The 20-year-old from California, who briefly relocated to Indiana for its lowered age requirements to race, very much was an outsider in a series with deep Southern roots. The fragile state of open wheel racing had thrown a roadblock into Gordon's career path and he'd detoured to stock cars as the best option.
The "Wonder Boy" almost immediately took NASCAR mainstream. Gordon largely is credited for pushing the sport beyond a regional series to one with an international presence.
Gordon was the face of NASCAR from his 1993 rookie season until his 2015 retirement. He made NASCAR attractive and viable to an entire generation of current stars. Seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson got his break from Gordon, and reigning champion Joey Logano grew up a Gordon fan. Current NASCAR star Kyle Larson has photos meeting his childhood hero. Without Gordon, Hendrick Motorsports maybe isn't one of the most successful teams in all of sports.
Friday night, Gordon will be inducted into NASCAR's Hall of Fame. He was a first-ballot selection but fell shy of the first unanimous pick in the 10-year history of the Hall at 96 percent. He will be inducted with NASCAR team owners Roger Penske and Jack Roush. Also inducted will be Davey Allison and Alan Kulwicki, drivers killed in aviation accidents two months apart at the prime of their careers.
Gordon had just six Cup starts against Kulwicki and his debut in the 1992 season finalé was the race in which Kulwicki won his only NASCAR championship. Gordon shared the track with Allison 17 times and finished sixth in the final victory of Allison's career.
It's impossible to know if Gordon's on-track resumé would be as strong if Allison had not died in a 1993 helicopter crash at Talladega Superspeedway. Allison was 32 and coming off consecutive third-place finishes in the Cup standings. He was on the cusp of becoming the driver to challenge Dale Earnhardt's reign and carry NASCAR for the next decade.
"He was just the whole package. Jeff could do anything he wanted, he had that kind of talent," Hall of Fame team owner Rick Hendrick, who will induct Gordon, said.
Gordon now is a NASCAR analyst for Fox Sports, involved in numerous other ventures and the father of two children who've traveled the world with him and wife Ingrid Vandebosch. He's also a key member of Hendrick's executive team and the listed owner of Johnson's car. Should Hendrick ever need to hand the company over, it's likely Gordon could take the helm.