His last-place finish at the 1993 First Union 400 was a firm example of this theory. However, during the 1993 season, many doubted Gordon's ability to compete at such a level at such a young age because of his tendency to push the cars too hard and crash. Gordon's success in the sport reshaped the paradigm and eventually gave younger drivers an opportunity to compete in NASCAR. He eventually won the Rookie of the Year Award, and finished 14th in the points standings. He followed this with a fifth-place finish in his first Daytona 500. Gordon started his rookie season by winning one of the Gatorade Twin 125's, becoming the youngest driver to win a Daytona qualifying race. 24 car full-time in the 1993 Winston Cup season, with Evernham serving as his first crew chief. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports that he has driven for his entire Cup Series career. In addition to the race being Richard Petty's final race in NASCAR and the championship battle among six drivers (eventually won by Alan Kulwicki by virtue of his second-place finish in the race), this was Gordon's first start in the No. Gordon made his Winston Cup debut in the 1992 Hooters 500 at Atlanta, the last race of that season, and finished 31st after crashing. During the year, Rick Hendrick watched Gordon compete in a Busch race at Atlanta, and two days later, signed him to Hendrick Motorsports. However, Gordon's stepfather John Bickford had wanted Ray Evernham as crew chief, but Roush stated he selected crew chiefs, not his drivers. In 1992, Roush Racing owner Jack Roush expressed interest in signing Gordon, which would keep him in the Ford Racing stable. Won 3 Brickyard 400s including the inaugural one in 1994 and his second one in 1998 and his 3rd one in 2001 making him the first driver to win it more than twice.Gordon signing autographs for fans at the Open Test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1993. Became the youngest driver to win the Daytona 500. In 1998, he tied a record by winning 13 races in a same season and by winning 4 races in a row. With his first championship in 1995, Jeff became the youngest driver at the age of 24 to win a Winston Cup title. Has won 4 Winston Cup Championships: 1995, 1997, 1998, and 2001 becoming the youngest driver to win than many. As of 2003, Jeff continues to co-own the # 48 race team of Jimmie Johnson. His 3 wins in 2002 were at Bristol, Darlington, and Kansas. At the end of the 2002 racing season, Jeff has racked up 61 Winston Cup races. In 2001, he became the first driver to win at Kansas Speedway and he won it again in 2002 becoming the only driver to win at Kansas. In 2002, Jeff and teammate Jimmie Johnson competed and won in the Race of Champions in Grand Canaria, Spain. At the end of the 2002 racing season, Jeff ended up in 4th place in the NASCAR Winston Cup points standings. In 2003, he became the first driver in Winston Cup history to host Saturday Night Live. Those 5 wins were at Talladega, California, Martinsville, Daytona, and the other Martinsvile race. Jeff racked up 5 wins that season, bringing his career total to 66. Jeff at the end of 2005 has a total of 70 career wins.In 2004, Jeff Gordon finished 3rd place in NASCAR Nextel Cup points, behind Kurt Busch, and teammate Jimmie Johnson. Jeff did manage to get back on track somewhat, and won at Martinsville later in the year, and finished 2nd, 14th, and 9th in the 3 last 3 races following the long overdue visit to victory lane. Gordon had a crew chief swap when the 10 race Chase began, when Robbie Loomis left the team, and 26 year old Steve Letarte took over. After the 3rd win at Talladega, he went 16 races without a top 5 finish, a very uncharacteristic Gordon. No one saw Gordon's bad season coming, after winning his 3rd Daytona 500, and winning 3 of the first 9 races of the season. Those races were Daytona, Martinsville, Talladega, and the other Martinsville race. Gordon missed out for the Chase for the Nextel Cup, and finishes 11th in points, and finishing outside the top 10 in points since he finished 14th in his rookie year of 1993. In 2005, Gordon suffered his worst season since his rookie year in 1993. Jeff Gordon is seen as one of NASCAR's best and brightest young stars. Since his Debut in 1992, Gordon has won 3 NASCAR Championships and 55 Races, clearly shooting past Lee Petty and Rusty Wallace in the All-Time Wins Category. Gordon learned quickly and won his first NASCAR Championship in 1995, barely beating out Dale Earnhardt in the Points Standings. Gordon's first NASCAR race came when NASCAR Legend Richard Petty was going through his last. He started racing with Go-Carts and Sprint Cars and worked his way up to the NASCAR's Busch Series and then landed a few races in 1992. Jeff Gordon was born in 1971 in Vallejo, California, just miles away from the Speedway in Sonoma.
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