSprintCars November 22 2015 Jeff Gordon behind the wheel of the Stanton 40 machine at the 1987 Knoxville Nationals Jeff Taylor photo 24ever Tweet via Twitter Kocher Greg January 1 2016 Nicholasville shop builds engines for sprint midget racing teams around the world Lexington Herald Leader Nicholasville KY Retrieved July 13 2017 Moriarty 1999 p 22 Puna Mike June 21 2004 The Rainbow Warrior ESPN Classic Retrieved July 13 2017 a b c d e Argabright 2015 p 48 EldoraSpeedway November 20 2015 JeffGordonWeb still owes Eldora 10 24Ever Thanks to the Baltes amp Schmitmeyer families for finding this Tweet via Twitter Billing Greg February 21 2015 Gordon s racing career hit full throttle in Dayton Dayton Daily News Retrieved July 13 2017 a b c d e Garner 2016 p 43 a b Argabright 2015 pp 48 49 Cavin Curt July 24 2014 Crash 25 years ago helped pave way for Jeff Gordon s impressive NASCAR career The Indianapolis Star Retrieved July 13 2017 Argabright 2015 p 49 a b c d e f g h Garner 2016 p 47 a b oniadmin January 26 2015 Gordon will be missed The Journal Retrieved June 30 2020 Wackerlin Jeff August 11 2019 Gordon s Amazing Knoxville Week Motor Racing Network Retrieved June 30 2020 Gluck Jeff February 16 2011 Jeff Gordon s Road To The 2011 Daytona 500 SB Nation Retrieved June 30 2020 Right before things started going well for me before I started being kind of a household name on ESPN s Saturday Night Thunder and Thursday Night Thunder USAC shows I was racing for a guy named Stan Shoff in a sprint car It was a great ride they had great cars good funding And nothing went right for us I wrecked everything he had So things were not going very well for me at that time because I had an opportunity that I felt like was slipping away That s when the whole Night Before The 500 USAC race came about on ESPN We went and set a new track record and won the race And that changed my whole career NASCAR PRESEASON THUNDER TESTING January 9 2014 Jeff Gordon ASAP Sports January 9 2014 Retrieved September 5 2017 Q What would you say in your opinion would that be that twist of fate that got you to where you are as far as today JEFF GORDON I mean there s so many You don t make it to this level without having some moments that kind of maybe separated you from others in the field and got you that opportunity and I look at the successes and the failures Prior to me being hired by Raleigh Helming to drive on ESPN s Thursday Night Thunder the night before the 500 where we set a new track record and won that race in fairly spectacular fashion prior to that I was racing for McBride and Shoff in a sprint car in the All Star Series and got fired because I was tearing up too much of their equipment and wasn t winning enough To me that moment where I did not succeed in that sprint car gave me a new opportunity to go and be very successful in a midget in a sprint car on pavement in front of a big audience that took my name from being an up and coming sprint car driver to being a talent in the open wheel field as well as a couple years later being a driver that even an owner in NASCAR would consider I don t know if it was a specific moment but I guess winning that race the night before the 500 would be the specific moment Adams Jeff November 19 2015 Jeff Gordon s career took turn at Peoria Speedway Journal Star Retrieved September 5 2017 a b c Garner 2016 p 45 a b c d e Gordon 2005 p 51 Moriarty 1999 pp 8 10 Argabright 2015 p 50 a b c Garner 2016 p 46 Terhune Jim July 22 1990 Rich Vogler killed after smacking wall at Salem Speedway The Courier Journal Salem IN Retrieved July 19 2020 via Newspapers com Vogler Killed in Sprint Car Crash Los Angeles Times July 22 1990 Retrieved July 1 2020 Garner 2016 pp 46 47 a b c d e Moriarty 1999 p 24 a b c d e f g h i Garner 2016 p 56 a b c d Moriarty 1999 p 27 a b c d e f g h i j Garner 2016 p 59 Argabright 2015 p 51 a b c d e f g h Garner 2016 p 58 ASCOC HISTORY All Star Circuit of Champions Retrieved July 1 2020 All Time Win List All Star Circuit of Champions Retrieved July 1 2020 8 2 1989 at Sandusky Speedway All Star Circuit of Champions Retrieved June 30 2020 ASCoC 1989 38 The Third Turn Retrieved March 20 2021 ASCoC 1989 53 The Third Turn Retrieved March 20 2021 USAC NATIONAL MIDGET CAREER WINS PDF United States Auto Club 2016 Retrieved June 30 2020 History Series Winners National Midget United States Auto Club Retrieved June 30 2020 USAC NATIONAL SPRINT CAR CAREER WINS PDF United States Auto Club 2016 Retrieved June 30 2020 History Series Winners National Sprint United States Auto Club Retrieved June 30 2020 USAC WESTERN STATES MIDGET CAREER WINS PDF United States Auto Club 2016 Retrieved June 30 2020 USAC Western Midget 1990 10 The Third Turn Retrieved March 20 2021 USAC Western Midget 1990 20 The Third Turn Retrieved March 20 2021 USAC Western Midget 1990 29 The Third Turn Retrieved March 20 2021 USAC SILVER CROWN CAREER WINS PDF United States Auto Club 2016 Retrieved June 30 2020 History Series Winners Silver Crown United States Auto Club Retrieved June 30 2020 USAC NATIONAL MIDGET DRIVER CHAMPIONS PDF United States Auto Club 2016 Retrieved June 30 2020 USAC SILVER CROWN DRIVER CHAMPIONS PDF United States Auto Club 2016 Retrieved June 30 2020 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au MRN3 2019 a b c Gordon 2005 p 52 a b c d e Gordon 2005 p 53 a b c Jeff Gordon Up Close Jeff Gordon Online Retrieved June 30 2020 About Us Seat Time Racing School Retrieved July 1 2020 a b Gordon 2005 pp 53 54 a b c d e f g h i j k l Hallways To The Past Jeff Gordon Online October 20 2011 Retrieved July 5 2020 a b c d e f g h i Garner 2016 p 48 4 000 in 1990 2023 Inflation Calculator www in2013dollars com Retrieved September 28 2023 Gordon 2005 p 54 Moriarty 1999 p 25 Gordon 2005 pp 54 55 a b c d Gordon 2005 p 56 a b c d Gordon 2005 p 59 a b c nascarman October 19 2017 Historical Motorsports Stories writes Jeff Gordon s NASCAR Debut Racing Reference info Retrieved July 1 2020 a b c d e f g h i j k l m Gordon Jeff February 1 2019 Perfect Timing Jeff Gordon vs Dale Earnhardt one key to Gordon s NASCAR HOF induction The Charlotte Observer Archived from the original on March 3 2019 Retrieved February 26 2023 Gordon 2005 pp 56 57 Gordon 2005 pp 57 58 a b c d e f g h i j k l Hensley Dean January 24 2015 Gordon s start in NASCAR has connection to area Spartanburg Herald Journal Retrieved July 5 2020 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Argabright 2015 p 55 a b c d e f Garner 2016 p 51 a b c Gordon 2005 p 60 a b c d e f g h Garner 2016 p 52 a b c d e f g h Garner 2016 p 53 a b c d e f g h i Pontiac Racing February 29 2016 The Jeff Gordon Pontiac Connection WordPress com Retrieved July 19 2020 10 06 1990 race 1990 All Pro 300 NXS Racing Reference info Retrieved July 5 2020 a b c d e f Gordon 2005 p 63 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Garner 2016 p 54 10 20 1990 race 1990 AC Delco 200 NXS Racing Reference info Retrieved July 7 2020 Newton David September 6 2011 Gordon s greatness is enduring ESPN com Charlotte NC Retrieved July 7 2020 10 28 1990 race 1990 Winston Classic NXS Racing Reference info Retrieved July 7 2020 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series standings for 1990 Racing Reference info Retrieved July 7 2020 a b c d Gordon 2005 p 65 a b c d e f Garner 2016 p 55 a b Cavin Curt December 9 1990 Gordon driving in a new fast line The Indianapolis Star Retrieved July 19 2020 via Newspapers com a b Gordon 2005 p 66 a b c d Gordon 2005 p 67 02 16 1991 race Goody s 300 NXS Racing Reference info Retrieved July 12 2020 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa Hembree 2015 p 68 02 23 1991 race Pontiac 200 NXS Racing Reference info Retrieved July 12 2020 SMIFF TV September 8 2018 1991 Pontiac 200 Retrieved July 12 2020 via YouTube 03 02 1991 race Goodwrench 200 NXS Racing Reference info Retrieved July 12 2020 03 24 1991 race Spring 200 NXS Racing Reference info Retrieved July 12 2020 03 31 1991 race Mountain Dew 500 NXS Racing Reference info Retrieved July 12 2020 Gordon 2005 pp 67 68 04 06 1991 race Pontiac Pacesetters 200 NXS Racing Reference info Retrieved July 12 2020 04 27 1991 race Nestle 200 NXS Racing Reference info Retrieved July 12 2020 a b c d Gordon 2005 p 68 05 11 1991 race Pontiac 200 NXS Racing Reference info Retrieved July 12 2020 06 01 1991 race Budweiser 200 NXS Racing Reference info Retrieved July 12 2020 a b c Garner 2016 p 57 06 08 1991 race Roses Stores 300 NXS Racing Reference info Retrieved July 12 2020 06 15 1991 race Granger Select 400 NXS Racing Reference info Retrieved July 12 2020 1991 Summer Solstice Drik Panchang Retrieved July 12 2020 06 22 1991 race Carolina Pride Budweiser 250 NXS Racing Reference info Retrieved July 12 2020 a b c d Driver Jeff Gordon 1991 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results Racing Reference info Retrieved July 12 2020 06 29 1991 race Fay s 150 NXS Racing Reference info Retrieved July 12 2020 08 23 1991 race Jay Johnson 250 NXS Racing Reference info Retrieved July 12 2020 09 14 1991 race SplitFire 200 NXS Racing Reference info Retrieved July 12 2020 10 05 1991 race All Pro 300 NXS Racing Reference info Retrieved July 12 2020 10 13 1991 race NE Chevy 250 NXS Racing Reference info Retrieved July 12 2020 10 19 1991 race AC Delco 200 NXS Racing Reference info Retrieved July 12 2020 04 13 1991 race Budweiser 250 NXS Racing Reference info Retrieved July 12 2020 08 03 1991 race Kroger 200 NXS Racing Reference info Retrieved July 12 2020 08 31 1991 race Gatorade 200 NXS Racing Reference info Retrieved July 12 2020 Thomy Al December 5 1990 TRINITY DRIVER S TALENT INCLUDES GOOD TIMING News amp Record Retrieved July 19 2020 10 27 1991 race Winston Classic NXS Racing Reference info Retrieved July 19 2020 classicnascar August 4 2015 Jeff Gordon driving an Oldsmobile after a DNQ MartinsvilleSwy in 1991 NASCAR Tweet via Twitter NASCAR Busch Grand National Series standings for 1991 Racing Reference info Retrieved July 19 2020 a b c d e Gordon 2005 p 69 Garner 2016 pp 59 60 a b c d e f g Garner 2016 p 60 a b Gordon 2005 p 70 50 000 in 1992 2023 Inflation Calculator www in2013dollars com Retrieved September 28 2023 Garner 2016 pp 60 61 a b c d e f g Garner 2016 p 61 a b c d e Gordon 2005 p 71 02 15 1992 race Goody s 300 NXS Racing Reference info Retrieved July 26 2020 02 29 1992 race Goodwrench 200 NXS Racing Reference info Retrieved July 26 2020 03 07 1992 race Hardee s 200 NXS Racing Reference info Retrieved July 26 2020 a b 02 15 1992 race Atlanta 300 NXS Racing Reference info Retrieved July 26 2020 Gordon 2005 pp 71 72 Gordon 2005 p 72 a b Moriarty 1999 p 34 Gordon 2005 p 73 a b Gordon 2005 p 74 Gordon 2005 pp 74 75 a b c d e Garner 2016 p 63 a b c d Gordon 2005 p 75 Gordon 2005 p 78 a b c Garner 2016 p 64 03 22 1992 race Miller 500 NXS Racing Reference info Retrieved July 26 2020 03 28 1992 race Mark III Vans 200 NXS Racing Reference info Retrieved July 26 2020 04 04 1992 race Budweiser 250 NXS Racing Reference info Retrieved July 26 2020 04 18 1992 race Mountain Dew 500 NXS Racing Reference info Retrieved July 26 2020 04 25 1992 race Nestle Chilled Beverages 300 NXS Racing Reference info Retrieved July 26 2020 Gordon 2005 pp 78 79 a b Gordon 2005 pp 79 80 Gordon 2005 pp 80 82 Gordon 2005 p 82 a b c d Gordon 2005 p 83 Jensen Tom January 23 2015 Inside story Jack Roush s failed attempt to hire Jeff Gordon Foxsports com Archived from the original on January 24 2015 Retrieved July 26 2020 05 02 1992 race Granger Select 200 NXS Racing Reference info Retrieved July 26 2020 a b c d e f g Garner 2016 p 65 a b c Gordon 2005 p 84 Garner 2016 pp 65 66 a b c d e Garner 2016 p 66 05 9 1992 race Pontiac Pacesetters 200 NXS Racing Reference info Retrieved July 26 2020 Moriarty 1999 pp 34 35 a b c d e f g h Garner 2016 p 67 a b Gordon 2005 p 76 113 844 in 1992 2023 Inflation Calculator www in2013dollars com Retrieved September 28 2023 100 000 in 1992 2023 Inflation Calculator www in2013dollars com Retrieved September 28 2023 a b 05 23 1992 race Champion 300 NXS Racing Reference info Retrieved July 26 2020 a b c d Moriarty 1999 p 28 Gordon 2005 pp 76 78 1992 Summer Solstice Drik Panchang Retrieved July 26 2020 06 20 1992 race Carolina Pride Budweiser 250 NXS Racing Reference info Retrieved July 26 2020 a b c d e Driver Jeff Gordon 1992 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results Racing Reference info Retrieved July 26 2020 06 27 1992 race Fay s 150 NXS Racing Reference info Retrieved July 12 2020 a b 09 19 1992 race SplitFire Spark Plugs 200 NXS Racing Reference info Retrieved July 26 2020 07 04 1992 race X 1R Firecracker 200 NXS Racing Reference info Retrieved July 26 2020 08 15 1992 race Detroit Gasket 200 NXS Racing Reference info Retrieved July 26 2020 a b 10 10 1992 race All Pro 300 NXS Racing Reference info Retrieved July 26 2020 10 24 1992 race AC Delco 200 NXS Racing Reference info Retrieved July 26 2020 Driver Jeff Gordon s NASCAR Xfinity Series Results at Charlotte Motor Speedway Racing Reference info Retrieved July 26 2020 a b Gordon 2005 p 86 11 08 1992 race The Pantry 500 NXS Racing Reference info Retrieved July 26 2020 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series standings for 1992 Racing Reference info Retrieved July 26 2020 371 578 in 1992 2023 Inflation Calculator www in2013dollars com Retrieved September 28 2023 Moriarty 1999 pp 10 12 32 39 92 Gordon 2005 pp 94 95 Busbee Jay September 2 2012 Race of ages Jeff Gordon s first Richard Petty s last and a championship on the line to boot Yahoo Sports Retrieved July 27 2020 Cain Holly November 22 2015 Cain Gordon walks away on cloud nine even without title HOMESTEAD FL NASCAR Archived from the original on November 23 2015 Retrieved July 26 2020 Jeff Gordon s 2015 farewell tour Homestead Miami USA Today November 24 2015 Retrieved July 27 2020 Gordon 2005 pp 259 261 a b c Hembree 2015 p 60 Hembree 2015 p 70 Spencer 2015 p 78 Spencer 2015 p 90 Garner 2016 p 76 Garner 2016 pp 109 110 a b Spencer 2015 p 80 Spencer 2015 p 91 Garner 2016 pp 128 129 Spencer 2015 p 92 Garner 2016 pp 132 133 Garner 2016 pp 145 147 Garner 2016 pp 81 82 Garner 2016 pp 106 107 Garner 2016 pp 135 a b Garner 2016 p 136 Johnson 2015 p 94 Garner 2016 pp 136 138 Sources edit Argabright Dave December 2015 1971 1990 GROOMING A LEGEND NASCAR Illustrated Vol XXXIV no 12 American City Business Journals Fowler Chris 2007 February 9 2004 Jeff Gordon SportsCentury ESPN Classic Retrieved October 9 2023 via YouTube Garner Joe 2016 Jeff Gordon His Dream Drive amp Destiny Jeff Gordon Inc ISBN 978 1 6038 0396 0 Gordon Jeff Steve Eubanks 2005 2003 Jeff Gordon Racing Back to the Front My Memoir New York Pocket Books ISBN 0 7434 6416 8 Grissom Glen 2005 Jeff Gordon The NASCAR Superstar s Story Motorbooks ISBN 0 7603 2178 7 Hembree Mike December 2015 1991 2001 SUPERSTAR NASCAR Illustrated Vol XXXIV no 12 American City Business Journals Johnson Kris December 2015 IMPACT NASCAR Illustrated Vol XXXIV no 12 American City Business Journals Moriarty Frank 1999 Jeff Gordon MetroBooks ISBN 1 56799 851 8 Nelson Brian July 10 2019 Episode 1 Jeff Gordon A Colorful Career Podcast Concord NC Motor Racing Network Retrieved August 6 2020 Nelson Brian July 16 2019 Episode 2 Jeff Gordon A Colorful Career Podcast Concord NC Motor Racing Network Retrieved August 6 2020 Nelson Brian July 22 2019 Episode 3 Jeff Gordon A Colorful Career Podcast Concord NC Motor Racing Network Retrieved August 6 2020 Spencer Reid December 2015 2002 2015 LEADER NASCAR Illustrated Vol XXXIV no 12 American City Business Journals External links editAbout Jeff GordonPreceded by Life and career of Jeff Gordon1971 1992 Succeeded by1992 2016 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Early life and career of Jeff Gordon amp oldid 1181287312, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
