Countdown: California

From the redwoods of the North Coast to the Golden Gate, from the fertile fields of the San Joaquin Valley to Yosemite's towering Half Dome, from glittering Hollywood to San Diego's shoreline, California encompasses nearly every climate.

California has always had a car culture -- think of the Beach Boys and Jan and Dean -- and Jerry Jeff Walker wished he could just get off of that L.A. freeway. So it's no wonder that NASCAR and the Golden State go together like drive-in carhops and roller skates.

Best behind the wheel

	Inside the Numbers Jeff Gordon's career stats Year Races W T5 T10 1992 1 0 0 0 1993 30 0 7 11 1994 31 2 7 14 1995 31 7 17 23 1996 31 10 21 24 1997 32 10 22 23 1998 33 13 26 28 1999 34 7 18 21 2000 34 3 11 22 2001 36 6 18 24 2002 36 3 13 20 2003 36 3 15 20 2004 36 5 16 25 2005 36 4 8 14 Totals 437 73 199 269

• Jeff Gordon, Vallejo

When soon-to-be stepfather John Bickford took Jeff Gordon to his first race at Vallejo Speedway, it set into motion a series of events that have changed the NASCAR record book.

Gordon's need for speed came early, as he graduated from a BMX bicycle to a quarter midget by the time he was 5. By the time he turned 8, Gordon had won his first quarter midget championship, running weekly on California dirt tracks and beating drivers twice his age. His highlight was competing in the quarter midget nationals at 11. During that time, Gordon also won four class championships in go-karts.

By 1985, Jeff's parents decided to relocate to Pittsboro, Ind., to give him more opportunities to race -- and he could legally race sprint cars there, with his parents' permission. The youngest person to ever get a USAC license, Gordon won three sprint car track championships before he could get an Indiana drivers license.

The 1989 USAC midget rookie of the year, by the time Gordon graduated from high school, he had already won over 100 races. One year later, Gordon won the USAC midget title.

During the 1990 season, Gordon enrolled at the Buck Baker Driver School at Rockingham, which earned him a Busch Series ride with Bill Davis in 1991. That season, he won the USAC Silver Crown division and was Busch Series rookie of the year. In 1992, Gordon won 11 Busch Series poles and made his Cup debut at Atlanta, finishing 31st in a Rick Hendrick-owned Chevrolet.

Four championships and 73 wins later -- including four at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway -- Gordon is now seventh all-time in NASCAR victories.

Other noteworthy drivers from California

• Dick Brooks, Porterville: His 1973 victory at Talladega was his lone win in 358 career starts

• Marvin Burke, Pittsburg: Won his only NASCAR start, the 1951 400-lapper at Oakland

• Jim Cook, Norwalk: Had three consecutive top-10 finishes at Sacramento, including a win in 1960

• Ray Elder, Carruthers: Victories at Riverside in 1971 and '72, both times over Bobby Allison

• Lou Figaro, Inglewood: Drove a Hudson to victory in the 1951 race at Gardena

• Robby Gordon, Cerritos: Open-wheel and off-road ace has three wins, two on road courses

• Danny Graves, Modesto: Four top-10s in nine career starts, including a 1957 win at Sacramento

• Eddie Gray, Gardena: All four of his wins came on California tracks, including the inaugural Riverside event

• Dan Gurney, Costa Mesa: All five of his stock-car wins came at Riverside from 1963-1968

• Kevin Harvick, Bakersfield: The 2001 Busch Series champ boasts a win in the 2003 Brickyard 400 as the biggest of his five victories

• Ron Hornaday Jr., Palmdale: Two-time Craftsman Truck Series champion has 45 career Cup appearances

• Ernie Irvan, Modesto: The 1991 Daytona 500 winner was first 15 times, including twice at Talladega

• Jimmie Johnson, El Cajon: 18 wins in his first four full-time seasons, including back-to-back runner-up finishes in the points

• Parnelli Jones, Torrance: Won three NASCAR races before capturing the 1963 Indianapolis 500

• Danny Letner, Downey: Won at Oakland in 1954 and Tucson in 1955

• Johnny Mantz, Long Beach: Only one victory, but it was the inaugural Southern 500 at Darlington

• Bill Norton, Gardena: Three top-10s in 1951, including a victory at his hometown track

• Eddie Pagan, Lynwood: Three wins in 1957, all during NASCAR's West Coast swing

• Marvin Panch, Oakland: The 1961 Daytona 500 winner had 17 career victories from 1956-1966

• Marvin Porter, Lakewood: Career highlights include wins at San Jose and Hanford

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• Dick Rathmann, Los Angeles: This open-wheel star drove a Hudson to victory 13 times during a three-year span in the '50s

• John Soares, Oakland: Race promoter was a good driver, too, as evidenced by his win at Gardena in 1954

• Danny Weinberg, Downey: Drove a Studebaker to victory in the 1951 200-lapper at Hanford

We wish ...

Baseball Hall-of-Famer Ted Williams had become a NASCAR driver.

Williams, a San Diego native and last major leaguer to hit .400, certainly had the hand-to-eye coordination and exceptional eyesight to excel in stock-car racing. He also set a student gunnery record for reflexes, coordination and visual reaction time that may still stand and flew 39 missions as a Marine combat pilot in the Korean War.

Keeping it on the track

• California Speedway

Built on the site of a former Kaiser Steel mill in Fontana, about 40 miles east of Los Angeles, this two-mile track has hosted NASCAR since its inaugural race in 1997. Jeff Gordon has won three of the 11 races held there.

• Infineon Raceway

Situated on the northern shore of the San Francisco Bay -- at Sears Point -- and the gateway to some of the world's top wine-producing regions, this 2.52-mile road course opened in 1968 and has hosted NASCAR races since 1996. Jeff Gordon has four wins there, including three consecutive from 1998-2000.

Gone but not forgotten

• Riverside International Raceway

If you think present-day NASCAR races are too long, just imagine sitting through the inaugural 500-mile marathon on the road course that wound through the hills of Riverside County. It took Eddie Gray six hours and 17 minutes to complete the 190-lap distance in 1958.

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Starting in 1963, Riverside began hosting annual NASCAR races -- and beginning in 1970 through 1981, was the season-opener. The track had multiple configurations, with stock cars mainly running the 2.62-mile course.

Dan Gurney dominated racing there in the '60s, winning five out of seven races from 1963 through 1968. However, it was Bobby Allison who became the master of Riverside, especially in odd-numbered years.

Beginning with his first victory in 1971, Allison ruled the road course six times, adding wins in 1973, '75, '79, and two in '81. In 43 career starts at Riverside, Allison had 19 top-five finishes.

Another five-time winner at Riverside was Darrell Waltrip, who scored his first win there in 1979, swept both races in 1980 and added victories in 1981 and 1986. Waltrip also won nine pole positions.

Four of Tim Richmond's 13 career victories came at Riverside.

Other tracks which have hosted NASCAR races

• Ascot Stadium, Los Angeles: Half-mile dirt oval hosted three NASCAR races before its demise in 1990

• Bay Meadows Race Track, San Mateo: The one-mile horse track was a yearly stop on the circuit from 1954-1956

• California State Fairgrounds, Sacramento: Eddie Gray won twice on the dirt mile, including the finale in 1961

• Capital Speedway, Sacramento: Bill Amick won the only NASCAR race held at the dirt half-mile in 1957

• Carrell Speedway, Gardena: John Soares won the last of four races before the track was shut down in 1954

• Marchbanks Speedway, Hanford: Fireball Roberts led all 178 laps on the 1.4-mile high-banked oval in 1961

• Merced Fairgrounds Speedway, Merced: Herb Thomas won the 1956 NASCAR event on the dirt half-mile

• Oakland Stadium, Oakland: Marvin Burke won on the paved track in 1951, while Dick Rathmann and Danny Letner triumphed on the dirt in 1954

• Ontario Motor Speedway, Ontario: A carbon-copy of Indianapolis, it hosted nine races before it was leveled in 1981

• Redwood Speedway, Eureka: Herb Thomas and Lloyd Dane won on the 5/8ths dirt oval

• Santa Clara Fairgrounds, San Jose: Marvin Porter bested Eddie Pagan on the half-mile in 1957

• Willow Springs International Raceway, Lancaster: An unusual oiled dirt road course hosted races in the 1956 and 1957 seasons

A word from our sponsor

A number of official NASCAR sponsors have California connections, including Home 123 (Irvine), Levi Strauss (San Francisco), Toyota (Torrance) and Visa (San Francisco). Edelbrock performance products come from Torrance, while Mechanix Wear gloves are headquartered in Valencia.