Jeff Gordon

Jeff Gordon

status	not active
NASCAR Cup Series statistics
Best placement	1. - (1995, 1997, 1998, 2001)
Starts Victories Poles Top 10 805 93 81 477
NASCAR Xfinity Series Statistics
Best placement	4th - (1992)
Starts Victories Poles Top 10 73 5 12 32

Jeffery Michael "Jeff" Gordon (born August 4, 1971 in Vallejo , California ) is an American automobile racing driver who became known for his success in NASCAR . Gordon is a four-time champion in the Winston Cup , today's Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, and a three-time winner of the Daytona 500 , NASCAR's most prestigious race. With the exception of his 2016 comeback, in which he replaced the injured Dale Earnhardt junior , he always drove the number 24 Chevrolet with Drive to End Hunger / DuPont as the main sponsor of Hendrick Motorsports . He is also part of his own team. Together with Rick Hendrick , he owns Jimmie Johnson's # 48 team .

Alongside Dale Earnhardt Jr., he was one of the most popular racing drivers in the United States during his active days.

Career

Early years

Jeff Gordon started racing at the age of five. He drove his first races on the Roy Hayer Memorial Race Track in Rio Linda , California. To advance his career, his family moved from Vallejo to Pittsboro , Indiana , where conditions were better for young racing drivers. He had won three short track races before he was 18 and was named Rookie of the Year by USAC Midget Car Racing in 1989. The following year, Gordon won the USAC Midget title. In 1991 he was promoted to the USAC Silver Crown series and, at the age of 20, became the youngest driver to win this title.

Busch Series

In 1991 and 1992 he drove two successful seasons in the NASCAR Busch Grand National Series for Bill Davis Racing . Together with his crew chief Ray Evernham , he set the current record in NASCAR for the most pole positions during a season, when he started a total of eleven times from first place on the grid. In addition, Gordon was named Rookie of the Year in 1991. It was sponsored by the Ford Dealerships Association of California in 1991 and by Baby Ruth in 1992. In the 1992 season, he also completed his first race in the Winston Cup on November 15 at the Hooters 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway . He finished 31st after having to end the race early in an accident on lap 164. The legendary Richard Petty also took part in this race; it was his last before he retired. In retrospect, many fans refer to this race as a change of generations in NASCAR.

Cup series

1990s

In 1993 Jeff Gordon drove his first full NASCAR Winston Cup season for Hendrick Motorsports . He won a Gatorade Duel , was named Rookie of the Year, and finished 14th in the championship. Crew Chief was still Ray Evernham, with whom he was already successful in the Busch Series.

In the 1994 season, Gordon took his first Winston Cup win at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the Coca-Cola 600 , the longest and most demanding NASCAR race of the season. He also won the very first Brickyard 400 at the legendary Indianapolis Motor Speedway , where he defeated Ernie Irvan , who had previously damaged a tire, in the final stages . At the end of the season, Gordon finished eighth in the championship while Dale Earnhardt scored his second straight title. Just a year later, at the age of 24, he won a total of seven races, including the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway , and secured the first championship in the Winston Cup. In 1996 Gordon was victorious in a total of ten races, including the prestigious Southern 500 again, but lost to Terry Labonte by 37 points in the championship and was only second.

Jeff Gordon's 1997 racing car

In the 1997 season, Gordon wrote NASCAR history again: he won a total of ten times. In addition to his first win at the Daytona 500 , the win at the Coca-Cola 600 and the third win in a row at the Southern 500, Gordon secured the Winston Million and the associated bonus of one million US dollars . Gordon was the second and last driver to win the Winston Million. With this success behind him, he secured his second championship title in the Winston Cup.

In the following 1998 season, Gordon wrote NASCAR history again: With 13 wins this season, he set Richard Petty's record of victories per season in the modern era of NASCAR. Worth mentioning are the second win at the Brickyard 400 in Indianapolis and the fourth win in a row at the Southern 500 - the only driver to have achieved this in this prestigious race. With a lead of more than 350 points and more than twice the prize money won as the second, Gordon defended his title and secured the third championship title.

The 1999 season, however, didn't go so well for Gordon. Although he started the season with a victory at the Daytona 500 and six more were to follow this year, Gordon retired in race two with an engine failure. Overall, he was eliminated seven times during the year, so that it was only enough for sixth place in the championship in the end. In addition, Gordon founded the Gordon / Evernham Motorsports team together with his crew chief Ray Evernham . Although it was short-lived, it still met with some success. So Pepsi could be won as the main sponsor and Gordon completed six races in the Busch Series with Evernham. After Evernham was poached by Dodge after a year , Gordon still drove the 2000 season in the Busch Series. Evernham's stake in the team was taken over by Rick Hendrick after his departure and the team was renamed JG Motorsports .

2000-2005

In the Winston Cup, the 2000 season did not go well for Gordon. He won three times, including once at the DieHard 500 on the Talladega Superspeedway , and dropped out only twice, but in the end it was only enough for ninth place in the championship, his worst season to date since his rookie year 1993. In the season Success returned in 2001: with six wins, one at the Brickyard 400, 18 top 5 and 24 top 10 results, Gordon pocketed a total of 10,879,757 US dollars in prize money and secured his fourth championship title.

In the 2002 season, Gordon won a total of three times, including his fifth success at the Southern 500. With a total of 13 top-5 and 20 top-10 results, he finished fourth in the championship at the end of the season. The 2003 season was similar. Here, too, Gordon won three times, including both races of the season at Martinsville Speedway , and achieved 15 top 5 and 20 top 10 results. As in the previous year, Gordon was fourth in the championship.

In the 2004 season, Gordon won five races, including his fourth win at the Brickyard 400 and victory at Aaron's 499 . Despite scoring more than any other driver in terms of race points awarded, Gordon only finished third in the championship - a result of the season’s new Chase for the Nextel Cup , after the RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company was the series’s main sponsor got out and the name changed from Winston Cup to Nextel Cup .

In 2005, Gordon started the season with a victory at the Daytona 500, but suffered from a lack of consistency. Despite some good results before the start of the chase, he failed to qualify for it. Despite three failures and a victory at the Subway 500 , Gordon finished eleventh in the championship and secured the $ 1 million bonus as the best driver not qualified for the chase. Still, eleventh place was the worst result since his 1993 rookie season.

2006-2014

In the 2006 season, Gordon won the Dodge / Save Mart 350 at the Infineon Raceway , achieving his first win of the season and the ninth overall on a street circuit. Another win followed on July 9th at the Chicagoland Speedway at the USG Sheetrock 400 . It was Gordon's first win on this track and also for Hendrick Motorsports. Gordon qualified for the Chase for the Nextel Cup, but six top 10 results contrasted with four results outside of the top 20. Because of these achievements, it was only enough for sixth place in the championship. By then, Gordon had already won $ 82,838,526 in prize money during his career in the Cup.

Jeff Gordon driving into the garage area in Texas 2007

Jeff Gordon next to his race car in "America Supports You" special paint for the 2007 edition of the Coca-Cola 600

Gordon started the 2007 season with a win in his Gatorade Duel , but was moved back to starting position 42 for the Daytona 500 after a retaining bolt for a shock absorber broke during the race and the car fell through the inspection. In the Daytona 500 itself, Gordon was able to improve to tenth place. With his third place in the Food City 500 , in which he started from pole position with the new Car of Tomorrow , Gordon took the lead in the championship for the first time of the season, which he dominated until the Chase for the Nextel Cup. This was followed by three wins within four weeks at the Subway Fresh Fit 500 in Phoenix , the Aaron's 499 in Talladega and the Dodge Avenger 500 in Darlington . Four weeks later, on June 10, 2007, Gordon scored his fourth regular season win at the Pocono 500 at Pocono Raceway . From the 26 races of the season to the start of the Chase for the Nextel Cup, Gordon was in the top 10 a total of 21 times, his worst result was a 41st place after an accident in the early racing phase of the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway .

Although leading in the championship standings, Gordon only went into the Chase as second behind his teammate Jimmie Johnson , who won two more races with a total of six wins in the regular season. Despite two wins at the UAW Ford 500 in Talladega and the Bank of America 500 at Lowe's Motorspeedway, a total of six top 5 and nine top 10 results, Gordon finished second in the championship, 77 points behind Jimmie Johnson.

Jeff Gordon's racing car in the 2008 season

The start of the 2008 season was not very successful for Gordon. At the Daytona 500 he had to retire on lap 159 with a gearbox failure and only came in 39th. In Las Vegas he had an accident five laps before the checkered flag and at the seventh race of the season at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth it was enough after problems with the car, one Long lasting repairs and an accident only to 43rd and last place. In contrast, there are three places below the top 5. Gordon finished the 2008 season in seventh place overall with 368 points behind the recent overall winner Jimmie Johnson.

He started 2009 with a win in the first Gatorade Duel . In the 7th race of the season, the Samsung 500 at Texas Motor Speedway , he achieved his first victory in the Sprint Cup since October 2007 or 47 races. At this point he was clearly leading the overall ranking. He moved into the Chase for the Sprint Cup in sixth place in 2009 and finished the season third overall.

In 2010 Jeff Gordon could not win the Sprint Cup for himself, but dominated numerous races. Sometimes he only fell behind in the last laps due to accidents or technical problems. Although he didn't win, he was able to qualify for the Chase for the Sprint Cup with consistently good driving performance . Gordon stayed in the title race until 3 races before the end - the last races of the season painted a typical picture for the course of the season: in Martinsville by Kyle Busch rammed off the track, battery problems in Phoenix, pushed into the wall under yellow by Jeff Burton in Texas, engine failure in the last race in Miami-Homestead - both in good positions. Jeff Gordon was able to finish the season in ninth place and reach a prize money of over USD 5 million.

The 2011 season started for Jeff Gordon with good starting positions in the Daytona shootouts. In the Daytona 500, Gordon was involved in a multiple car accident early on and was only able to finish the race several laps behind in 28th position. However, Gordon won the Subway Fresh 500 in Phoenix by beating Kyle Busch after numerous leading laps - his first win since Texas in 2009 and after a winless 2010 season.

The 2012 season started disappointingly for Jeff Gordon. In the Daytona 500 he had to retire from the front position with an engine failure before halfway through the race. Despite a black series of unfortunate circumstances, accidents and technical problems, he was able to maintain his position in the top 20 by the middle of the year. During the last few races, the tension between Gordon and Clint Bowyer came to a head after Bowyer had negatively influenced Gordon's progress in several races. After Bowler took him out of the race again by touching him in the race of Phoenix, Gordon took revenge during a yellow phase. This was followed by a hunt for Gordon by Bowyer's pit crew, which ended in a mass brawl. Gordon can win the last race of the season ahead of Bowyer after massive fines. He apologized for his behavior in the winner's interview, but at the same time pointed out to NASCAR that they should have taken action against Bowyer's attacks earlier.

In 2013 Gorden started in Daytona in second position behind Danica Patrick . After more than 30 laps of the lead, his cooling water temperature rises through air inlets blocked by plastic waste and he had to drop back to the end of the field to get his engine temperatures under control. This meant that Gordon could only finish the race in 20th place.

In 2014, Gordon retired from the Eliminator Round of the newly introduced Chase format. Up until then, he was one of the last eight drivers to compete for the title. He won 3 races in the season.

2015 - his final season

After Jeff Gordon announced his retirement for the current season in January, he started his farewell season for the Daytona 500. He made it into the chase without a win of the season (after the cut in Richmond) due to his good points placement. Gordon was also able to pass the Challenger and Contender Round without victories, as his average placements were sufficient. After an eventful first race of the Eliminator Round at Martinsville Speedway, Jeff Gordon won his first race in 2015 (his 93rd overall) and thus secured his chase ticket for the final race in Homestead. For his last race, the Hendrick Motorsports drivers competed with yellow starting numbers.

2016 - TV expert and substitute

On May 21, 2015, Gordon announced that he would be an expert commentator on the NASCAR Sprint Cup races for Fox Sports in 2016. As the first Sprint Cup race, he commented on the Daytona 500 2016 .

Since Dale Earnhard Jr. was injured during the season, Gordon and Alex Bowman were signed as substitutes. This was the first time Gordon did not start with the number 24 in the Cup Series. He drove eight races, with a sixth place in Martinsville being his best result.

Other racing series

Gordon also took part in a few special races. He was part of the USA team in the 2002 Race of Champions . In 2004 Gordon was supposed to take part in this race again and compete against Formula 1 world champion Michael Schumacher , but had to cancel due to a flu infection. Having by Casey Mears was replaced, Gordon went in the following year again even at the start, along with motocross -Fahrer Travis Pastrana . In 2007 Gordon drove the Rolex Daytona 24 Hours in the team with starting number 10 for Wayne Taylor Racing. Together with his teammates Max Angelli, Jan Magnussen and Wayne Taylor, he finished third in his first race. In the same team, he won the 2017 race on his second start alongside Max Angelelli and the brothers Jordan and Ricky Taylor .

Web links

Commons : Jeff Gordon  - Collection of Pictures, Videos and Audio Files

• Official website
• Driver statistics on racing-reference.info

Individual evidence

1. ↑ No. 88 driver schedule . ( nascar.com [accessed February 8, 2017]).