Gordon, Jeff (1971-…), became one of the most successful drivers in American automobile racing. In 1995, Gordon became the youngest driver to win the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) Winston Cup (now NASCAR Cup) Championship during the modern era of the series, which began in 1972. Gordon won the Winston Cup Series again in 1997, 1998, and 2001. He is only the third driver, along with Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt, to win the series at least four times. See Automobile racing (Stock car racing).
In 1998, Gordon won 13 NASCAR races, tying Richard Petty’s 13 victories in 1975 for the most races won in a season during the modern era of the series. Gordon was the first NASCAR driver in the modern era to win at least 10 races in three consecutive seasons. In 1998, Gordon won the Southern 500 race in Darlington, South Carolina, becoming the first driver in modern stock car history to win the same superspeedway event four years in a row. In 2006, Gordon set a NASCAR career record by winning his ninth road race. Gordon retired as a driver after the 2015 season and became a television commentator for NASCAR racing. In 2022, Gordon left television to become an executive at Hendrick Motorsports, a NASCAR racing team.
Jeffrey Michael Gordon was born on Aug. 4, 1971, in Vallejo, California. He began racing karts and quarter-midget cars at the age of 5, becoming quarter-midget national champion when he was 8. A quarter-midget car is about one-fourth the size of a regular midget car. Gordon was the United States Auto Club (USAC) midget car Rookie of the Year in 1989. He won the midget national championship in 1990 and the USAC dirt track title in 1991. In 2019, Gordon was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
