Cecil Gordon
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
June 21, 1941
Horse Shoe, North Carolina, U.S.
Lexington, North Carolina, U.S.
| Cecil Gordon | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | Cecil Owen Gordon June 21, 1941 Horse Shoe, North Carolina, U.S. | ||||||
| Died | September 19, 2012 (aged 71) Lexington, North Carolina, U.S. | ||||||
| NASCAR Cup Series career | |||||||
| 449 races run over 17 years | |||||||
| Best finish | 3rd (1971, 1973) | ||||||
| First race | 1968 Pickens 200 (Greenville-Pickens Speedway) | ||||||
| Last race | 1985 Miller High Life 400 (Richmond) | ||||||
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| NASCAR Grand National East Series career | |||||||
| 29 races run over 2 years | |||||||
| Best finish | 29th (1973) | ||||||
| First race | 1972 Greenville 200 (Greenville-Pickens Speedway) | ||||||
| Last race | 1973 Tar Heel 200 (Fayetteville) | ||||||
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Cecil Gordon (June 21, 1941 – September 19, 2012) was an American stock car racing driver. A competitor in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series between 1968 and 1985, he competed in 449 events without winning a race.
Career as driver
Gordon drove in the NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series for seventeen years and drove in a total of 449 races. He never won and never got a pole, he did not even finish a race on the lead lap, but got 29 top-fives and 111 top-tens.[1] He finished third in points in 1971 and 1973.[1] He completed 112,908 laps and only led 23 of them.[1] By the end of his career, he had earned $940,000.[1] His average finish for his entire career was 17.3.[1] Racing Champions released a replica of 1969 Mercury Cyclone in 1992 and later in 1998 in honor of NASCAR's 50th anniversary.
Career as owner
Gordon started racing in Henley Gray and Bill Seifert cars. He generally raced in his own car beginning in 1970.[2] He had a few other racers make an occasional start for him.[2] He raced GM products (mostly Chevrolet vehicles) until the end of 1982 when he crashed out his Buick Regal.[2] He purchased a Chrysler Imperial at the beginning of 1983 from the defunct Negre Bros. Racing team and managed to qualify for eight races during that season, though he only finished five of them.[2] His best finish was fifteenth that year in the Imperial. He also had Jim VanDiver drive the car in two races.[2] At the end of that year, he sold the Imperial to Buddy Arrington. Gordon returned for one more race in 1985 for the family-owned team of Greg Sacks.
Career as crewman
Following the end of his career as a driver and owner, Gordon worked for other racing teams as a crewman, first for Richard Childress Racing, and then later for Travis Carter Enterprises.[3]
Personal life
Gordon is not related to four-time NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon,[4] yet, coincidentally, they both drove the No. 24 car.
Gordon, who was married with four children, Charlene (who died in 2006), Douglas, Stefanie and Jonathon. Gordon died on September 19, 2012, in Lexington, North Carolina.[3]
