Where Did NASCAR Legend Jeff Gordon’s First Paycheck Come From?

As of 2023, 4X Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon has a net worth of over $200 million. The massive figure can be attributed to a lot of factors including his partnership stake in Hendrick Motorsports, the endorsement deals he had as a driver, and the many other businesses that he has investments in. Naturally, Gordon’s purse wasn’t always this bulky.  The Hall of Famer revealed in a conversation with veteran reporter Jeff Gluck years ago about his first-ever paycheck and how he’d used it.

He said, “It was a race. I went to Indiana to race Quarter Midgets and they paid money to win. It was like $30 to win the race, which I did, and it was pretty cool.” Gordon’s move to Indiana at age 13 was forced by the driving age limits that were present in his home state, California.

Quarter Midget #ThrowbackThursday#TBT

More throwback photos ⬇️.https://t.co/sFwTguhMKp#TeamJG pic.twitter.com/nmTXIPAyR4

— Jeff Gordon (@JeffGordonWeb) June 13, 2019

He’d already begun showing massive promise behind the wheel at the time that his parents had decided to change their base to suit his career progression better. But that wasn’t all that they did. Continuing to talk about how he’d used the $30, Gordon revealed his parents’ positive influence on his financial responsibility.

He said, “The way it worked with my parents was anything I won racing sprint cars, they’d split with me. I’d put it into a savings account and eventually built up enough to go buy my own truck. And then they took what they needed to keep the car going.” Though the prizes that he got weren’t massive enough amounts to do anything “stupid”, they’d taught him a lot about saving money.

The reason behind the Gordon family’s move to Indiana

Gordon’s interest in racing came through the influence of his stepfather, John Bickford. He started racing BMX bikes when he was just 4 years old and quickly transitioned to quarter midgets. By the time he was 10, he’d already won national championships and begun getting much better behind the wheel than drivers much older than him.

Finding the power and size of sprints to be much more intriguing, Gordon expressed his affinity for them to his parents. However, there was the roadblock of age. Just 13 at the time, he wasn’t old enough to be driving cars of such horsepower (The minimum age requirement was 16). Without much ado, the family moved to Pittsboro, Indiana – the heart of Sprint Car Country – where he could face better drivers without the worry of age. It was after this move that Gordon started gaining national attention and earning his money.