Fast Facts Redux: Jeff Gordon

credit: NASCAR via Getty Images/Sean Gardner

Four-time Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon recently announced that 2015 would be his final full-time season in the No. 24 Chevrolet SS at Hendrick Motorsports. He’ll leave the series behind as one of its most prolific drivers, ranking third on the all-time wins list behind just Richard Petty and David Pearson. Here’s an updated Fast Facts on one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers, originally published on Nov. 1, 2011.

• Jeffrey Michael Gordon was born Aug. 4, 1971 in Vallejo, California. He started racing quarter midgets at age 5, and his family later moved to Indiana so he could pursue sprint car racing. In 1989, Gordon was named the USAC Midget Series Rookie of the Year, followed in 1990 by the USAC National Midget Championship and in 1991 by the USAC Silver Crown title.

  

  Gordon with team owner Rick Hendrick
  credit: NASCAR via Getty Images/Bob Leverone

• Gordon made his NASCAR debut late in 1990 in the Nationwide Series, and in 1991 he was the series’ Rookie of the Year. In the final Cup Series race of 1992, Gordon made his debut in the No. 24 for Hendrick Motorsports. That race is often seen as a “changing of the guard,” as it was not only Gordon’s debut but the final race in the career of Richard Petty.
• Gordon won the Cup Series Rookie of the Year title in 1993 and his first race in 1994, the Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway; he also won the inaugural Brickyard 400 that year. Gordon went on to win four Cup Series titles (1995, 1997, 1998 and 2001), three Daytona 500s (1997, 1999 and 2005), five Brickyard 400s (1994, 1998, 2001, 2004 and 2014), six Southern 500s at Darlington (1995-1995, 2002 and 2007) and three All-Star Races (1995, 1997 and 2001).
• In Sept. 2011 at Atlanta Motor Speedway – the same track at which he made his debut in 1992 – Gordon earned his 85^th career win in the Sprint Cup Series, moving him into sole possession of third place on the all-time wins list. Going into the 2015 season, Gordon has 92 wins and 454 top-10 finishes in 761 starts, along with 77 pole positions. Gordon also has five wins and 32 top-10 finishes in 73 starts in the Xfinity Series.
• Gordon married Ingrid Vandebosch on Nov. 7, 2006. They have two children, Ella Sofia and Leo Benjamin. In 1999, he established the Jeff Gordon Children’s Foundation to support children facing life-threatening and chronic illnesses.
• Find out more about Jeff Gordon at jeffgordon.com.