Gordon wears fatherhood, philanthropy well as driving days wind down
RELATED: Full coverage of Gordon announcement
It’s easy to think of Jeff Gordon as stock-car racing superstar, the driver who broke into the sport with a certain Madison Avenue polish in the 1990s. Back then, the knock against him was that he hadn’t paid his dues. After 23 amazing seasons, no one will be able to make that claim when the curtain falls on Gordon’s career.
But portraying Gordon solely in terms of his driving ability as the face of NASCAR fans’ adulation and as a four-time champion at the sport’s highest level sells the man short. Nowhere is that point more evident than when he taught 7-year-old daughter Ella Sofia one of life’s lessons in a touching Thursday morning heart-to-heart, just hours before he announced the 2015 season would be his last full ride in NASCAR.
“Today is an emotional day,” Gordon said Thursday afternoon with a chuckle that emphasized the understatement. “I had to tell my daughter this morning when I was explaining to her that I was going to be telling the team and people this and talking about it, and she saw me get very emotional when I was telling her. And I saw a look that I’d never seen in her eye before where she had never seen me like that, and I had to explain to her. Because most kids see when tears are flowing, it’s sadness, and it wasn’t for me. It was pride.”
Gordon was in a reflective mood on what turned out to be a whirlwind offseason day, one that gave the sports world a brief respite from the finer points of football inflation. He talked about how his illustrious NASCAR career elevated him from a short-track upstart to a household name. But there are many more opportunities that racing has afforded him, and their reach extends beyond the racetrack.
On Thursday, Gordon recalled a visit he made during the 1990s to Brenner Children’s Hospital in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and how lost he felt upon meeting a family whose child was undergoing treatment for cancer. From that experience early on in his career, Gordon found the inspiration and purpose for helping the cause, and he was determined that his higher calling would entail more than just breezing in for autographs and photo ops.
Some 15 years after its birth, the Jeff Gordon Children’s Foundation has raised more than $14 million for pediatric care organizations, has helped to fund cancer research and has opened children’s health centers both locally (Concord, North Carolina) and abroad (Rwanda, Africa). His car owner, Rick Hendrick, has also helped support those good works; he sits on the governing board of directors for Gordon’s foundation.
“It’s given me something also to be very proud of beyond just driving a race car,” Gordon said, “but also I know there is so much more that needs to be done for pediatric cancer that I want to be a part of in the future.”
While Gordon said he welcomed how his impending career change would free up more time for his philanthropic pursuits, he told the Associated Press in a Thursday interview that he also looked forward to spending more time with his family — wife Ingrid Vandebosch, daughter Ella Sofia and his 4-year-old son, Leo.
The family of four was a frequent visitor to Victory Lane in 2014 as the patriarch enjoyed one of his most rejuvenating seasons to date. And just last spring, his daughter suited up for a test run in a Quarter Midget racer, sparking speculation that the advent of the next generation of drivers named Gordon wasn’t far away.
Regardless of what direction his post-driving career takes, Gordon will remain a global star. Thursday morning’s announcement triggered a flood of memories and heartfelt salutes from his fellow competitors, others within the motorsports industry and his devoted abundance of fans about his place as one of the most decorated drivers in the history of the sport. After the staggering news unfolded, many came forward to call him a champion, an ambassador, an icon.
Earlier Thursday morning, Gordon was called something far more important: Dad.