Gordon's success allows him to live on own terms (cont'd)

A real life.

If baby Gordon is born on a Friday or Saturday, he'll have no qualms about turning his No. 24 car over to Martin.

"We have real high hopes that it won't be necessary for me to get in the car, and maybe it won't be necessary for me to be there. But whatever it takes," Martin said. "I'm going to have gas in the plane on Thursday, and we're headed to California unless we get a different word, and we'll be standing around in case he needs us if we need to go out there. Hopefully, everything works out where they have the baby before California and he gets to drive his car. I really hope it works out for him."

Hendrick team ready to welcome Junior

Jeff Gordon and his Hendrick teammates are excited to welcome Dale Earnhardt Jr. to their garage next season.

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It always has. Dale Earnhardt Jr. has the mass appeal and the rock and roll image and the famous last name, but in many ways Gordon is the Jack Kennedy of NASCAR, a figure whose personal life attracts the attention of Us Weekly and Page Six as well as motorsports publications. And by most accounts, he doesn't seem to mind. Understanding the interest, he's making arrangements for the first photos of the baby to appear on his personal Web site.

It's more proof of the fact that Gordon, as much as any superstar athlete on the planet, gets it. He understands his sport and his role in it -- the purpose of the media, how to make sponsors happy, that running around in circles may make a man wealthy but not necessarily content. His four championships and 79 race wins have afforded him the luxury of living life on his terms. That's a rarity in a sport where plenty of guys have big houses, fat wallets and beautiful girlfriends, but are also beholden to the steering wheel.

Whether it's living in New York or retiring early -- always a possibility with Gordon -- he breaks the rules. When he climbs out of his car for the last time, he's always said, he's going to get as far away from the sport as he can for a while. He's not going to be one of these guys who linger around the garage area, trying to hold on to the only life they've ever known. So perhaps it's appropriate that Gordon is having a daughter, rather than a son that would bring the inevitable questions about following in daddy's footsteps.

But in an era of Danica Patrick, someone still wondered if there would be a little go-kart, ready to go. "No go-karts," Gordon said. "We've got a little car, but no go-karts."