Gordon measuring success with more than wins

Jeff Gordon’s accomplishments on the racetrack will not solely define his legacy.

The four-time NASCAR champion not only wants to make a statement on the track, he wants to make a difference in the world.

On Wednesday, Gordon unveiled his plans to run the Drive to End Hunger campaign, which benefits the AARP Foundation’s hunger programs. With more than six million seniors over the age of 60 going without food, the AARP Foundation introduced its hunger initiative earlier this year.

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The No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet will carry the Drive to End Hunger message for 22 races per season over the next three years. After 18 years on the Sprint Cup tour, Gordon, 39, saw the opportunity to transform traditional sponsorship with a “cause-driven approach.”

“I was asked recently, ‘Do you want to be known as a great race car driver or a great person?’ I want to be recognized as a great person,” Gordon said. “Racing is not always going to be there for me. I have incredible memories from racing and still have more to build and I’m excited about those opportunities.

“Racing is my passion, but it’s also a job. When I go home from the racetrack, I go home to (my) wife and my two children. I’m a normal person during the week. When I’m not behind the wheel driving, those are the things that are going to be important to me.”

Since 1999, critically ill children have been the focus of the Jeff Gordon Foundation. Gordon witnessed the challenges faced by his then-crew chief Ray Evernham and the family as son Ray Jr. battled leukemia. Today, the Foundation works to support the research and treatment of pediatric cancer through the Jeff Gordon Children’s Hospital and other facilities throughout the country. Given Gordon’s philanthropic nature, it’s not surprising he would find a way to blend his goals together.

“To be able -- what I’ve been able to do with my foundation with cancer and the children and now I’m really excited about what we’re able to do to end hunger,” Gordon said. “There’s millions and millions of people (affected) and we really can make an impact.

“It‘s different than trying to get research and development to find a cure for something. You go into those communities, get volunteers and then BOOM it‘s just right there. We need the money to make sure the food is there, then the volunteers and most importantly the awareness of these people to come together and make it all happen.”

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Gordon understands the trials of helping the hungry on a local level. However, though his involvement in Clinton Global Initiative, under the recently established CGI Lead for young leaders, his awareness of worldwide hunger has grown exponentially.

“We do several meetings throughout the year,” Gordon said. “I had dinner with President Clinton a few months ago, after we had our first meeting. I’ve been able to sit and talk to people on a global level of all kinds of different causes and issues that are going on around the world.

“We actually just launched a refugee camp that we’re supporting. I’m in the ‘CGI Lead Group’ which is sort of the young, new up-and-comers in the philanthropy world. But it is a worldwide thing, and our first mission with that group is a refugee camp in Congo, one of the toughest places in the world to go into, but it’s something I’m really excited about and honored to be a part of.”

At 39, Gordon hardly fits AARP’s demographics. That didn’t matter to Jo Ann Jenkins, AARP Foundation president. Jenkins was more concerned with the character and reach of her new spokesman, particularly to the NASCAR fan base and possible corporate partners in the sport.

In North Carolina alone, Jenkins says 13 percent of the population is food insecure. The message for Jenkins is not just about raising funds, but raising awareness and solving the issue of hunger.

“It really isn’t an issue of age for us,” Jenkins said of her new driver. “It’s really about the enthusiasm around (people) who are the right partners for the Drive to End Hunger campaign for us. The opportunity presented itself with the No. 24 car becoming available and we worked from there.

“As we looked at our heat maps of where are there hungry people in this country (that) are having issues about working and health care issues, this particular area in the South…was a perfect match.

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“The foundation has been around for 49 years. For many years it's done work out in the community. Our focus going forward is around these issues of hunger, housing, income and isolation but we have 40,000 volunteers who work with us around the country to implement the programs that the Foundation puts together and works on.”

Rick Hendrick has dealt with a variety of corporate partners during his 27 years as an owner. While Drive to End Hunger is a stark departure from his previous commercial sponsorships, Hendrick considers the program “a personal challenge“ as he was looking “to do something that was meaningful” at this stage in his life.

“When you look at foundations and you look at causes, somebody has to talk about it,” Hendrick said. “If nobody knows about it, then people can’t react. If you have somebody spearheading it that’s going to talk about it and then some kind of vehicle that other large institutions and companies can get involved with and now you have tracks that are brainstorming what can be done. It’s like the engine for the train and there a lot of people are going to get on board. Hopefully, it’s going to revolutionize a way that you can get your message out.

“(AARP) felt like NASCAR was a way -- and Jeff Gordon -- I think it was as much Jeff Gordon being the guy he is and the reach he has, he can cross all boundaries. I’m excited about it. I don’t have any doubt that we can’t make a huge difference. Every sponsor we’ve had we’ve been able to over deliver and I believe this will be the same way.”

Several years ago, Gordon announced a life-long driving contract with Hendrick Motorsports. “The Kid”, who once claimed he didn’t want to race after 40, has adapted his plans -- at least for the next three years with support from the AARP Foundation and DuPont remaining on board for the balance of the team’s sponsorship. As Gordon adds a touch of gray, his attitude towards racing has changed along the way.

“There really is no set plan,” Gordon says. “Five years ago, I though 2010 might be my last year. I was having some issues with my back and thought maybe I’d be ready to step away. But I’m not. I’m still passionate about it. I’m still competitive. My health, from my back standpoint, has gotten better and I think that’s going to give me more years behind the wheel.

“I definitely told them I’m good to go for five years but I’m a race car driver. I don’t plan that far ahead. To me, this is still a dangerous sport. It’s always something I’ve respected and appreciated the opportunity to go out there. Week-to-week and year-to-year when it comes to sponsors, you have to make that commitment and I certainly have. I hope I feel like I do today five years from now, because I don’t want to stop racing. The only reason I would stop racing is because I don’t think I can be competitive enough to enjoy it or healthy enough. That’s the only reason I won’t be out there.”

And when that day comes, Gordon will be prepared to forge ahead on life’s next chapter -- his mission off the track. While he’s provided NASCAR fans with tremendous memories over the last two decades, Gordon will focus on the greater need.

“To be able to make an impact and get behind something like that,” Gordon said. “Those are the things you‘re going to remember in life when you‘re not driving around the racetrack at 200 miles per hour.”