NASCAR organization information
Jeff Gordon
NASCAR star race driver!
Jimmie Johnson NASCAR Hall of Fame
Dale Earnhardt, Sr. Jeff Gordon History of NASCAR
Jeffrey Michael Gordon (born August 4, 1971 in Vallejo,
California) currently lives in Charlotte, NC and is a four-time NASCAR NEXTEL
Cup Series champion and driver of the #24 Chevrolet Monte Carlo. His sponsors
include DuPont, Pepsi, Quaker State, Haas, GMAC, Georgia-Pacific, Sparkle, and
Nicorette.
Early career
Jeff Gordon was a racing child prodigy. Gordon began racing when he
was about four years old. According to his step-father, racing was Jeff's idea.
It may have been Jeff's idea, but his family fully supported him. Gordon's
family moved to Indiana just for the racing opportunities available for drivers
in general but especially for minor-aged drivers. Before the age of 18 Gordon
had already won three short-track races and was awarded USAC Midget Car Racing
Rookie of the Year in 1989. The next year Gordon won the USAC Midget title. In
1991, Gordon moved up to the USAC Silver Crown and at the age of 20 became the
youngest driver to win the title. Gordon then went on to spend two successful
years in the NASCAR Busch Series (he set a NASCAR record by capturing 11 poles
in one season). Coincidentally, almost symbolically, Gordon's first Winston Cup
race, the 1992 Hooters 500 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway, was also the final
race for Richard Petty. In 1993, Gordon raced a full season in the Winston Cup
for Hendrick Motorsports, he won the Rookie of the Year award. Finally, in 1995,
at the age of 24, Gordon won the first of four NASCAR Winston Cup Championships.
There are only two other drivers with more than four Cup titles: Richard Petty
and Dale Earnhardt (both had seven titles). In 2004, Gordon also became the only
NASCAR driver with four Brickyard 400 victories at Indianapolis Motor Speedway,
and one of only four drivers to have four victories at the historic track.
Gordon is widely regarded as the best active driver in NASCAR because he
achieved so much through sheer talent at such a young age. He currently has 73
Nextel Cup victories and has yet to pass Dale Earnhardt's 76 wins, or Darrell
Waltrip's modern-era NASCAR record of 84. It is also thought by many that he
opened NASCAR up to the rest of the nation; before Gordon's success in NASCAR,
the sport and organization was not popular outside of the Southeast United
States. Gordon is still one of the best known drivers in NASCAR.
Popularity, lack thereof, and personal life
Fan reaction to Gordon's continuing success has been sharply divided. Gordon
remains popular in his home state of Indiana and his birth state of California,
but is often booed by fans in the deep South. Part of this schism in popularity
is attributed to Gordon's "Madison Ave" appeal, and the resentment of the deep
south of all things "Yankee." Nascar for years had been a predominantly southern
sport, and many fans today attribute Nascar's changes, not all of which are
popular, to the "Madison Ave" influence. Rumors of his homosexuality, which have
absolutely no basis in fact and appear to be spread by jealous detractors, have
been the subject of parody songs, comic web sites and blogs. In the Internet
journal Slate.com, an article speaks to the rumors, which have largely been
fueled by The Globe, a tabloid of little to no credibility.
NASCAR star Jeff Gordon also gets drawn into the Globe's web of gayness.
Gordon's recent split from his wife has reportedly "reignited inflammatory talk
that the racing hunk is gay." His wife, Brooke, is said to have complained that
her husband was a "cold fish" who didn't satisfy her in the bedroom. And a
friend explains that "because he's good-looking and dresses well, he's an
obvious target to pick on." Obvious. As if the nice clothes weren't enough, the
story further explains that "Gordon's slight build and soft-spoken manner also
sparked the gay gossip, not to mention that here was a clean-cut California kid
kickin' butt in a Southern sport." [1]
In his memoir, Jeff Gordon: Racing Back to the Front, the driver actually
addresses the rumor, which he denies. Part of the rumor was fueled by a comment
by Dale Earnhardt, Sr. intended as a joke. At the time Gordon had been dating
Miss Winston, Brooke Sealy, but because Sealey worked for Winston the couple was
required to keep the relationship a secret. When they finally went public with
the relationship, Earnhardt, Sr., making a joke, said "Whew, I'm glad to see
you've got a girlfriend. Some of us were beginning to wonder if you liked
girls." Gordon's response to the rumors is both classy and diplomatic, ""I'd
like to think if I were gay, I would be comfortable enough to say so and get on
with my life. The fact is I'm not, and I never quite understood why so many
people want to believe otherwise." Gordon married Brooke Sealy, in 1992. Their
marriage ended in a very public and bitter divorce in 2003, fueling the rumors
all over again. Since his divorce, Gordon has publicly dated runway model Amanda
Church, and is currently seeing aspiring actress and model Ingrid Vandebosch.
Since his last Winston Cup win
Gordon poses with the Winston Cup trophy he won on four occasions.Gordon has
also participated in some off-road events, including a winning drive with Team
USA at the 2002 Race of Champions. He was slated to run it again in 2004 against
Formula 1 Champion Michael Schumacher but was sidelined by the flu, and Casey
Mears took his place.
On June 11, 2003, at a special exhibition at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway,
Gordon took laps in Juan Pablo Montoya's Williams BMW, while Montoya did laps in
Gordon's Nextel Cup car. The exhibition was broadcast live by SPEED Channel, in
a special called, Tradin' Paint.
On February 20, 2005 Jeff Gordon won the Daytona 500 for the third time. He
previously won "The Great American Race" in 1997 and 1999.
Gordon even became a subject in Nelly's second hit song "E.I." A passage from
the rapper's 2000 hit goes:
I drive fastly, call me Jeff Gordon
In a black S.S. with the navigation
In 2004, he finished 3rd in the NEXTEL Cup points behind Kurt Busch and teammate
Jimmie Johnson even though he scored the most points throughout the whole
season.
Effective September 14, 2005 Crew Chief Robbie Loomis resigned from #24 team.
Loomis will stay on with Hendrick Motorsports as a consultant for Jimmie
Johnson's #48 team through the Chase for The Nextel Cup. Steve Letarte, Gordon's
Car Chief, replaced Loomis as Crew Chief effective at New Hampshire
International Speedway on September 18th, 2005 and for the 2006 Nextel Cup
Season.
Jeff Gordon failed to qualify for Chase for the Nextel Cup in 2005 due to
disappointing finish at Richmond after a last minute run to attempt to make the
Chase in the last 5 races before Richmond. Gordon also had very inconsistent
results throughout the season, despite a victory at Daytona, which led to his
missing the Chase for the Cup. On October 23th, 2005 Jeff Gordon won the Subway
500 at Martinsville Speedway. It was his first win in 22 points races. He went
on to finish 11th in the Championship and received a $1,000,000 bonus.
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