[nascar] Jeff Gordon to Retire

[nascar] Jeff Gordon to Retire Jan 25, 2015 2:16:17 GMT -6

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Post by n7thGear™ on Jan 25, 2015 2:16:17 GMT -6

Four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion 43- year-old Jeff Gordon announced Thursday that the 2015 season, his twenty-third season in the Sprint Cup Series, will be his last as a full-time driver.
Ranks third all-time with 92 career Cup victories

In a press release provided by Hendrick Motorsports, the team that has fielded his famous number 24 Chevrolet since 1992, Gordon struggled to avoid calling it a retirement - but the former champion's announcement is one that signifies the end of one of the greatest careers in auto racing.

"As a race car driver, much of what I've done throughout my life has been based on following my instincts and trying to make good decisions," Gordon said on Thursday. "I thought long and hard about my future this past year and during the offseason, and I've decided 2015 will be the last time I compete for a championship. I won't use the 'R-word' because I plan to stay extremely busy in the years ahead, and there's always the possibility I'll compete in selected events, although I currently have no plans to do that."

Gordon is the active leader in race victories with 92, behind only seven-time champion Richard Petty (200) and three-time champion David Pearson (105). He has recorded 77 pole positions, which includes a record streak of winning at least one pole position in all twenty-two seasons of his top-flight career dating back to 1993. In NASCAR's biggest races, Gordon has a stellar record. He has won the Daytona 500 three times, the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway six times, and the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway five times - including the inaugural running in 1994, and he shares the all-time record for victories at "The Brickyard" in any series with Michael Schumacher. He claimed his very first Cup Series victory in 1994 at the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, a race he's won a total of three times. And he is also the current "iron man" of NASCAR, with the longest active consecutive starts streak of any driver - 761 starts, twenty-seven away from the all-time record held by Ricky Rudd (788 consecutive starts).

"I'll explore opportunities for the next phase of my career, but my primary focus now and throughout 2015 will be my performance in the No. 24 Chevrolet," said Gordon. "I'm going to pour everything I have into this season and look forward to the challenge of competing for one last championship."

Gordon finished sixth in the Cup Series championship last year, with four victories and a series-leading twenty-three top 10 finishes. He was eliminated from championship contention after the penultimate race of the season at Phoenix International Raceway, under the new elimination-style format of NASCAR's Chase for the Sprint Cup.

Hailing from a background in sprint car and speedcar/midget car racing, the 43-year-old Gordon's emergence into stock car racing was the catalyst of a massive shift in the sport, as NASCAR broke through from being a regional specialty of the southeastern United States, to a nationally-recognized sport and the most popular racing series in the country. An explosion of new fans from all corners of the United States followed in the years to come, along with the emergence of many top drivers hailing from the western states - like Gordon's home state of California, which was also the birthplace of his protege Jimmie Johnson, now a six-time Cup Series champion. Many other top drivers, including three-time Cup Series champion Tony Stewart, Hendrick teammate Kasey Kahne, and last year's top rookie driver, Kyle Larson, came from backgrounds in open-wheel racing just like Gordon.

2014 Brickyard 400 - VICTORY LANE JEFF GORDON

Jeff Gordon: Test Drive 2 | Pepsi Max | Prank

With many nicknames such as "The Kid" and "The Rainbow Warrior" - in reference to his famous rainbow-themed DuPont livery used from 1993 to 2000 - Gordon has engaged in fierce and memorable rivalries with champion drivers such as Stewart, Rusty Wallace, Brad Keselowski, and perhaps his most famous rivalry with Dale Earnhardt early in his career.

Outside of NASCAR, Gordon also has experience in Formula One, having tested for BMW Williams F1 Team in 2003 during a televised exhibition event that also saw Juan Pablo Montoya drive a stock car for the first time. He has a podium finish in the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona, finishing third overall in the 2007 race driving for Wayne Taylor Racing. Gordon is also a noted television personality, and a long-time philanthropist who has founded many charitable organizations in his name.

"There's simply no way to quantify Jeff's impact," team owner Rick Hendrick said. "He's one of the biggest sports stars of a generation, and his contributions to the success and growth of NASCAR are unsurpassed. There's been no better ambassador for stock car racing and no greater representation of what a champion should be. I will never be able to properly express the respect and admiration I have for Jeff and how meaningful our relationship is to me. I'm so grateful for everything he's done for our company and my family, and I look forward to many more years together as friends and business partners."

NASCAR CEO Brian France added on Thursday, "Jeff Gordon transcends NASCAR and will be celebrated as one of the greatest drivers to ever race. We have all enjoyed watching his legend grow for more than two decades, and will continue to do so during his final full-time season. His prolonged excellence and unmatched class continue to earn him the admiration of fans across the globe. Today's announcement is a bittersweet one. I'll miss his competitive fire on a weekly basis, but I am also happy for Jeff and his family as they start a new chapter. On behalf of the entire NASCAR family, I thank Jeff for his years of dedication and genuine love for this sport, and wish him the very best in his final season."

Jeff Gordon's pursuit of a fifth and final championship will begin on February 22nd with the fifty-seventh running of the Daytona 500.

Jeff was five when he began running laps at a makeshift racetrack in Vallejo, California, that he and his stepfather John Bickford converted from a fairground. Inspired at an early age by John to be the best he could be in everything he did, Jeff embraced racing with a natural talent and true humility.

The young man from California jumped behind the wheel of a quarter midget and his competitive spirit quickly ignited. “He slipped around the track for days getting used to the car and how to drive it,” John says. Jeff didn’t do so well in his first year of competition, but he knew he could do it. At just six years of age, Jeff won 35 main events and set five track records. And so it began…

Jeff later took interest in sprint cars because of their size and power. There was one roadblock though–Jeff was only 13 and the rules stated the minimum age to drive the 650 horsepower machines was 16. But Jeff and his family appealed to the insurance companies and their persistence paid off when Jeff was allowed to run in the All Star Florida Speedweeks. He was successful driving sprint cars and the family moved to Pittsboro, Indiana so Jeff could settle and learn in the heart of sprint car country. Racing sprints was the first time Jeff had received national attention, partly due to his young age and partly because of his amazing driving abilities. Success came easily as Jeff captured several track championships at Bloomington Speedway and a title at Eldora Speedway.

When there were no opportunities available in open-wheel racing for Jeff to pursue, someone suggested that he try out the Buck Baker Driving School at Rockingham Speedway in North Carolina. When Jeff drove his first laps in a stock car, he declared to his parents that this was what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. What exciting times those were. It was a transition from the traditional open-wheel racing that Jeff was used to, to something he had never done before–race a car that had fenders. Jeff met a man named Hugh Connerty, who owned some Hooters restaurants and was a partner in Outback Steakhouse. Hugh secured some funding for a car through Outback, and it went to a test for the Busch Grand National race in Charlotte in 1990. A then unknown figure in the motorsports community from New Jersey by the name of Ray Evernham was asked to come work with Jeff. They ran a few races together to end the 1990 Busch Grand National season.

In 1991, Jeff Gordon and Hugh Connerty amicably parted ways when funding became difficult to secure. After tire testing the No. 1 car for Bill Davis, conversations started between Jeff and Bill and the two entered into a one page agreement for Jeff to drive for the ’91 season. Jeff won Rookie of the Year honors driving the Carolina Ford Dealers car that year. Nestle Chocolate, with their Baby Ruth brand, sponsored the car for the 1992 season, and Davis hired Ray Evernham at Daytona that year.

1992 marked the first time the Busch cars ran at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Jeff sat on the pole and also won the race, turning many heads in the process. One person who took immediate notice was Rick Hendrick. The rest is history. Jeff became a part of the Hendrick Motorsports family and has continued the winning tradition ever since. His desire to drive was fueled by gritty determination to win races and championships, which has remained throughout an unparalleled career in racing.

At the close of the 2013 racing season, Jeff had amassed 88 victories and 74 poles – both third all-time in NASCAR. His four championships occurred in 1995, 1997, 1998 and 2001.

The No. 24 Drive to End Hunger team is ready to battle for the championship in 2014. With three years experience working together, Jeff and crew chief Alan Gustafson are ready to take on the competition as they contend for more wins and that coveted fifth championship. Jeff and the No.24 team will be partnered with Drive to End Hunger, Axalta Coating Systems and Pepsi Max throughout the upcoming season.

BIRTHDATE: Aug 4, 1971
BIRTHPLACE: Vallejo, CA
HOMETOWN: Pittsboro, IN
HEIGHT: 5’7″
STATUS: Married to Ingrid Vandebosch
CHILDREN: Ella Sofia, Leo Benjamin

Four-time NASCAR Cup Series Champion (1995, 1997, 1998, 2001)
92 Career NASCAR Cup Victories
Third on all-time wins list
77 Career Poles
Third place on all-time pole award winner’s list
Three-time Daytona 500 winner (1997, 1999, 2005)
Five-time Brickyard 400 winner (1994, 1998, 2001, 2004, 2014)
Three-time champion of The Sprint All-Star Challenge (1995, 1997, 2001)
Holds a nine road course victories record
Holds a 12 restrictor-plate victories record
1997 Winston Million winner & four-time Winston No Bull 5 winner
Seven-time winner at Darlington Raceway (1995, Spring 1996, Fall 1996, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2007)

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Post by n7thGear™ on Jan 25, 2015 2:16:17 GMT -6

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