Jeff Gordon in August 2007 at en:Bristol Motor Speedway. (Wiki Commons)

Jeff Gordon was born on the 4^th August 1971 in the town of Vallejo, California.  When he was five Jeff was racing on a makeshift track, formerly a fairground, created by himself and his stepfather, John Bickford and his natural ability was recognised by his stepfather who encouraged him to do the best he could in everything he did.  He practised behind the wheel of a quarter midget and although he did not do so well in his first year of competition his competitive spirit shone through and when he was six years of age he had thirty five wins and five track records under his belt.

His interest developed and at the age of thirteen this interest led him to sprint cars causing a huge problem for him as drivers had to be sixteen to drive 650 hp cars.  Not to be put off by this his family fought for the chance to drive and he was eventually permitted to race in the All Star Florida Speedweeks.   After his success driving sprint cars his family supported his decision to take up driving as a profession and the family moved to Pittsboro, Indiana where opportunities for young drivers were far greater.  Success came easily to him and his driving abilities received nationwide attention.  He won many track championships as Bloomington Speedway and a title at Eldora Speedway in open-wheel racing and when further opportunities were no longer available he turned his attention to stock car racing and declared after a few runs around the track that this was what he wanted to do for the rest of his life.

In 1990 Jeff met Hugh Connerty, owner of some Hooters restaurants and partner in Outback Steakhouse and it was through this meeting that funding was found through Outback to secure a car which was tested in 1990 during the last of the races in Busch Grand National. Ray Evernham, unknown then in motorsports came to work with him during his debut race at Rockingham in the AC-Delco 200.

In 1991 further funding became difficult to obtain so Jeff went to tyre test the No 1 car for Bill Davis and after some discussion it was agreed for Jeff to drive for the 1991 season and in this season he won “Rookie of the Year”, going on to set a NASCAR record of eleven poles in the 1992 season and gave such a performance that he was noticed by Rick Hendrick of Hendrick Motorsports.

Jeff made his Winston Cup debut at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 1992 in the last race of the season, driving the #24 DuPont Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports.  In 1993 Jeff began driving for Hendrick Motorsports full time and again winning the “Rookie of the Year” Award.   Ray Evernham became his first crew chief and Jeff’s success at such a young age changed the model and allowed other young drivers to compete in NASCAR.

This was to become the start of a long and successful relationship between Hendrick Motorsports and Jeff Gordon which continues today.

Jeff has competed in other off-road racing events such as: – Team USA at the 2002 and 2005 Race of Champions and Rolex 24 Hours Daytona where his team were placed third in his first ever Rolex 24.

On a more personal note he is married to Ingrid and they have two children, Ella Sophia and Leo Benjamin.

You can read about more NASCAR racing drivers at JustCustomz.com.

Kevin Harvick in Zanesville, Ohio 2006

Kevin Harvick was born on the 8^th December 1975 in Bakersfield, California.  When he graduated for kindergarten in 1980 his parents Mike and JoNell bought him his first go-cart as a present.  Kevin took to go-karting exceptionally well and during the next ten years competed in the sport, gaining several national championship along with two Grand National championships.  When he was seventeen and still in high school he began racing late models on a part-time basis in the Featherlite Southwest Series.  His father owned his own garage, Harvick Motorsports, and therefore was able to build a car for Kevin to compete in the lower NASCAR series.

Kevin made hi debut in his home town of Bakersfield in 1995 at the age of twenty driving the family –owned #72  where he finished in 27^th place.  In the next season he drove the #72 for four races, again at the Mesa Marin Raceway.  His best place at this raceway was 11^th.  Two years later he drove the #75 when he was signed  up for Spears Motorsports mid-season, gaining two eight- place finishes.  The following year he drove a full season, posting three top-five places and he finished 17^th in points.  This was also the year he moved on to the AutoZone West Series in the NASCAR Grand National Division and in 1998 he won five races whilst driving for Spears.  During the Winter of 1998/1998 he received his first national exposure on ESPN2’s coverage of the Tuscan Raceway Park’s NASCAR Winter Heat Series.  Kevin finishes 12^th in points with six top-five finishes in 1999 when driving the #98 Porter Cable Ford for Liberty Racing.

In 2000 Kevin signed with Richard Childress Racing and as at 15^th August 2010 he has had a staggering 349 races with 14 wins, 5 poles, 73 top 5 places and 147 top 10 places to his credit.

During his career Kevin has raced in other series such as the 1998 West Series championships when he completed four races with one win.  In 1999 he competed  twice in the ARCA RE/Max Series, driving the #20 Invinca-Shields/Realtree Chevrolet for Childress when he finished each time in the top-five position.  21^st July 2008 saw him win $37,300 in the TD Banknorth Oxford 250 in Oxford, Maine when he defeated regulars; Glen Luce and Joey Polewarcxyk Jr.

In 2010 Kevin and his wife , DeLana established the Kevin Harvick Foundation, a foundation aiming to enrich the lives of underprivileged  children in the United States.  The foundation hopes to improve the quality of the childrens’ lives and enable them to realize their dreams.  Programmes have been set up as the Kevin Harvick Athletic Scholarship Fund at California State University, a camper cabin at Victory Junction, Baptist Children’s Homes of NC, Boys and Girls Clubs and Kevin’s Krew

In his personal life Kevin lives in Kernersville, North Carolina with his wife, DeLana, three dogs and two cats.

Kevin has appeared on talk shows as a guest and he was also on the first season of FX’s NASCAR Drivers: 360 which took an in-depth look at the drivers outside of the track and the preparation it takes to make a NASCAR driver

Kevin also enjoyed wrestling when he was in high school and competed in the wrestling team during the Winter months when he couldn’t drive and won a section title for his weight class in his senior year.

You can read about more NASCAR racing drivers at JustCustomz.com.