The life of Gordon
NASCAR superstar enjoys life in fast even when he's not chasing checkered flag
BY NATE RYAN
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Apr 20, 2004
Begin with a comfortable cruise on a yacht to the Bahamas for sunbathing, scuba diving among schools of sharks and a successful run at the high-roller blackjack tables.
Stop in at Augusta National and spend a Masters weekend that ends with a front-row view of Phil Mickelson's winning birdie putt on the 18th green.
Wrap up with a cross-country flight to Los Angeles to judge the nationally televised Miss USA pageant on a star-studded panel of movie stars, fashion designers and the owner of the L.A. Lakers.
Soak in the celebrity-tinged tour and its high-society high-jinks without being overwhelmed by its surreal nature, and a clear picture emerges of the perks of being Jeff Gordon when he takes a 10-day break from the Nextel Cup circuit as he did after the April 4 race at Texas Motor Speedway.
"I'd like somebody to come in here and top my off week," the four-time champion said while flashing a smile after returning to the NASCAR grind at Martinsville Speedway. "It was pretty spectacular."
It was all in a week's play for Gordon. The question is, could a jet-setting schedule as a hob-nobbing member of the entertainment industry eventually become his life's work?
Since the crumbling of his marriage early in 2002, Gordon has explored an outgoing side. A move back to Charlotte, N.C., has resulted in a laid-back, looser lifestyle among his peers, and a part-time residence in New York has nurtured a taste for the cosmopolitan that has manifested itself in stints as the featured attraction on "Saturday Night Live" and "Regis and Kelly."
Rick Hendrick, who has become one of Gordon's best friends while fielding his No.24 Chevrolets for the past decade, believes those guest spots could lead to a full-time gig when the racing career ends.
"For sure, I think in hosting 'Saturday Night Live' and 'Regis and Kelly' there'll be a life for him there if he wants," Hendrick said. "He's got so much talent there, and the camera loves him. He could do a lot of other things when he decides not to race anymore. He's enjoying being Jeff Gordon. He's doing things that guys would love to do. I was giving him my Miss USA picks over the phone."
Gordon seems to delight in allowing others to live vicariously through his adventures. During a lighthearted and candid chat with the media at Martinsville, he recounted the highlights of his week with the storytelling flair of a talk-show host.
On helping select Miss USA: "It was a tough job, but somebody has to do it. I thought I'd meet some cool people like the judges and meet some beautiful girls as well, which never hurts. It was exactly like that. . . . They explained what the judging process was like and their expectations. They told us, 'You've got to look past the dress. It's not about fashion. It's about . . . beauty!"
On watching the Masters: "I kept saying I can't believe I'm going to walk around and watch grown men hit little white balls around the grass and into a small hole all day long. The funny thing is, I never got so excited about watching a scoreboard in my whole life. You'd hear a roar far away, and it was like, 'What happened?' But there's this gigantic board that looks like it's from the 1940s, and this guy would climb a ladder to change the numbers. Everyone is waiting on the edge of their seat for the numbers to fall, and then we'd go, 'Yeeeaaaahhh!' I remember a roar when Phil was 7 under and [Ernie] Els was 8 under. The guy went up [to change Mickelson's number], and we started hollering, 'Eight, eight, eight! Ocho, ocho, ocho!' The board comes up and we all went nuts."
On his undersea excursions: "I know that swimming with sharks sounds dangerous. If you know anything, you know it's not. I can't explain that to anybody, including Rick."
He also probably couldn't explain his desire to jump out of an airplane, but it's something that's also on his to-do list when he escapes the hectic demands and sponsor commitments of his current job - which he adamantly insists will remain his No.1 priority until then.
"I didn't realize I was a thrill seeker until a couple of years ago," he said. "I wouldn't want to injure myself and be out of a race car. I could do a lot crazier things, but I don't because I think about what my team would think and about what my sponsors would think. I know there's a lot that goes into making our team, and I'm an important part of it.
"But when I don't have that on the line, I'll probably try to experience a lot of new and exciting things. Life changes in all different directions. I'm 32 and I've lived an amazing life. I think I've got just a ton more things ahead of me, and I have no idea what they could be and what direction my life might go."
Contact Nate Ryan at (804) 649-6851 or [email protected]
NASCAR superstar enjoys life in fast even when he's not chasing checkered flag
BY NATE RYAN
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Apr 20, 2004
Begin with a comfortable cruise on a yacht to the Bahamas for sunbathing, scuba diving among schools of sharks and a successful run at the high-roller blackjack tables.
Stop in at Augusta National and spend a Masters weekend that ends with a front-row view of Phil Mickelson's winning birdie putt on the 18th green.
Wrap up with a cross-country flight to Los Angeles to judge the nationally televised Miss USA pageant on a star-studded panel of movie stars, fashion designers and the owner of the L.A. Lakers.
Soak in the celebrity-tinged tour and its high-society high-jinks without being overwhelmed by its surreal nature, and a clear picture emerges of the perks of being Jeff Gordon when he takes a 10-day break from the Nextel Cup circuit as he did after the April 4 race at Texas Motor Speedway.
"I'd like somebody to come in here and top my off week," the four-time champion said while flashing a smile after returning to the NASCAR grind at Martinsville Speedway. "It was pretty spectacular."
It was all in a week's play for Gordon. The question is, could a jet-setting schedule as a hob-nobbing member of the entertainment industry eventually become his life's work?
Since the crumbling of his marriage early in 2002, Gordon has explored an outgoing side. A move back to Charlotte, N.C., has resulted in a laid-back, looser lifestyle among his peers, and a part-time residence in New York has nurtured a taste for the cosmopolitan that has manifested itself in stints as the featured attraction on "Saturday Night Live" and "Regis and Kelly."
Rick Hendrick, who has become one of Gordon's best friends while fielding his No.24 Chevrolets for the past decade, believes those guest spots could lead to a full-time gig when the racing career ends.
"For sure, I think in hosting 'Saturday Night Live' and 'Regis and Kelly' there'll be a life for him there if he wants," Hendrick said. "He's got so much talent there, and the camera loves him. He could do a lot of other things when he decides not to race anymore. He's enjoying being Jeff Gordon. He's doing things that guys would love to do. I was giving him my Miss USA picks over the phone."
Gordon seems to delight in allowing others to live vicariously through his adventures. During a lighthearted and candid chat with the media at Martinsville, he recounted the highlights of his week with the storytelling flair of a talk-show host.
On helping select Miss USA: "It was a tough job, but somebody has to do it. I thought I'd meet some cool people like the judges and meet some beautiful girls as well, which never hurts. It was exactly like that. . . . They explained what the judging process was like and their expectations. They told us, 'You've got to look past the dress. It's not about fashion. It's about . . . beauty!"
On watching the Masters: "I kept saying I can't believe I'm going to walk around and watch grown men hit little white balls around the grass and into a small hole all day long. The funny thing is, I never got so excited about watching a scoreboard in my whole life. You'd hear a roar far away, and it was like, 'What happened?' But there's this gigantic board that looks like it's from the 1940s, and this guy would climb a ladder to change the numbers. Everyone is waiting on the edge of their seat for the numbers to fall, and then we'd go, 'Yeeeaaaahhh!' I remember a roar when Phil was 7 under and [Ernie] Els was 8 under. The guy went up [to change Mickelson's number], and we started hollering, 'Eight, eight, eight! Ocho, ocho, ocho!' The board comes up and we all went nuts."
On his undersea excursions: "I know that swimming with sharks sounds dangerous. If you know anything, you know it's not. I can't explain that to anybody, including Rick."
He also probably couldn't explain his desire to jump out of an airplane, but it's something that's also on his to-do list when he escapes the hectic demands and sponsor commitments of his current job - which he adamantly insists will remain his No.1 priority until then.
"I didn't realize I was a thrill seeker until a couple of years ago," he said. "I wouldn't want to injure myself and be out of a race car. I could do a lot crazier things, but I don't because I think about what my team would think and about what my sponsors would think. I know there's a lot that goes into making our team, and I'm an important part of it.
"But when I don't have that on the line, I'll probably try to experience a lot of new and exciting things. Life changes in all different directions. I'm 32 and I've lived an amazing life. I think I've got just a ton more things ahead of me, and I have no idea what they could be and what direction my life might go."
Contact Nate Ryan at (804) 649-6851 or [email protected]
