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Jeff Gordon
Brief Bio by Gregg Leary
Category:NASCAR -> Sprint Cup
Born: August 4, 1971 (38)
4 Championships (1995, 97, 98, 2001)
82 Wins
67 Poles
Gordon has driven for only ONE Cup owner: Rick Hendrick
Earnhardt has driven for 9 CUP owners: Ed Negre, Walter Ballard, Johnny Ray, Henley Gray, Will Cronkite, Rod Osterlund, Jim Stacy, Bud Moore, Richard Childress
Rick Hendrick was impressed with Jeff Gordon the first time he saw him…at a Busch race at Atlanta in 1991…”Jeff Gordon was smoking all four tires in every turn on every lap. I thought it was just a matter of time until he’d crash. He didn’t crash. He just kept smoking those tires and leading those laps. I was impressed.”
Rick also said, “Jeff Gordon came in and really revolutionized the sport.”
Ray Evernham remembers when he and Gordon first tested a Busch car at Charlotte in 1990. “Jeff was so sideways at one point in turn three, you could see the markings on the hood as if they were coming straight at you. That’s how far sideways the car was. I knew right then this kid had some talent as a race car driver.”
Jeff Gordon’s first NASCAR Cup start was Richard Petty’s last…11-15-92 at Atlanta. It was the end of one era and the beginning of another.
1993: Jeff Gordon won his Twin 125 Qualifying Race (non-points) in only his SECOND start (Age 21) He led the first lap of the Daytona 500…and finished fifth
1993 Coke 600 at Charlotte. When Jeff finished 2nd to Dale, Rick Hendrick said, “He (Jeff) has a lot of Dale in him.”
1994 Brickyard 400 Win: “I took an extra victory lap to wipe the tears from my eyes.”
1999 Daytona 500 Win: “Beating Earnhardt like that in the Daytona 500 is probably the biggest single thrill I’ve had. I want to thank Dale for a great race…and for what he’s taught me the last couple years. That’s the only way I kept him behind me.” (Jeff won over Dale by a car length (.128 Second) Dale was on Jeff’s bumper the last 25 laps.)
“Give Gordon credit. He beat me.” Dale E (who would have won his 2nd Daytona 500.)