Jeffery Michael "Jeff" Gordon (born August 4, 1971) is an American professional auto racing driver who competed in the NASCAR Cup Series over a 25-year career. He was born in Vallejo, California to Carol Houston and Billy Gordon; the couple separated a few months later. Gordon's mother then married John Bickford, a car builder and parts supplier.
When Gordon was four years old, his stepfather gave him a BMX bike that he rode at a track near his home. At age five, Gordon began competing in Quarter Midget racing locally. He won 35 main events, set five track records, and earned a local championship by age six. In 1979, Gordon began racing quarter midgets nationally; that year he won 52 main events and set eight track records. At age nine, Gordon began competing in kart racing, and by age twelve, he had won over 200 races in Quarter Midgets and go-karts. Gordon briefly attempted waterskiing before returning to racing.
At age thirteen, Gordon became interested in sprint car racing, and he competed in his first sprint car events in Florida. Under California law, the minimum age to drive a sprint car was 16. In 1986, with Gordon's family supporting his career choice, he moved from Vallejo to Pittsboro, Indiana. At age sixteen, Gordon became the youngest driver ever awarded a USAC license. He was named the 1989 USAC National Midget Series Rookie of the Year, and captured the series championship in 1990. In 1991, Gordon won the USAC Silver Crown Series championship; at age twenty he was the youngest driver to do so.
While competing in sprint cars, Gordon was looking for new opportunities in racing. An impressive stint in a stock car at the North Carolina Motor Speedway, as part of the Buck Baker Racing School, led to a three-race deal from businessman Hugh Connerty to compete in the Busch Grand National Series late in the 1990 season, with Ray Evernham as the crew chief. Gordon qualified second for his first race but crashed twenty-three laps into the event, and he failed to qualify for his other two races. At the end of the season, Gordon and Connerty amicably parted ways when the latter could not secure funding and sponsorship to continue. Gordon later reached a deal with car owner Bill Davis to compete in the Busch Grand National Series full-time for the 1991 season, under crew chief Keith Simmons. Gordon was named the 1991 series Rookie of the Year with five top-five finishes and a pole. Gordon returned to Bill Davis Racing for the 1992 season; he was reunited with Evernham for his sophomore season. Gordon earned his first series victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway in March, and swept both races at Charlotte Motor Speedway held in May and October. Gordon ended the season with a record 11 poles and a fourth-place points finish, before joining Hendrick Motorsports in the Winston Cup Series.
Childhood
Birth and family background
Gordon was born on August 4, 1971, at Kaiser Hospital in Vallejo, California, and named Jeffery Michael Gordon. He is the son of Caroline and William G. Gordon II. He is the couple's second child; they have a daughter, Kimberly "Kim" Coykendall, who is older than Jeff by four years. Gordon is of Scotch-Irish descent. At the time of his birth, Gordon's family lived at 208 Westwood Street.
Gordon's mother and biological father separated when he was a few months old. In January 1972, Carol was hired to work in the billing department for a medical supply company called Robin-Aids. As a single mother, Carol worked to support her two children. Through her job, Carol met John Bickford, who worked for the company as a designer. Bickford, who was involved in racing as a car builder and parts supplier, was divorced from a woman named Rosie and had a son together, John Jr. When Bickford met Carol, he was due to be married again, but his second marriage was annulled after just four months. Bickford moved on and asked Carol out on a date to an auto race during Labor Day weekend. Carol brought her two children to the event at Vallejo Speedway, marking Jeff's first trip to a race track at a year old. Carol and John were married in May 1973. The family resided at 534 Brooke Drive in Vallejo.
BMX racing
When Gordon was four years old, Billy gave his son a secondhand bicycle. John challenged his stepson to attempt to learn how to ride the bicycle without training wheels. Within a day, Gordon learned how to ride with help from Carol. He then asked John to take him to a track used for BMX racing in their neighborhood. Before letting his stepson compete, John bought a new bike and customized the frame to fit Jeff's body. The BMX bike was given to Gordon for his birthday. He began to practice with John at the track, and later competed in sanctioned racing there. Gordon earned a third-place trophy in his first race. He advanced to the 1976 state championships, in which he finished fourth overall. At age five, Gordon was competing against children older and bigger than him. When one of Gordon's competitors broke an arm in a crash, Carol successfully convinced John to make Jeff quit racing bicycles after just a few months, due to the number of injuries and concussions in the sport.
Quarter Midget and kart racing
John purchased two Quarter Midget cars from Paul Stornetta of Napa, California for US$450 ($2,428 in 2023 dollars), and brought them home to Gordon's surprise. Although Carol was not pleased at first, John convinced her that Quarter Midgets are safer, and she later drove with her son on a makeshift track John created at the Solano County Fairgrounds. Gordon's first car, which was black, was known as the "fuzz car." In this car, Gordon ran over an estimated 2,000 laps around a flat surface at the fairgrounds. Gordon's stepfather and mother then took him to the Cracker Jack Track (now known as the Roy Hayer Memorial Speedway) in Rio Linda, California, to learn. While Gordon was in kindergarten, he practiced after school up to three days a week, logging laps in while competing against a stopwatch John used. Gordon was licensed to race by track official Tom Van Inwagen, earning his first racing license in April 1977 at five years old. Gordon made his first competitive laps at the Cracker Jack Track. In one of his first attempts at the track, Gordon flipped the car in turn two and snapped the rear axle. It took John an hour to repair the car for Gordon, who crashed it twice more in the same spot. After another repair, Gordon posted the fastest time out of the eight children competing. A month later, Gordon earned his first trophy with a four-place finish. In July, Gordon won the 1977 Western States Novice championship at Baylands Quarter Midget Track in Sunnyvale, California, and the "fuzz car" was retired after just a few months in competition. By age six, Gordon had won 35 main events and set five track records. It was around this time when Gordon's stepfather was accused of using illegal parts and rigging a hot car to gain a competitive advantage. Bickford often sold Jeff's cars to his competitors in response, later building similar vehicles which Gordon would drive to victory. Early in his career, Gordon was featured in segments on Kids Are People Too and PM Magazine, and was the subject of an episode for a series titled Super Kids. He was featured in Vallejo Times Herald in 1978, at age six.
In 1979, Gordon began competing in Quarter Midgets nationally, racing every week. He won his first Grand National championship in Denver, Colorado; scored 52 victories and set eight track records; and won the Pacific Northwest Indoor championships. In 1980, Gordon posted the fastest time in all fifty races he entered and scored 46 victories. Gordon finished second in the 1981 Grand National championship held in Oklahoma.
When Gordon was nine years old, he began competing in kart racing. In his first race in a go-kart, Gordon scored a victory in a major International Kart Federation event. Gordon won all 25 races he entered in his first year of karting competition, and won all 12 races he entered in his second year. Between 1981 and 1982, Gordon won three California State Monza Championships; he also won his second Grand National championship in Sunnyvale during the latter year. By the age of twelve, Gordon had won over two hundred races in Quarter Midgets and go-karts.
One of Gordon's fondest go-kart memories was competing against former Olympic gold medalist Caitlyn Jenner (formerly known as Bruce Jenner) in Corona, California.
Waterskiing As Gordon was about to reach adolescence, he "got bored" of racing regularly. With support from his parents, Gordon began practicing waterskiing at age twelve. Gordon's stepfather enrolled him in professional ski schools, and by age thirteen, coaches from California State University, Sacramento scouted him. Gordon learned how to slalom but struggled with jumping. Although Gordon had fun with waterskiing, he believed he was not tall enough to be competitive.
Other hobbies Gordon became interested in video games by age five, with Pong and Indy 500 being early favorite titles. He also enjoyed skateboarding, and idolized Tony Hawk. Gordon learned how to breakdance in Vallejo, where it was popular among his peers in his junior high school. Gordon would sneak into the bathroom to breakdance because it was not allowed in the hallways.
Education summary SchoolLocationTypeDegree/notesPennycook Elementary SchoolVallejo, CaliforniaPublicSpringstowne Middle SchoolVallejo, CaliforniaPublicTri-West Hendricks High SchoolLizton, IndianaPublicHigh school diploma, 1989
Sprint car and midget racing
Between 1983 and 1984, Gordon competed in limited races as he was searching for a transition in his career. He attended his first Indianapolis 500 as a spectator in 1983 and met his favorite driver, Rick Mears. Gordon also became interested in sprint car racing and attended local events, rooting for Steve Kinser. Gordon aspired to become a sprint car driver after reading a story about a young driver named Sport Allen.
In October 1984, Gordon competed in an event in Indianapolis, where he won both races. Following the event, John introduced Jeff to Lee Osborne, a former driver who operated a business in Jamestown, Indiana building sprint cars. John was interested in buying a used motor and a sprint car chassis for Jeff. Osborne assumed John was in the market for himself, not Gordon. When John revealed his intentions for his stepson, Osborne initially refused to build a sprint car for Gordon. Despite receiving a rundown of Gordon's past racing success, Osborne still was not convinced that the thirteen-year-old Gordon could handle a sprint car. After heading back home in California, John continued to talk to Osborne by phone, later successfully convincing him after weeks of discussions. By the end of November, a new Osborne sprint chassis arrived at Gordon's home. John and Jeff worked on the sprint car for months. When it was complete, the car was loaded onto a trailer to Dixon, California, where Gordon first attempted to start the car on a gravel road.
1985–1986
Florida Speedweek
In February 1985, Gordon traveled to Florida to compete in Speedweek, a series of racing events sanctioned by the All Star Circuit of Champions. Speedweek consisted of five nights of racing on two tracks: Jax Raceway in Jacksonville and East Bay Raceway in Tampa. Unlike in California, Florida had no age requirement for sprint car racing. Despite this, upon Gordon's arrival in Jacksonville, there was buzz among the racers and fans regarding Gordon's age and physical appearance. The owner of the Jax Raceway attempted to prevent Gordon from competing at the track. Series official Bert Emrick also voiced concern to John over letting Gordon compete in the races.