Jeff Gordon: A Winning Driver from the Start

Four-time NASCAR Cup Series Champion Jeff Gordon has won 81 NASCAR races at this point in his career and is sixth on the all-time wins list. Gordon was bitten by the racing bug when he was five years old and first started running laps at a makeshift racetrack he helped his stepfather John Bickford build. Soon Gordon found himself behind the wheel of a quarter-midget, a "kid-sized" open wheel race car. Although he didn't do very well his first season of competition, he went on to win 35 main events and set five track records.

By age 13, Gordon was ready to turn his attention to sprint cars: high-powered race cars designed for running on short oval or circular dirt or paved tracks. Sprint cars have a high power-to-weight ratio, allowing them to race at speeds in excess of 140 miles per hour. For this reason, the sprint car driving rules state a driver must be 16 years old in order to race. Gordon and his family pleaded their cause to the insurance companies and Gordon was finally able to participate in the All Star Florida Speedweeks. Racing sprint cars garnered Gordon his first national attention due to his young age and his exceptional driving ability.

In 1990, Gordon participated in his first Busch Grand National race in Charlotte, North Carolina. He raced in a car owned by Hugh Connerty and funded through Outback Steakhouse, of which Connerty was a partner. When funding because difficult to secure with Connerty, Gordon signed a one-page agreement to drive for Bill Davis during the 1991 season. During that season, Gordon won Rookie of the Year. In 1992, Busch cars were raced on the Atlanta Motor Speedway for the first time. Gordon won the race and the admiration of Rick Hendrick. Gordon became an important part of Hendrick Motorsports and has been with the organization ever since. Today Gordon's sponsors include DuPont, Pepsi, GM, Georgia-Pacific, Motorsports Authentics, EA Sports, Elizabeth Arden (yes, the cosmetics company!), GlaxoSmithKline, Jeff Gordon Racing School, PurigeN98, Quaker State, TAG Heuer (the prestige watch company), Time Warner Cable and Tylenol.

If you're a Jeff Gordon fan, be sure to check out his Web site at http://www.jeffgordon.com/home/default.sps where you can enter contests, check out his blog (written by Gordon and his PR representative Jon Edwards), subscribe to his newsletter, see videos and photographs, and get the latest information on Gordon, his racing life and his personal life. You'll find he's a very proud papa!