Gordon reunites with stepfather
Driver's resurgence coincides with decision to bring back man who shaped his early career.
by Curt Cavin
Jeff Gordon grew up counting on his stepfather, John Bickford, for everything from race car setups to how to position his cot near the struggling air conditioner in their rural Hendricks County home.
But in 1995, newly married at the age of 24, Gordon decided he no longer needed Bickford. It was a difficult separation, and it remains one of the major self-admitted misjudgments made by the four-time NASCAR champion, the local star who is one of the marquee attractions for Sunday's Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
"Even though we were doing very well in my career, I had to do something different," Gordon said during a quiet moment last month. "But I was lost without him."
Reunification occurred when Bickford became vice president and general manager of JG Inc. in April. Gordon is the president.
The pairing seems right to both men, based in large part on their history. Bickford, who married Gordon's mother, Carol, when Gordon was just a year old, didn't just experience the driver's meteoric rise to stardom; he played a large role in shaping it.
Bickford understood Gordon needed to be challenged by better competition. When Gordon was 14, Bickford moved his California-based family to Indiana, where the minimum age to participate in high-speed racing was lower.
Living initially in an unfurnished house near tiny Pittsboro, Bickford and Gordon became close despite their lack of a biological tie. Only recently has Gordon developed a casual relationship with his real father, Billy, who lives in Vacaville, Calif., near Vallejo where Gordon was born.
For years, Gordon and Bickford traveled Midwestern highways in a racing transporter, talking business, sports and life. They shared a racer's dream and devised a plan for how to create it. Together, they drove all the way to NASCAR.
"But we never had a plan for what to do when we got there," said Gordon, who was 21 when he debuted in NASCAR's top division. "We should have talked about it, but we didn't. We just kept our heads down and kept working."
Stock car's whirlwind came fast and furious. Gordon won his first Cup races in 1994, highlighted by a surprising victory at the inaugural Brickyard 400 at his adopted home track. That year he married Brooke Sealy, a former Miss Winston for NASCAR's title sponsor.
Gordon won the first of his championships in 1995. With that came unimaginable fame, attention and money. Bob Brannan was coordinating the driver's booming merchandise business, and the Gordons collectively decided Brannan could do Bickford's job of managing the driver's business, too. That made Bickford expendable.
Tough decision
But Gordon underestimated the emotional ramification of his decision. Bickford admits he was crushed personally and professionally. The scars remain.
Just last month, Bickford rattled off their breakup date quicker than he could come up with his wedding anniversary.
"May 1995," he said in his usual straight-to-the-point style. "It certainly hurt my feelings, but it's easy to remember because I'm asked about it all the time. I've probably only been asked my wedding date five times in 31 years."
Gordon said Bickford became depressed and distant. The men stopped talking about many of the things that previously connected them.
"He had worked so hard (on my career) for so long," Gordon said. "Then it was taken away."
Bickford took more than two years to find another job. His professional recovery began at Action Performance, a Phoenix-based company specializing in motor sports collectibles and memorabilia. He became an executive vice president and immersed himself in work.
Meanwhile, Gordon continued his own way, and they met amicably at home in North Carolina for the usual family get-togethers.
Bickford, who has remained one of Gordon's biggest supporters, refused to assess blame for the split, insisting it was part of the maturation process Gordon was bound to experience as a young adult.
"It was no different than what a normal college kid goes through," Bickford said. "He wanted to spread his wings and fly on his own, and that's natural.
"Jeff had always had me to hold the flashlight. When he took the flashlight in his own hand, he had to look for all the stones in the creek and find the path through the woods on his own."
Last summer, Gordon surprised Bickford with a phone call. They met for lunch near the fitness club where Bickford was exercising for a trip up 19,000-foot Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa. Gordon told him it was time to talk about a professional reunification.
Bickford had a message for Gordon: He would be no less aggressive in leading JG Inc., which is based in Harrisburg, N.C.
"I haven't changed," Bickford, 57, said. "I'm still a little sarcastic, I'm always on the edge, and I think way out in front of people.
"I wanted to know if Jeff could handle me, especially an older version of me."
Gordon said he could, and he thought seven years at Action Performance had made Bickford even better suited to manage all of his activities, including his contracts with Hendrick Motorsports, DuPont and Pepsi.
"The good thing is, John never stopped caring or thinking about me, and I never stopped thinking about how important he's been to me," Gordon said. "We slowly but surely rekindled things, and I couldn't be happier with where we're at."
Said Bickford: "This just feels right."
Carol Bickford might feel best about the reunification.
"It's nice," she said. "I went to dinner with Jeff a few weeks after that, and I asked him how it was going. He said it was incredible. They're happy."
Gordon has made a comeback of sorts this season, and he credits Bickford. Gordon is positioned to contend for his fifth Cup championship, a step closer to catching Richard Petty and the late Dale Earnhardt for the all-time lead with seven titles.
"John's put me in a place where I'm confident and comfortable," Gordon said. "I'm excited about the direction we're going. Things are good at the office. He's definitely taken some weight off my shoulders.
"The thing is, I thought (being apart) was the right thing for us as a family. I realized later that our lives work when my mom and dad are involved in my life."
Driver's resurgence coincides with decision to bring back man who shaped his early career.
by Curt Cavin
Jeff Gordon grew up counting on his stepfather, John Bickford, for everything from race car setups to how to position his cot near the struggling air conditioner in their rural Hendricks County home.
But in 1995, newly married at the age of 24, Gordon decided he no longer needed Bickford. It was a difficult separation, and it remains one of the major self-admitted misjudgments made by the four-time NASCAR champion, the local star who is one of the marquee attractions for Sunday's Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
"Even though we were doing very well in my career, I had to do something different," Gordon said during a quiet moment last month. "But I was lost without him."
Reunification occurred when Bickford became vice president and general manager of JG Inc. in April. Gordon is the president.
The pairing seems right to both men, based in large part on their history. Bickford, who married Gordon's mother, Carol, when Gordon was just a year old, didn't just experience the driver's meteoric rise to stardom; he played a large role in shaping it.
Bickford understood Gordon needed to be challenged by better competition. When Gordon was 14, Bickford moved his California-based family to Indiana, where the minimum age to participate in high-speed racing was lower.
Living initially in an unfurnished house near tiny Pittsboro, Bickford and Gordon became close despite their lack of a biological tie. Only recently has Gordon developed a casual relationship with his real father, Billy, who lives in Vacaville, Calif., near Vallejo where Gordon was born.
For years, Gordon and Bickford traveled Midwestern highways in a racing transporter, talking business, sports and life. They shared a racer's dream and devised a plan for how to create it. Together, they drove all the way to NASCAR.
"But we never had a plan for what to do when we got there," said Gordon, who was 21 when he debuted in NASCAR's top division. "We should have talked about it, but we didn't. We just kept our heads down and kept working."
Stock car's whirlwind came fast and furious. Gordon won his first Cup races in 1994, highlighted by a surprising victory at the inaugural Brickyard 400 at his adopted home track. That year he married Brooke Sealy, a former Miss Winston for NASCAR's title sponsor.
Gordon won the first of his championships in 1995. With that came unimaginable fame, attention and money. Bob Brannan was coordinating the driver's booming merchandise business, and the Gordons collectively decided Brannan could do Bickford's job of managing the driver's business, too. That made Bickford expendable.
Tough decision
But Gordon underestimated the emotional ramification of his decision. Bickford admits he was crushed personally and professionally. The scars remain.
Just last month, Bickford rattled off their breakup date quicker than he could come up with his wedding anniversary.
"May 1995," he said in his usual straight-to-the-point style. "It certainly hurt my feelings, but it's easy to remember because I'm asked about it all the time. I've probably only been asked my wedding date five times in 31 years."
Gordon said Bickford became depressed and distant. The men stopped talking about many of the things that previously connected them.
"He had worked so hard (on my career) for so long," Gordon said. "Then it was taken away."
Bickford took more than two years to find another job. His professional recovery began at Action Performance, a Phoenix-based company specializing in motor sports collectibles and memorabilia. He became an executive vice president and immersed himself in work.
Meanwhile, Gordon continued his own way, and they met amicably at home in North Carolina for the usual family get-togethers.
Bickford, who has remained one of Gordon's biggest supporters, refused to assess blame for the split, insisting it was part of the maturation process Gordon was bound to experience as a young adult.
"It was no different than what a normal college kid goes through," Bickford said. "He wanted to spread his wings and fly on his own, and that's natural.
"Jeff had always had me to hold the flashlight. When he took the flashlight in his own hand, he had to look for all the stones in the creek and find the path through the woods on his own."
Last summer, Gordon surprised Bickford with a phone call. They met for lunch near the fitness club where Bickford was exercising for a trip up 19,000-foot Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa. Gordon told him it was time to talk about a professional reunification.
Bickford had a message for Gordon: He would be no less aggressive in leading JG Inc., which is based in Harrisburg, N.C.
"I haven't changed," Bickford, 57, said. "I'm still a little sarcastic, I'm always on the edge, and I think way out in front of people.
"I wanted to know if Jeff could handle me, especially an older version of me."
Gordon said he could, and he thought seven years at Action Performance had made Bickford even better suited to manage all of his activities, including his contracts with Hendrick Motorsports, DuPont and Pepsi.
"The good thing is, John never stopped caring or thinking about me, and I never stopped thinking about how important he's been to me," Gordon said. "We slowly but surely rekindled things, and I couldn't be happier with where we're at."
Said Bickford: "This just feels right."
Carol Bickford might feel best about the reunification.
"It's nice," she said. "I went to dinner with Jeff a few weeks after that, and I asked him how it was going. He said it was incredible. They're happy."
Gordon has made a comeback of sorts this season, and he credits Bickford. Gordon is positioned to contend for his fifth Cup championship, a step closer to catching Richard Petty and the late Dale Earnhardt for the all-time lead with seven titles.
"John's put me in a place where I'm confident and comfortable," Gordon said. "I'm excited about the direction we're going. Things are good at the office. He's definitely taken some weight off my shoulders.
"The thing is, I thought (being apart) was the right thing for us as a family. I realized later that our lives work when my mom and dad are involved in my life."
