1971-present
Who Is Jeff Gordon?
American auto racer Jeff Gordon won four NASCAR Cup Series championships during his Hall of Fame career and ranks third all-time in series history with 93 wins. His success is largely credited with helping NASCAR build a mainstream audience. Born on August 4, 1971, in Vallejo, California, Gordon began competitive auto racing at age five. He joined NASCAR's top circuit in 1992 and won his first title by 1995, forming a friendly rivalry with fellow driver Dale Earnhardt. Gordon announced his retirement from full-time competition in 2015 and became a TV broadcaster. He now serves as the vice chairman of his former race team, Hendrick Motorsports.
Quick Facts
FULL NAME: Jeffrey Michael Gordon
BORN: August 4, 1971
BIRTHPLACE: Vallejo, California
SPOUSE: Brooke Sealey (1994-2003) and Ingrid Vandebosch (2006-present)
CHILDREN: Ella and Leo
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Leo
Childhood and Early Racing Career
Jeffrey Michael Gordon was born on August 4, 1971, in Vallejo, California. His parents Will and Carol divorced shortly after he was born, and Carol began dating a co-worker named John Bickford, who stoked Gordon’s interest in auto racing before becoming his stepfather. Gordon began racing BMX bikes at age 4, and the following year he slipped behind the wheel of a quarter midget for his first competitive driving experience. He won the national quarter-midget championship at ages 8 and 10, and continued to dominate older children in go-kart events.When Gordon was 13, the family moved to Pittsboro, Indiana, so he could race powerful sprint cars without the obstacle of a minimum age requirement. After joining the United States Auto Club at 16, he won the organization’s National Midget championship at 19 and its Silver Crown championship the following year.
NASCAR: Cup Series Champion and Broadcaster
Having taken an interest in stock cars, Gordon earned a chance to race for owner Hugh Connerty in NASCAR's Busch Grand National Series in 1990. He joined Bill Davis’s team the following year, his first on the circuit full-time, and was named Rookie of the Year.
Gordon soon caught the eye of owner Rick Hendrick, who marveled at the young driver’s control of his vehicle. Gordon signed with Hendrick in May 1992, and he made his Winston Cup Series debut that November in what turned out to be auto legend Richard Petty’s final NASCAR race.
Named the Winston Cup Rookie of the Year in 1993, Gordon broke through with victories in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway and the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1994. With crew chief Ray Evernham and his “Rainbow Warriors” helping to keep the No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet in top form, Gordon claimed his first series championship in 1995.
Clean-cut and polished in front of a camera, Gordon helped transform auto racing from a regional spectacle into a mainstream sport. His corporate image rubbed some of racing’s old guard the wrong way, but even the critics had to acknowledge his immense skills. Gordon became the youngest driver to triumph at the Daytona 500 in 1997 and tied a modern record with 13 victories in 1998, finishing both years as the series champion.
He notched a fourth championship in 2001 with new crew chief Robbie Loomis in tow, culminating an amazing stretch that produced 56 victories in seven years.
A fifth championship proved elusive, but Gordon continued to rank among NASCAR’s elite. He won his third Daytona 500 in 2005, and in 2007 he accumulated a modern-record 30 top-10 finishes en route to a second-place finish in the standings. Stymied by back problems in 2008, the veteran driver proved more than capable of keeping up with the sport’s young guns in 2014, notching a record fifth Brickyard 400 trophy among his four victories.
Despite his success the year prior, Gordon announced the 2015 season would be his last as a full-time NASCAR driver. Although he went winless in the 26-race regular season, Gordon accrued enough points to qualify for the Cup Series playoffs. In the penultimate round, he held off Jamie McMurray for a victory at Martinsville Speedway—the 93rd and final of his career—and advanced to the championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. His top-six finish there earned him a third-place finish in the season standings.
At that season’s championship banquet, Hollywood star Tom Cruise gave a surprise introduction for Gordon before the driver’s final speech. Gordon became a first-ballot inductee into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2019.
TV Broadcaster and Hendrick Vice Chairman
Television networks were quick to add Gordon’s expertise as an analyst upon his retirement. Fox ultimately secured his services, landing Gordon as a full-time color commentator for the 2016 season.
"I feel so lucky to be a part of a sport that I'm very passionate about, and now I get the opportunity to share that passion to millions of race fans from a whole new perspective," Gordon said at the time.
After the conclusion of the network’s broadcast schedule that year, Gordon was unexpectedly called back to competition when Hendrick Motorsports driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. was sidelined because of concussion symptoms. Gordon split driving duties in the No. 88 car, his first time out of the iconic 24 in the Cup Series, with young driver Alex Bowman. He recorded a top-10 finish in his final career start at Martinsville on October 30, 2016.
Gordon continued to offer commentary in the Fox booth through 2021, before leaving to begin a new position as vice chairman of Hendrick Motorsports. In the role, he focuses on the organization’s competition and marketing groups and directly reports to owner Rick Hendrick. Under Gordon’s watch, the team won a Cup Series championship with driver Kyle Larson in 2025.
Movies and TV Appearances
A large part of Gordon’s role in growing NASCAR’s visibility was his comfort in front of film and TV cameras.
On the small screen, he became the first driver to host the long-running TV sketch comedy Saturday Night Live in January 2003. He also served as a fill-in host for the talk show Live with Regis and Kelly starring Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa. Gordon also appeared in numerous commercials for sponsors such as Pepsi, including a memorable ad featuring pop star Britney Spears.
Gordon is also credited with cameos in movies including Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003), Herbie: Fully Loaded (2005), and Logan Lucky (2017), as well as the voice role of Jeff Gorvette in Cars 2 (2011) and Cars 3 (2017).
Wife and Children
Gordon married Belgian model Ingrid Vandebosch in 2006. The couple have two children: daughter Ella (born June 2007) and son Leo (August 2010).
While Gordon introduced both of his kids to racing through youth quarter midget cars, he has since shared they are interested in other sports and career paths. “My daughter is the athlete in the family,” he told a podcast for The Charlotte Observer. “She’s the speed demon. She runs track.”
Gordon was previously married to Brooke Sealey, a former Miss Winston trophy girl for the Cup Series. Their relationship notably began in secret because Miss Winston models weren’t allowed to date drivers at the time. They married in November 1994, but ultimately split in 2002 and had their divorce finalized a year later. As part of their settlement, Sealey was guaranteed more than $15 million.
Away from the track in his personal life, Gordon launched the Jeff Gordon Children's Foundation in 1999 to help fund pediatric cancer research. In 2006, he opened the Jeff Gordon Children’s Hospital in Concord, North Carolina.
Net Worth
Celebrity Net Worth estimates Gordon’s total fortune at around $200 million as of July 2026.
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