Jeff Gordon

Birthday: Aug. 4, 1971
Hometown: Vallejo, Calif.

YEAR-BY-YEAR NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES RECAP

2007 -- Finished second in series points. ... Finished with six wins, 21 top-fives, 30 top-10s and seven poles. Top-fives, top-10s and poles were series-highs. ... His second career series runner-up finish. ... Tied Dale Earnhardt for sixth on NASCAR's all-time wins list on April 21 at Phoenix; surpassed him the next week, on April 29, at Talladega. ... Phoenix win was first at that track. ... Had two wins and eight top-10s in season's final 10 races, finishing 77 points behind Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson.

2006 -- Finished sixth in series points. ... Finished with two wins, 14 top-fives, 18 top-10s and two poles. ... Returned to the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup following a year's absence. ... Wins came at Infineon Raceway and Chicagoland Speedway; the latter his first victory at Chicagoland. ... Poles came during the Chase, at Dover International Speedway and Phoenix International Raceway.

2005 -- Finished 11th in series points. ... Won four races, including his third Daytona 500, and the season sweep at Martinsville Speedway. ... Other win came in May at Talladega Superspeedway ... Finished with eight top-fives, 14 top-10s and two poles.

2004 -- Finished third in series points, only 16 points behind champion Kurt Busch. ... Won five races, including back to-back victories twice: Talladega-California in the spring, and Infineon-Daytona in the summer. Season's fifth win was the obvious highlight: A fourth Indianapolis victory. ... Six poles was series' second-best total behind Ryan Newman's nine. ... Led standings four weeks, including the opening week of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. During Chase, never was lower than third.

2003 -- Finished fourth in series points. ... Won three races, sweeping Martinsville's two events and winning at Atlanta in the fall. ... The second Martinsville win and the win at Atlanta came on consecutive weeks, the 14th time he had won consecutive races. ... Won poles at both Martinsville races, at Watkins Glen and at Bristol's summer race. ... Climbed to second in the series standings after finishing second at Chicago in July, but finished 24th (New Hampshire) and 36th (Pocono) the next two weeks to drop from serious contention. ... Also had runner-up finishes at Atlanta in March, and Dover and Infineon in June. ... Also, Jimmie Johnson, driver of the car Gordon co-owns with Rick Hendrick, finished second in the standings.

2002 -- Finished fourth in series points. ... Overtook rookie sensation -- and Hendrick Motorsports teammate -- Jimmie Johnson in the standings by one place; 2002 was Gordon's first year as part-owner with Rick Hendrick of Johnson's No. 48 team. ... Won at Darlington the next week, the 13th time in his career he had back-to-back victories. ... Darlington win pushed him to second in the standings with 11 races to go, but four finishes of 36th or lower in the following seven races ended his shot at a fifth title. ... Had first DNF in 57 races Sept. 7 at Richmond, dating back to March 18, 2001, at Darlington. ... Used first-ever provisional -- the first time in 329 events -- to start season's final race at Homestead; was 37th on the grid but managed a fifth-place finish.

2001 -- Won fourth series title, third on the all-time title list behind only seven-time champions Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt. ... Won series single-season record $10,879,757, breaking own mark set in 1998 and passed Earnhardt to take over the all-time money lead. ... Series highs in wins and poles with six, the sixth time in seven years he led the series in wins. ... Finished second six times and totaled 18 top-five and 24 top-10 finishes, best in the series in all three categories. ... Won all-star event for the third time after coming back from a first-lap crash. Also tied Earnhardt for the most wins in the event. ... Became first three-time winner of the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard and scored seventh career road-course win at Watkins Glen the next week, extending his series record for road-course wins. ... Won inaugural Kansas event in September.

2000 -- Finished ninth in series points. ... His three wins -- at Talladega, Infineon and Richmond -- accounted for the fewest of his career since 1994. ... Had 10 top-10 finishes in the final 11 races of the season.

1999 -- Finished sixth in series points. ... Won seven times, breaking a streak of three consecutive seasons in which he won at least 10 races. ... Set all-time series record for road-course wins, sweeping races at Infineon and Watkins Glen for the second consecutive year.

1998 -- Won third series title in four years -- his second in a row -- becoming the youngest three-time champion at age 27. ... Won 13 races, tying the seventh-best single-season win total; had four consecutive wins during summer. ... Became first repeat winner of Allstate 400 at the Brickyard. ... Scored career bests with 26 top-five finishes, 28 top-10s and seven poles.

1997 -- Won second series title ... For second consecutive season, won 10 races. ... Won Daytona 500 for the first time. At 26, became youngest driver to win NASCAR's main event. ... Followed up with another victory the next week at Rockingham.

1996 -- Finished second in series points, only 37 points behind champion -- and Hendrick Motorsports teammate -- Terry Labonte.... Mechanical problems in season finale at Atlanta put him two laps down by only the 10th lap and effectively ended his chance to catch Labonte. ... Won series-high 10 races.

1995 -- Won first series title. ... Had seven wins and eight poles. ... Won back-to-back races for the first time in his career, in July at Daytona and New Hampshire. ... Had accumulated 21 DNFs in his first two full seasons; in his first championship campaign registered only three.

1994 -- Finished eighth in series points. ... Got his first win -- starting on the pole -- at the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte, and also won the inaugural Allstate 400 at the Brickyard in his adopted home state of Indiana.

1993 -- Finished 14th in series points. ... Named series' Rookie of the Year, becoming the first driver to do so after also winning the NASCAR Nationwide Series' Rookie of the Year (1991). ... Took first career pole at Lowe's Motor Speedway fall race, and at 23 was the youngest driver in 30 years to win a 125-mile qualifying race at Daytona. ... First career top-five was at the Daytona 500 where he finished fifth.

1992 -- Made first start at Atlanta in the final race of the season where he started 21st and finished 31st. ... Gordon's first race was also the last in the illustrious career of Richard Petty.

PREVIOUS RACING HISTORY

Set NASCAR Nationwide Series record with 11 poles in 1992; also won three races that season -- all from the pole -- including his first in NASCAR, in March at Atlanta. ... Named NASCAR Nationwide Series Rookie of the Year in 1991 following an 11th-place finish in the points; also won U.S. Auto Club Silver Crown Series championship that season. ... 1990 USAC Midget champion at age 19, the youngest driver ever to win the title; was also youngest driver ever awarded a USAC license at 16. ... Won three quarter-midget national championships and four karting titles. ... Won more than 600 short-track races as a youngster after beginning in the sport in his native California at age 5; family relocated to Pittsboro, Ind., where he honed his skills.

NOTEWORTHY

Gordon is one of NASCAR's most active drivers on behalf of charitable causes. The Jeff Gordon Foundation, founded in 1999, primarily supports charities working on behalf of children in need. The Foundation supports the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the Hendrick Bone Marrow Foundation and Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis. ... Hosted Saturday Night Live on Jan. 11, 2003, in addition to making guest-host appearances on Live with Regis and Kelly.