2003 was a tough year for Jeff Gordon. The four-time Cup Series champion had filed for divorce from his wife of seven years, Brooke, in 2002, and the case dragged on for a year. He did not fare much better on the track either, finishing fourth in the standings after a season that was largely forgettable. The toll of these difficulties was visible on him, quite literally.
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The driver sported a buzz cut when he met the media a month ahead of the 2004 season-opening Daytona 500. He had shaved off his hair, and the obvious speculation was that he was spiraling out of control.
But he was quick to clear up those talks and detailed that he didn’t lose a bet or fulfill a dare. It was just something he wanted to do and found the offseason to be the right time for it.
Gordon said, “You can do that kind of thing in the offseason. I just thought that by the time I got here, it would be a little bit more grown-up. But it hasn’t grown quite that fast.”
Originally, the Hendrick Motorsports boss’ barber had given him a buzz cut. But when that grew out, he had shaved the hair off on his own and soon found that it was better to leave such things to the professionals.
Jeff Gordon got a buzzcut during the offseason leading into 2004. Trouble is, his hair hadn’t quite grown back yet by the time Winter testing at Daytona rolled around. https://t.co/yHXAVAwRYb pic.twitter.com/PYTDNjYR71
— Steven Taranto (@STaranto92) January 3, 2026
Interestingly, that wasn’t the only crazy thing Gordon did that offseason. He had taken a trip with Jimmie Johnson to the Bahamas, and the teammates had swum with sharks. Getting away from out worldly noise and experiencing the transcendent quietness of underwater depths had been thoroughly joyful for him. Perhaps that’s what reset him into focus mode as well.
The comeback that Gordon made in 2004
2004 was the first season in which NASCAR used the Chase format to decide who the champion would be. 26 races were to be held to pick out 10 drivers. These 10 drivers would earn points over the final 10 races of the season. The one with the most points would be declared the champion.
Kurt Busch, with a victory in New Hampshire and several consistent finishes, ended up as the champion. Gordon, meanwhile, came up 16 points short of him. What’s noteworthy is that he had the most points when all 36 races were taken into account. Meaning, under the old format, he would have secured his fifth championship.
Despite the loss, he proved to the world that he could come back from even the toughest of setbacks.
