Jeffery Michael Gordon (born August 4, 1971) is an American stock car racing executive and former professional stock car racing driver who currently serves as the vice chairman of Hendrick Motorsports. He raced full-time from 1993 to 2015, driving the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports in the former NASCAR Winston Cup Series and Sprint Cup Series (now called NASCAR Cup Series), and also served as a substitute driver for Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the No. 88 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports in select races during the 2016 season. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential drivers in NASCAR history, helping the sport reach mainstream popularity in the 1990s and 2000s.
Gordon started his professional racing career in the Busch Series with Hugh Connerty Racing, followed by Bill Davis Racing, winning three races, and began racing full-time in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series for Hendrick Motorsports in 1993. He is a four-time Cup Series champion, having won the title in 1995, 1997, 1998, and 2001, the only driver to have won more than 3 championships that has won less than 7. He also won the Daytona 500 three times in 1997, 1999, and 2005. Gordon has completed three career Grand Slams and has won a total of sixteen Crown Jewel races (three Daytona 500s, four Talladega 500s, three Coca-Cola 600s, and six Southern 500s), both of which are all-time records.
Gordon is third on the all-time Cup wins list with 93 career wins, while having the record for the most wins in NASCAR's modern era (1972–present) and the most wins in one modern era season, with thirteen during the 1998 NASCAR Winston Cup Series. Gordon's 81 pole positions led all active drivers and are third all-time, and also a modern era record; Gordon won at least one pole in 23 consecutive seasons, making this a NASCAR record. Other records include the most restrictor plate track wins with twelve and the most road course wins with nine, and he was the active "iron man" leader for consecutive races participated in with 797 through the 2015 season.
In 1998, NASCAR named Gordon to its 50 Greatest Drivers list. Ten years later in a 2008 article, ESPN's Terry Blount ranked him tenth in the 25 Greatest Drivers of All-Time. Foxsports.com named him as the fifth best NASCAR driver of all time. He was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2019. As of 2016, Gordon was considered the highest-paid NASCAR driver ever and the 18th highest-paid athlete of all-time with $515 million in career earnings, per Forbes.
Gordon, along with Rick Hendrick, co-owns the No. 48 Chevrolet previously driven by Jimmie Johnson, who won seven Cup championships from 2006 to 2010, 2013, and in 2016. Gordon also has an equity stake in the No. 24 team. Gordon also owned a Busch Series team between 1999 and 2000, Gordon/Evernham Motorsports (co-owned with Ray Evernham; later solely owned as JG Motorsports), winning twice.
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Early life and career
Gordon is of Scotch-Irish descent, and was born in Vallejo, California to parents Carol Ann Bickford (née Houston) and William Grinnell Gordon of Vacaville, California. Gordon's mother and biological father divorced when he was six months old. His stepfather, John Bickford, married his mother in the 1970s. He has a sister, Kim, who is older by four years. His younger cousin, James Bickford, competed in the K&N Pro Series West. Gordon attended Tri-West Hendricks High School in Lizton, Indiana and was on the school's cross country team; he graduated in 1989.
When he was four years old, Gordon rode a BMX bike that his stepfather bought for him and began racing quarter midgets at the age of five. The Roy Hayer Memorial Race Track (previously the Cracker Jack Track) in Rio Linda, California is noted as the first track Gordon ever competed on. By the age of six, Gordon had won 35 main events and set five track records. In 1979 Gordon won 51 quarter midget races. When he was eleven, Gordon won all 25 of the karting races he entered. At the age of twelve, Gordon became bored with cars and decided to start a career in waterskiing before switching back to driving one year later. In 1986, Gordon began racing sprint cars, winning three races. The next year, Gordon was awarded a USAC license at the age of sixteen, the youngest driver to do so.
During the 1980s, Gordon and his family had to overcome an insurance hurdle. The minimum age for driving the sprint cars was sixteen, and his persistence paid off with an all Florida speed weeks. Supporting his career choice, Gordon's family moved from Vallejo to Pittsboro, Indiana, where there were more opportunities for younger racers. In the late ’80s, he drove in the World of Outlaws series and picked up some feature wins. He became the youngest driver in the World of Outlaws at the time. He also won races at Bloomington and Eldora Speedways. After graduating from high school in 1989, he quickly changed and went to Bloomington to race that night. Before the age of 18, Gordon had already won three short-track races and was awarded USAC Midget Car Racing Rookie of the Year in 1989. That season was highlighted by winning Night Before the 500 midget car race on the day before the Indianapolis 500. During the decade, Gordon also ran sprint cars in Australia and New Zealand. In 1990, Gordon won his second consecutive Night Before the 500, the Hut Hundred, and the Belleville Midget Nationals on his way to winning the USAC national Midget title. In 1991, Gordon captured the USAC Silver Crown, and at the age of 20 became the youngest driver to win the season championship. He also won the 4 Crown Nationals midget car race that season. In his midget car career between 1989 and 1992, he finished in the Top 3 in 22 of 40 USAC midget car events. In 1992, Gordon competed in the Slim Jim All Pro Series' Winchester 400, but finished 24th after crashing on lap 172. The following year, he ran a Featherlite Southwest Tour race at Sears Point Raceway, finishing 29th after suffering an engine failure.
NASCAR
Busch Series
In 1990, Gordon met Hugh Connerty, who owned some Hooters restaurants and was also a partner in Outback Steakhouse. Connerty secured some sponsorship for a car through Outback, and they tested for the last few Busch Grand National races left in 1990. Ray Evernham was called in to work with Gordon in his stock car debut. His first Busch race came on October 20, 1990, at North Carolina Motor Speedway in the AC-Delco 200. Gordon drove the No. 67 Outback Steakhouse Pontiac for Connerty. Gordon ran the second fastest lap during qualifying and started on the outside of the front row of the field. Gordon would, however, get involved in a wreck on lap 33. He ended up with a 39th-place finish.
In 1991 and 1992, Gordon began racing in the Busch Series full-time, driving Ford Thunderbirds for Bill Davis Racing. In his first year as a Busch driver he won Rookie of the Year. In 1992, Gordon set a NASCAR record by capturing eleven poles in one season. He was sponsored by Carolina Ford Dealers in 1991 and Baby Ruth in 1992.
In 1999, Gordon along with Cup crew chief Evernham formed Gordon/Evernham Motorsports (GEM) in the Busch Series with Gordon and Rick Hendrick's son Ricky Hendrick as drivers, the Rainbow Warriors as pit crew and Patrick Donahue as crew chief. The co-owned team received a full sponsorship from Pepsi and ran six races with Gordon as driver and Evernham as crew chief. GEM only survived one year as Evernham left Hendrick Motorsports, citing tension between him and the team, ending one of the most dominant driver/crew-chief combinations in NASCAR history. Gordon extended his Busch experiment one more year, through 2000 as co-owner, with Rick Hendrick buying Evernham's half, and GEM becoming JG Motorsports. In two seasons, Gordon won twice, in 1999 at the Outback Steakhouse 200, the inaugural race at Phoenix, and 2000 at Homestead.
Cup Series
In 1992, Roush Racing owner Jack Roush planned to sign Gordon, but Gordon's stepfather John Bickford had insisted that Roush hire Ray Evernham; due to Roush's policy of hiring his own crew chiefs, Bickford declined. Later in the year, Rick Hendrick watched Gordon race in a Busch Series event at Atlanta Motor Speedway, and Gordon joined Hendrick Motorsports two days later. Gordon made his Winston Cup debut in the season-ending race, the Hooters 500 at Atlanta, finishing 31st after a crash.
The following year, Gordon began competing full-time in the Winston Cup Series, driving the No. 24 car for Hendrick. He was originally supposed to race the No. 46, but complications with licensing related to Days of Thunder forced Gordon to the 24. He opened the season with a win in the Gatorade Twin 125's race, while also recording his first-career pole position at the fall Charlotte race, and concluded 1993 with a fourteenth-place points finish and the Rookie of the Year Award. Gordon's early success in the sport reshaped the paradigm and eventually gave younger drivers an opportunity to compete in NASCAR. However, during the season, many doubted Gordon's ability to compete at such a level at such a young age because of his tendency to push the cars too hard and crash. His last-place finish at the 1993 First Union 400 was a firm example of this theory. Additionally, driver Darrell Waltrip wrote he told Hendrick during the season that Gordon had "hit everything but the pace car that year."
In 1994, Gordon won the Busch Clash exhibition race at Daytona. In May, Gordon won the pole for the Coca-Cola 600, and eventually the race after electing to take two tires on a green flag pit stop. Three months later, he scored a hometown victory at the inaugural Brickyard 400, capitalizing on Ernie Irvan's tire going down late in the race.
In 1995, Gordon won his first Winston Cup Series championship. Despite a rough start to the season in the Daytona 500, he won three of the following six races at Rockingham, Atlanta and Bristol, while winning the pole at Rockingham, Richmond, Darlington and North Wilkesboro in that timespan. In addition, he won The Winston Select in dominating fashion. He won his fifth pole of the season at Charlotte, but after the race, NASCAR officials found unapproved wheel hubs on his car, and fined the team $60,000 while placing Ray Evernham on probation indefinitely. Gordon later won four more poles during the season (Dover, Michigan, Indianapolis, Martinsville) while winning races at Daytona, New Hampshire, Darlington and Dover. The results during the season gave him a commanding 300-point lead over Dale Earnhardt en route to the title. The team's consistency was much better as well, having had three DNF's in 1995, compared to 21 in his previous two seasons combined.
Other racing
Gordon has participated in the Race of Champions three times, including a Nations Cup-winning drive with Team USA's Jimmie Johnson and Colin Edwards at the 2002 event in Gran Canaria. Prior to the ROC, Gordon competed in an ROC America event, losing to Kenny Bräck after crashing. Afterwards, Gordon defeated Johnson by one sixteen-hundredth of a second. Later in the day, Gordon rode with rally driver Marcus Grönholm around the course, both eventually flipping. In the ROC's first round, Gordon (2:03.03) lost to 2002 CART champion Cristiano da Matta, but in round two, Gordon (1:53.47) defeated Formula One's Fernando Alonso. In the semi-finals, Gordon (1:53.20) won against CART driver Sébastien Bourdais, and in the finals, Gordon (1:53.87) triumphed against European Touring Car Championship driver Fabrizio Giovanardi. He was slated to run it again in 2004 against seven-time F1 World Champion Michael Schumacher but was sidelined by the flu, and Casey Mears took his place. In 2005, Gordon competed in the Race of Champions event again, this time held in Paris, France, where he was partnered with motocross racer/X Games winner Travis Pastrana.
In 1999, sports columnist Mike Bianchi remarked on Gordon's success at Daytona International Speedway: "The only reason he hasn't won the Rolex 24 is because he's never raced in it." Gordon ultimately competed in the 24-hour sports car endurance race twice in his career. In 2007, Gordon made his debut in the Rolex 24 as a co-driver of the No. 10 SunTrust Pontiac-Riley for Wayne Taylor Racing. His teammates consisted of Max Angelelli, Jan Magnussen, and Wayne Taylor. His team finished third, two laps behind the winning team of Juan Pablo Montoya, Scott Pruett, and Salvador Durán. Gordon made his return to the Rolex 24 in 2017, partnering with Wayne Taylor Racing once again. He drove the No. 10 Cadillac alongside Angelelli, Jordan and Ricky Taylor for the event. Early in the race, Gordon made contact with Tom Long, spinning Long's No. 70 out. Despite the incident, the No. 10 team was able to hold off Filipe Albuquerque's No. 5 car to win the overall class, making Gordon the fourth driver to win both the Daytona 500 and the Rolex 24. Gordon drove the car for a total of two hours and 34 minutes.
Gordon ran in the International Race of Champions from 1995 to 2000. Gordon won one race at Daytona in 1998. In the race, Gordon led only two laps, but was the race leader by lap 30. Despite being invited for the 2002 season, Gordon declined due to time constraints. Gordon competed in the revived IROC series in 2026, and swept the weekend in Washington, D.C., winning both races run in support to the IndyCar Freedom 250 Grand Prix.
Broadcasting career
When Gordon made the decision to step back from full-time driving at the conclusion of the 2015 Sprint Cup Series season, he reportedly put out feelers to television networks about the possibility of joining the broadcast booth. On January 25, 2015, USA Today writer Jeff Gluck reported that Gordon was hired by Fox Sports to work as a guest analyst for NASCAR on Fox broadcasts of Xfinity Series events alongside full-time announcers Adam Alexander and Michael Waltrip; the news was officially announced by Fox Sports the following day. On February 3, Gordon made a guest appearance on the Fox News Channel morning show Fox & Friends, where he stated his plans to call three races for Fox Sports.
On April 10, 2015, Gordon made his broadcasting debut on Fox Sports 1 during the network's coverage of the O'Reilly Auto Parts 300 at Texas Motor Speedway. Gordon returned to the broadcast booth for the Drive to Stop Diabetes 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway on April 18, and the Winn-Dixie 300 at Talladega Superspeedway on May 2. Gordon was one of five active NASCAR drivers to serve as a guest analyst for Fox Sports during the 2015 Xfinity Series season; the other four were Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Clint Bowyer, and Danica Patrick.
On May 21, 2015, Gordon announced on NASCAR Race Hub that he would join Fox Sports as a full-time analyst for Cup Series events, beginning with the 2016 Sprint Cup Series season. Gordon was paired with Mike Joy and Darrell Waltrip in the broadcast booth, replacing Larry McReynolds, who moved to the Hollywood Hotel.
On November 6, 2015, Gordon joined Joy and Waltrip in the booth for the first time at a dress rehearsal during the WinStar World Casino & Resort 350 at Texas Motor Speedway. The rehearsal was not shown during the Camping World Truck Series broadcast. Following his final scheduled race as a driver on November 22, Gordon quickly began the transition into his full-time role at Fox Sports.
Gordon made his debut as a Cup Series analyst as part of Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway in February 2016. To promote his first Daytona 500 as a broadcaster, he starred in the "Jeff Gordon Police Chase" advertisement, as part of the #DaytonaDay campaign. On the eve of the 58th Daytona 500, Fox aired Jeff Gordon's Daytona 500 Kickoff Celebration, a television special he hosted.
Personal life
Early in his career, Gordon stated that he was a born again Christian. He talked about how in the early-1990s he became curious about Christianity and followed some drivers to the weekly chapel one week, which is how he first started to learn more about God. During this time, Gordon kept verses of the Bible taped to his steering wheel. By 2004, Gordon stated he had "a difficult time focusing on one particular faith." When asked again about his faith in a 2015 Sports Illustrated magazine interview, Gordon stated: "I wasn't brought up [with religion]. It was something I got introduced to when I came into the Cup Series. I explored it and learned a lot from that experience. I feel it's helped make me a better person, but I choose to do it more privately now."
Marriages and children
Gordon has been married twice. He met Brooke Sealey, a Miss Winston Cup model, in victory lane at Daytona International Speedway after he won the first of two qualifying races for the 1993 Daytona 500. The pair began dating in secret due to an unwritten rule prohibiting drivers from dating the models. Sealey's role as Miss Winston concluded following the 1993 season, and the couple publicly revealed their relationship after the NASCAR awards banquet in December. Prior to the 1994 Daytona 500, a year to the day from their encounter in victory lane, Gordon reserved a banquet hall at a French restaurant in Daytona Beach, where Gordon proposed to Sealey. The couple were married on November 26, 1994. They owned a home on Lake Norman in North Carolina, but evacuated permanently due to fan intrusions. The couple then moved to Highland Beach, Florida. In March 2002, Sealey sued for divorce after alleging Gordon of marital misconduct, and Gordon eventually counter-sued. Gordon's wife, who also went by the name Jennifer Brooke Gordon, cited her husband's relationship with professional model Deanna Merryman in her divorce papers with the racecar driver. In court papers, she asked for "exclusive use of the couple's oceanfront home, valued at $9 million, as well as alimony, two cars and periodic use of their boats and an airplane." Though Gordon stated that Sealey did not deserve such a high amount of rewards, as he "risked life and limb" to gain the wealth, Sealey stated that "NASCAR is a relatively safe occupation." Sealey subsequently was awarded $15.3 million. The divorce was finalized on June 13, 2003. During the year, Gordon was seen with model Amanda Church on a beach in St. Bart's, and later moved in with her in New York City.
Gordon was introduced to Ingrid Vandebosch during a dinner party at The Hamptons by a mutual friend in 2002, but they did not begin dating until 2004. Gordon announced their engagement on June 24, 2006, at a croquet event at Meadowood Resort in St. Helena, California. According to Gordon, they had kept the engagement secret for the following 30 days. Gordon and Vandebosch were married in a small, private ceremony in Mexico on November 7, 2006. On June 20, 2007, Vandebosch gave birth to their first child, Ella Sofia Gordon in New York City. Gordon had Scott Pruett assigned as a standby driver for Watkins Glen because his wife was due to give birth the weekend of August 8, 2010. On the morning of August 9, 2010, Vandebosch delivered their son Leo Benjamin Gordon. The family resides in the SouthPark neighborhood of Charlotte, North Carolina.
Philanthropy
In 1999, Gordon established the Jeff Gordon Children's Foundation to help support children facing life-threatening and chronic illnesses. On December 16, 2006, Gordon opened the Jeff Gordon Children's Hospital at the NorthEast Medical Center. In 2007, Gordon, along with Andre Agassi, Muhammad Ali, Lance Armstrong, Warrick Dunn, Mia Hamm, Tony Hawk, Andrea Jaeger, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Mario Lemieux, Alonzo Mourning, and Cal Ripken Jr. founded Athletes for Hope, a charitable organization which helps professional athletes get involved in charitable causes and inspires millions of non-athletes to volunteer and support the community.
AARP became Gordon's sponsor in 2011 through the Drive to End Hunger program, which donates meals to hunger relief organizations near NASCAR tracks, along with reducing hunger among senior citizens. Gordon is also a member of the Clinton Global Initiative, which helps global leaders find solutions to ending the world's pressing problems.
Endorsements and business ventures
Prior to his sponsorship with Pepsi, Gordon had been sponsored by Coca-Cola, but eventually chose Pepsi due to more visibility, along with Coca-Cola wanting Gordon to be a regional sponsor in the southeastern United States. Gordon has also been sponsored by Kellogg Company, Frito-Lay, Edy's, and Ray-Ban.
Gordon owns JG Motorsports to manage licensing, and the company received up to 20 percent of Gordon-licensed products. Such items produced $112 million in 1998. Gordon has owned a dealership, Jeff Gordon Chevrolet, in partnership with Hendrick Automotive Group, located in Wilmington, North Carolina, since 1998. With Dale Earnhardt, Gordon owned Performance Partners, Inc., a real estate company, along with Chase Racewear, a casual clothing line; the two were also major shareholders in Action Performance Companies, Inc. (now Lionel Racing), the official die-cast creator of NASCAR.
In the late 1990s, Gordon became a shareholder in LBE Technologies Inc., which was the developer of NASCAR Silicon Motor Speedway, a sim racing attraction based on a full motion platform.
In May 2005, Gordon announced a partnership with Bob Lutz to form the Jeff Gordon Racing School, a stock car racing experience for fans which began its operations at Lowe's Motor Speedway in August that year. In 2009, Lutz rebranded the school as NASCAR Racing Experience. In 2007, PepsiCo introduced Jeff Gordon 24 Energy, an orange tangerine-flavored energy drink, which has since been discontinued.
In October 2005, Gordon started a line of wine with Briggs & Sons Winemaking, Co., debuting with a 2004 Carneros Chardonnay, followed by Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon in January 2007. Eventually, the 2007 Ella Sofia Napa Valley Joie de Vivre won double gold medals at the 2011 Indy International Wine Competition.
In 2012, Gordon became the designer of the Canadian Motor Speedway in Fort Erie, Ontario, which will be the largest track in Canada. Gordon's stepfather, John Bickford, serves as the general manager of the project. Also since 2012, Gordon has been sponsored by DVX Sun and Safety Sunglass, which are constructed with elastomer from DuPont.
Career achievements
Awards and honors
1990 Hoosier Auto Racing Fans Driver of the Year
1990, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2007 AARWBA All America Team
1992 Pat O'Connor Award recipient
1994 Hoosier Auto Racing Fans Hall of Fame inductee
1995, 1998 Richard Petty Driver of the Year
1995, 1998, 2001 Jerry Titus Memorial Trophy winner
1996, 1998, 1999, 2007 Best Driver ESPY Award recipient
1996, 2016 Order of the Long Leaf Pine recipient
1997 People's 50 Most Beautiful People
1997, 2004, 2011 NASCAR Illustrated Person of the Year Award recipient
1998 NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers
2000 People's Men in the Fast Lane
2002 IIS Sports Ethics Fellow
2005 Vallejo Sports Hall of Fame inductee
2007 Pep Boys Auto 500 Grand Marshal
2009 National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame inductee
2009 Silver Buffalo Award recipient
2011 Legends of The Glen inductee
2011 National Motorsports Press Association Spirit Award recipient (overall)
Records and milestones
With 93 career points-paying victories, Gordon is ranked third among the all-time NASCAR Cup Series winners; he is ranked first when considering only wins achieved during the sport's modern era (1972–present).
Gordon holds the records for the most points-paying Cup Series victories on restrictor plate tracks (12) and road courses (9). He also earned a record six-consecutive road-course wins from 1997 to 2000.
Gordon is the all-time winningest Cup Series driver at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Sonoma Raceway, with five victories each. He was formerly tied with Denny Hamlin for the most series wins at Kansas Speedway with three (also tied with Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, and Joey Logano) and Pocono Raceway with six; Hamlin claimed both records as his own in 2023.
In 1995, at age 24, Gordon became the youngest Cup Series champion in NASCAR's modern era and the second youngest overall, behind Bill Rexford, who won the 1950 series championship at 23 years old.
In 2009, Gordon became the first NASCAR driver to reach US$100 million in career winnings.
In 2014, Gordon joined former F1 driver Michael Schumacher as the only two racers to earn five victories at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in a single racing series.
In 2017, Gordon became the fourth driver to earn victories in the Daytona 500 and the 24 Hours of Daytona; the first three drivers were Mario Andretti, A. J. Foyt, and Jamie McMurray.
Since making his Cup Series debut in the Hooters 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on November 15, 1992, Gordon never missed a race spanning over 24 consecutive seasons. With 797 starts as of the 2015 Ford EcoBoost 400, Gordon is ninth among all-time Cup Series drivers with the most starts overall.
In 2007, Gordon asked part-time driver Mark Martin if he could be on standby for him to take over the No. 24 car, should he have needed to miss a race to witness the birth of his first child. Daughter Ella Sofia Gordon was born on Wednesday, June 20 in New York City; Gordon traveled to Sonoma, California later that week to compete in the Toyota Save/Mart 350 on June 24. In 2010, Gordon similarly asked road course ringer Scott Pruett to be on standby for him at Watkins Glen due to the impending birth of his second child. Although Gordon let Pruett run a couple of practice laps in Gordon's car, Gordon was able to start and complete the race without Pruett's assistance. Son Leo Benjamin Gordon was born less than a day after the race's conclusion. In 2014, Gordon had Regan Smith on standby for the Coca-Cola 600, as Gordon suffered from back spasms during qualifying and practice. Gordon was able to start and complete the race as scheduled.
Motorsports career results
NASCAR
(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
Sports car racing
(key) Bold – pole position (overall finish/class finish).
International Race of Champions
(key) (Bold – Pole position. * – Most laps led.)