CONCORD, N.C. – Come this fall, fans will be able to see a side of Jeff Gordon they’ve never seen before in his first-ever authorized biography.
The book, titled “Jeff Gordon: His Dream, Drive & Destiny,” is set to be released October 18 and was written by five-time New York Times bestselling author Joe Garner.
The retired driver gave Garner open access to all aspects of his life during the 15 months it took to write the biography.
“He put nothing off-limits and encouraged the people to speak honestly,” Garner said. “And Jeff speaks candidly, sometimes brutally so, about his childhood, his much-publicized divorce, those he competed against, his family, and life after racing.”
An excerpt of the book was released recently, which can be read in full here. Below is a sneak peak.
“By 1982, we accomplished all we set out to,” Jeff says, “and we weren’t as challenged as you need to be to stay motivated.” But they kept racing—and winning—anyway. “We did honestly think he was burned out,” Carol recalls.
“He kind of got stale, or bored. We cut back to twenty-five or so weekends of quarter-midget racing,” says John. They bought a boat for Jeff to practice waterskiing. He went to windsurfing school. They moved to a new house.
"Jeff Gordon: His Dream, Drive & Destiny"
In junior high, he discovered break dancing and fell in love with it. There was still bike riding, skateboarding, and playing pickup basketball at the park. He kept busy, but the absence of racing left a time vacuum, especially during the period after school and before Carol and John returned from work.
“When you kept Jeff occupied, you were good,” Kimberly says. “But when he had downtime, he didn’t always make the best choices. He’d tend to pick the mischievous kids and hang out with them.”
“My influences changed a lot when I went to junior high,” Jeff says. “I started break dancing and listening to different music and had other friends in my new neighborhood”—a number of whom were at least a couple years older and a bit more delinquently inclined.
The book is now available for preorder but orders placed will not be shipped until October.