Jeff Gordon Prepares for Playing Daddy

By Linda Orlando

Four-time NASCAR Cup champion Jeff Gordon has a lot to be smiling about these days. His enthusiasm for racing may have been eclipsed by his enthusiasm for marriage and family, but you’d never know it by his performance on the track. Gordon is enjoying the best start in his career and leading the points race for the first time in two years.

Gordon, 35, just finished in third place at Bristol Motor Speedway, his third top-5 finish already this season. "I think that our team is really strong right now," said Gordon. "Every time we go through something like we went through Sunday, where we faded to the back and fought our way to the front, it only makes us stronger."

Gordon married supermodel Ingrid Vandebosch in November. Seeking his first Cup title since 2001, Gordon knows that the impending birth of his daughter this summer will change his life dramatically. The baby is due in late June or early July, and many people are wondering what effect his new fatherhood status will have on his racing. Even Gordon himself can’t predict the future.

"I think it's going to be one of two things: It's either going to make me work that much harder and appreciate racing that much more and enjoy it that much more," Gordon said. "Or it's going to make me go, 'I don't even want to do this.'"

Jimmie Johnson, the reigning Nextel Cup champion, has no doubts about his teammate Gordon sticking with his chosen career. "There are a lot of people who have started families and had successful families and racing careers," Johnson said. "Jeff Gordon is one of the best on the track, and I don't see it changing him."

Gordon is feeling optimistic. "Honestly I have got so many distractions already, I don't see how it could get a whole lot worse. I feel like I am lacking in sleep now, and I know that is going to get worse, but you just deal with it once you get to the race track," he said. "There is nothing that is going to be more exciting or more motivating than to actually have an addition to my family. That is something that I am very proud of."

Gordon said that maybe he and his acquaintance Tiger Woods should be comparing notes, since Woods is also expecting his first child this summer. "He won’t be the same golfer," Gordon said. "I guarantee you I won’t be the same race car driver. That doesn’t mean the results are going to be bad, though. I can’t really answer that question until it comes. I think it’s going to put a lot of things in perspective for me."

Steve Letarte, Gordon’s crew chief, has no doubts that the baby will enrich the champion driver both on and off the track. "He's lived for this sport. When he has a chance to go home and hold his little girl and have time to spend with his wife, I think that puts it all in perspective," said Letarte, who has two young children. "I think it's going to help us. I think it's going to be the best thing ever."

Even if Gordon’s new title as Daddy results in his performance falling off, he can’t really complain. Gordon has accumulated nearly $85 million in earnings throughout his career. He’s married to a supermodel and is in the lead for the Cup series. "It can be very easy to forget how good you’ve got it," Gordon said. "I try to remind myself as often as I can and I tell other people around me: Don't forget to remind me that life is good."