(via Wikipedia)
Jeffrey Michael "
Jeff"
Gordon[1] (born August 4, 1971) is an American professional
stock car racing driver. He drives the No. 24
Chevrolet SS for
Hendrick Motorsports in the
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
Gordon started his 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 Cup Series for Hendrick Motorsports in 1993. He is a four-time
Sprint Cup champion, winning the title in
1995,
1997,
1998, and
2001. He has also won the
Daytona 500 three times in
1997,
1999, and
2005. He is 3rd on the all-time Cup wins list, with 92 career wins, the most in NASCAR's modern era (1972–present). Gordon's 80
pole positions lead all active drivers, and is third all-time; Gordon won at least one pole in 23 consecutive seasons, making this a NASCAR record. He is also the active
iron man leader for consecutive races participated in with 772 as of the
2015 Toyota Owners 400.
[2] In 2009, Gordon became the first NASCAR driver to reach $100 million USD in career winnings.
[3]
In 1998, NASCAR named Gordon to its
50 Greatest Drivers list.
[4] In 2008, ten years later,
ESPN's Terry Blount ranked him 10th in the 25 greatest drivers of all-time.
[5] Foxsports.com named Gordon as the 5th-best NASCAR driver of all time.
[6]
Gordon, along with
Rick Hendrick, co-owns the No. 48 Chevrolet driven by
Jimmie Johnson, who won 6 Cup championships from 2006 to 2010 and in 2013. Gordon also has an equity stake in his own No. 24 team.
[7]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.
Gordon was born in
Vallejo, California, raised in
Pittsboro, Indiana, and currently resides in
Charlotte, North Carolina, with his wife,
Ingrid Vandebosch, and their two children Ella Sofia and Leo Benjamin.
