Jeff Gordon was born to race. He first got behind the wheel at the age of four and has been there ever since. Gordon has won championships at every level and in 1995 became the second-youngest driver to win the prestigious National Association for Stock Car Automobile Racing (NASCAR) Winston Cup Series championship. He won another Winston Cup championship in 1997 and in that same year captured the most important title in stock car racing--the Daytona 500. Gordon has now taken his place as the undisputed "Golden Boy" of the NASCAR circuit.

Growing up

Born to race

Jeff Gordon was born August 4, 1971, in Vallejo, California. Gordon's stepfather, John Bickford, got his son involved in racing at an early age. Gordon started in bicycle motocross at age four. His mother, Carol, put a stop to that, telling Sports Illustrated years later, "At BMX races they were hauling kids away in ambulances all...