Jeff Gordon

Who is Jeff Gordon?

Jeff Gordon is a well-known racer and a broadcaster. Jeff Gordon is also a member of the NASCAR Hall of Fame and one of NASCAR’s wealthiest drivers. Jeff is one of NASCAR’s most powerful drivers. 

Gordon has had a fairly prosperous career in NASCAR, with only a few terrible years in between.

Jeff has won four NASCAR championships after competing in 805 races in the Cup series.

Childhood

Jeff Gordon was born in Vallejo, California, on August 4, 1971.

Carol Ann Bickford and Willian Grinnel Gordon, of Scotch-Irish heritage, gave birth to Racer.

However, Jeff’s parents split when he was just six months old.

Jeff’s mother married John Bickford, a car manufacturer, and parts supplier, in the 1970s.

Gordon started racing quarter midgets when he was four years old after his stepfather purchased him a BMX bike.

Gordon was the youngest driver to receive a USAC license at the age of 16, after spending his entire childhood racing.

His family then relocated to Pittsboro, Indiana, in order to take advantage of greater chances.

Gordon graduated from high school in 1989, changed quickly, and went to Bloomington that night to race. The former NASCAR driver never attended college.

Jeff spent his childhood racing with his four-year older sister, Kim, and his younger cousin James Bickford, who is presently racing in the K&N Pro Series West.

Know about: What is the Net Worth of Tim Ferriss? House, Mansion, Cars, Earnings

Facts of Jeff Gordon

Net Worth

Jeff Gordon is now worth $200 Million. Jeff is currently the third richest NASCAR Driver.

Jeff can be called Floyd Mayweather or Cristiano Ronaldo of NASCAR, in the context of having the most wealth in his industry.

At the peak of Gordon’s career, he is estimated to be earning USD 20 million TO USD 30 million through his salary and endorsements. Gordon has at least earned USD 160 million from winnings alone.

However, adding up all the income sources, it is estimated that Gordon had made over USD 500 million from racing in NASCAR.

But unfortunately, Gordon lost a lot of his money through divorce as he had to give his ex-wife a lot in cash and assets, including one of his homes.

Although he is not racing, Gordon still earns a regular paycheck through his broadcasting career and ventures.

Professional Life

Gordon’s first time on track was when he was four years old and his stepfather got him a BMX bike. A year later, he began racing in local Quarter Midget Racing, where he went on to win 35 main events.

By the age of six, he had set five track records and won a local championship.

Gordon began racing Quarter Midgets on a national level in 1979. When he was only eight years old, he won 52 main races and set eight track records in that year.

Jeff began karting at the age of nine and went on to win over 200 races in Quarter Midgets and go-karts between the ages of nine and twelve.

He even attempted waterskiing after that before returning to racing.

Because he couldn’t legally drive a sprint car until he was 16, he and his family moved to Pittsboro, Indiana, in 1986.

Jeff received enough funds in November 1989 to race in Australia, allowing him to compete in the inaugural World Sprint Car Championship at Claremont Speedway and travel to Perth.

Jeff, the championship’s youngest driver, finished 12th in the race.

Jeff was requested to compete in New Zealand races by a Kiwi car owner in December 1988. Gordon won fourteen of the fifteen races he competed in over the course of two weeks.

Jeff became the youngest driver to obtain a USAC license when he was 16 years old.

He was voted the 1989 USAC National Midget Series Rookie of the Year when he was 18 years old, and he won the series championship in 1990.

Gordon became the youngest driver to win the USAC Silver Crown Series championship at the age of 20.

Capturing nine wins to the series championship, Gordon dominated the USAC National midget Series by the end of 1990.

After that, Gordon aspired to a career in open-wheel racing. But quickly, he discovered car owners favored foreign drivers who brought in huge money and endorsements.

When led him to discover the realistic prospect of Stock Car Racing. Then Jedd was seeking to get into Indy Teams on a visit to the Grand Prix of Cleaveland. He met Al Unser Jr. and A.J. Foyt, who both recommended NASCAR to Gordon.

NASCAR- Busch Series

Gordon’s NASCAR journey started with Busch Series. In 1990, Gordon met Hugh Connerty, a partner in Outback Steakhouse who acquired some sponsorship for a car through Outback

They then tested for the remaining few Busch Grand National Races.

For his stock car debut on October 20, 1990, he teamed with Ray Evernham at North Carolina Motor Speedway.

Although Gordon ended with the second-fastest lap during qualifying and began outside, the front row got wrecked on lap 33 and had to end with a 39th place finish.

In 1991 and 1991, Gordon’s Busch Series started Ford Thunderbirds for Bill Davis Racing. Then was when his career took a spectacular turn while winning Rookie of the Year in 1991.

And in 1992, Gordon set a NASCAR record by collecting 11 poles in one season.

In 1999 Gordon and Rick Hendrick’s son Ricky Hendrick started driving in the Busch Series with their company Gordon/Evernham Motorsports (GEM).

The squad acquired a full sponsorship from Pepsi and conducted six races with Gordon as driver and Evernham as crew chief.

GEM barely lasted a year as Evernham left Hendrick Motorsports, causing the most dominant driver/crew-chief combination in NASCAR history to end.

Nevertheless, Gordon still stayed at Busch for one more year. Rick Hendrick bought the Evernham’s part and GEM converted into JG Motorsports.

In the two seasons, Jeff won twice, first in 1999 at Outback Steakhouse 200 and again in 200 at Homestead.

Early Years(1991-1994)

In 1992, When Roush Racing sought to hire Gordon, his stepfather objected owing to Roush’s hiring his crew chiefs.

Later the year, Gordon joined Hendrick Motorsports after Rick Hendrick watched Gordon compete in a Busch Series event at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

His Winston Cup Debut occurred in the season-ending race in the Hooters 500 at Atlanta, where he finished 31st after a crash.

The next year, Gordon got full-time into the Winston Cup series while driving No. 24 for Hendrick.

Things started getting better for Gordon after winning the opening race in the Gatorade Twin 125’s Race and with his first-career pole position at the fall Charlotte race.

He also concluded the year with a 14th place finish and the Rookie of the year title. Many even doubted Gordon given his penchant to push cars too hard and crash.

The year 1994 turned out fantastic for Gordon with a win at the Busch Clash exhibition race, a pole position for the Coca-Cola 600, and a local victory at the inaugural Brickyard 400.

Championship Season (1995-2001)

In 1995, Despite a difficult start, Gordon ended up winning his maiden Winston Cup Series.

And in the 1996 season, defending the title, Gordon finished with ten wins while winning the final official NASCAR race at the track.

But he ended up finishing second to his colleague Terry Labonte losing by 37 points.

Then again, Gordon had two straight title triumphs at the Winston Cup in 1997 and 1998. In 1997 he became the youngest driver to win the Daytona 500.

That year he won the Coca-Cola 600 and became the first driver since Bill Elliott in 1985 to win the Winston Million after winning the Southern 500 at Darlington.

Jeff claimed his second Winston title with ten wins in 1997, and for his 3rd title, he ended up winning 13 races with a 364-point lead over Mark Martin.

The 1999 season started with his second Daytona 500 win.

And after Evernham left Hendrick, Gordon signed a lifetime contract with Hendrick Motorsports, beginning with 2000 making him the equity owner in his No. 24 teams.

Gordon started his 2000 season with his 50th career victory with a 9th finish in the season. And the year after that, Gordon was the third driver to win four Winston Cup championships in NASCAR history.

Downhill and Struggles (2002-2010)

Back in 2006, Gordon had his worst wreck at Pocono Raceway as he lost his brakes.

Things started going downhill in the Late Winston years for Jeff. The next season’s win for Jeff would have only been in 2007, which he lost because of the Chase system.

The 2008 season was the first winless season for Gordon. But then he went to record only a single win in three years from 2008 to 2010.

He recorded a single win in the 2009 season, with 2008 and 2010 being winless for Jeff.

But in the 2009 season, he became the first driver in NASCAR history to pass USD 100 million in career winnings.

Final Years (2011-2016)

Things changed after 2011 as Martin’s crew chief Alan Gustafson joined Gordon, and he also won in the second race at Pheonix for the first time in 66 races.

He also tied the record for third-most poles at Aaron’s 499 and tied Bill Elliot for most wins at Pocono’s track. And again, to claim his 85th career win, he defeated Johnson at Atalanta.

2012 started pretty rough for Gordon, with the first time filliping a stock car.

In Daytona 500, he finished 40th after a blown engine on lap 81. And at Pocono again, Gordon claimed his 86th NASCAR Sprint Cup victory breaking the record for most wins.

The 2013 season was also rough for Gordon with a crash in the Sprint Unlimited on lap 15. The season was rough for Gordon.

And in 2014 February, Gordon opened up about likely retiring after winning his fifth title at NASCAR’s Media Day.

2014 was pretty good for Gordon being the only driver to finish in the top ten in every race up to the Bristol race. Gordon, along with Austin Dillon, were the only drivers in 2014 to finish every race.

Gordon ended the season in the sixth position, making this the 3rd time he lost the championship because of Chase Points.

2015 was the final season as a full-time driver, which he announced in January. During the 2015 season, tributing Gordon, many tracks performed different acts and received many people’s gifts.

Gordon claimed his 93rd and final career Cup victory at the Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500.

In the 2016 season, Gordon was in the reserve role in No. 88. There he became the ninth driver to reach 800 career starts at Watkins Glen International. Gordon has also participated in several other races in his career span.

Broadcasting Career

After stepping down from full-time driving in 2015, Gordon joined the Broadcasting world. Then Fox Sports hired Gordon to work as a guest analyst for Fox NASCAR broadcasts.

His broadcasting debut on Fox Sports 1 was during the O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 at Texas Motor Speedway.

Through NASCAR Race Hub, in May of 2015, Gordon announced his decision to join Fox Sports as a full-time analyst for Cup Series events beginning with the 2016 sprint cup series.

Gordon has been actively broadcasting NASCAR events from FOX Sports.

Foundation

Gordon also has a foundation called Gordon Children’s Foundation.

The Foundation’s vision is that there will be a day when no child will face cancer uncertainty and that successful treatments will not result in negative, long-term effects.

The foundation raises public awareness and provides the needed funding for childhood cancer research.

In addition to providing support for childhood cancer research, the Gordon Children’s Hospital in Concord, NC, assists children in the community by providing a high level of primary and specialty pediatric care to all of their children, regardless of their ability to pay.

Personal Life

Jeff Gordon was married to Brooke Sealy, a Miss Winston Cup model he met in victory lane at Daytona Internal Speedway in 1993.

The couple publicly revealed their relationship in December after Brooke’s role as Miss Winston ended in the 1993 season.

In the 1994 Daytona 500, Gordon reserved a banquet hall at a French restaurant in Daytona Beach to propose Sealy.

He got married on November 26, 1994, but the marriage broke in March 2002 when Sealy sued Jordon for Marital misconduct, citing his relationship with professional model Deanna Merryman.

Then Gordon met Ingrid Vandebosch by a mutual friend in 2002 who started dating only after 2004.

They announced their engagement on June 24, 2006, and shortly got married in a small, private ceremony in Mexico on November 7, 2006.

In New York City, the couple had their first child, Ella Sofia Gordon, on June 20, 2007.

On August 9, 2010, a baby boy, Leo Benjamin Gordon, was an addition to the Gordon family.

Currently, the family resides in the South Park neighborhood of Charlotte, North Carolina.

Know about:      Top 10 Funniest Moments in History of Cricke      15 Shortest NFL Players in History,

Social Media

Gordon stays active on social media and has very high social media with over 1m followers on Twitter and almost 400k followers on Instagram.

He currently stays active on his social media, shares his life, shows off his cars, and even shares memes.

You can follow him @JeffGordonWeb on Twitter and @jeffgordonweb on Instagram.