Speed Read: Jeff Gordon by the Numbers

Breaking down the current (and five-time) Brickyard 400 champion’s lengthy career at Indy.
Jeff Gordon Indianapolis Monthly, July 1994
When Jeff Gordon first entered Victory Lane at the Brickyard 400 in 1994, it catalyzed a feel-good story of the hometown kid making good. In the ensuing decades, Gordon has morphed from a Pittsboro townie into a transcendent figure in the world of auto racing. He’s collected four Sprint Cup titles, is a shoo-in for the Hall of Fame, and was name-dropped in a Nelly song.
This year’s Brickyard marked the 20th anniversary of the race. To commemorate, we take a look at some of the staggering numbers No. 24 has compiled during his tenure at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
23 years, 2 days
Gordon’s age when he won the inaugural Brickyard 400 in 1994, the youngest age of any Brickyard winner.
42 years, 11 months, 23 days
Gordon’s age Sunday upon winning his fifth Brickyard.
171.125 mph
Speed at which Gordon qualified in 1994.
187.770 mph
Speed at which Gordon qualified in 2014.
2,201 miles
Distance from Gordon’s birthplace of Vallejo, California, to his boyhood home of Pittsboro, Indiana.
16 miles
Distance from Pittsboro to the gates of IMS.
0
Number of Brickyard 400s Gordon has missed. He’s competed in every one, a feat matched only by 2000 Brickyard champ Bobby Labonte.
1
Number of times Gordon has failed to finish the Brickyard, his lone blemish coming in a 1996 accident on lap 40.
2
Number of drivers to win five times at IMS (Gordon and Michael Schumacher).
0.53 seconds
Gordon’s margin of victory in 1994, the smallest of his five wins.
2.325 seconds
No. 24’s margin of victory Sunday, the largest of his five wins.
528
Total number of laps Gordon has led at the Brickyard.
90
Career wins Gordon has achieved.
8,097.5 miles
Total distance Gordon has driven throughout his career at Indy, roughly the same distance from the Circle City to New Zealand.
$613,000
Gordon’s earnings for his first Brickyard win in 1994.
$985,859
Gordon’s earnings for his first Brickyard win, adjusted for inflation.
$434,376
Gordon’s earnings for his fifth Brickyard win in 2014.
$7,430,265
Gordon’s career earnings at IMS.
100 percent
How convinced I am that Gordon should bring back his epic mustache from the early ‘90s.
» MORE: See all the IndyCar and NASCAR drivers who have landed on our cover.
Photo by Chris Owens courtesy of IMS Media (top)