Gordon in Pittsboro: 'One of the best days of my life'
Gordon moved to Pittsboro from California as a teenager to hone is racing skills.
Gordon in Pittsboro: 'One of the best days of my life' Gordon moved to Pittsboro from California as a teenager to hone is racing skills. Check out this story on IndyStar.com: http://indy.st/1RUB2Q6
Curt Cavin, curt.cavin@indystar.com Published 12:46 p.m. ET July 23, 2015 | Updated 8:08 a.m. ET July 24, 2015
Jeff Gordon Day in Pittsboro
NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon (left) waves to the crowd along Main Street in Pittsboro during the Jeff Gordon Day Parade that the town held in his honor on Thursday, July 23, 2015. A graduate of Tri-West High School, Gordon invited an old friend from school, Bruce Pfiefer, to sit next to him. The noon parade was followed by special presentations in Scamahorn Park. Charlie Nye / The Star
NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon (left) waves to the crowd along Main Street in Pittsboro during the Jeff Gordon Day Parade that the town held in his honor on Thursday, July 23, 2015. An old friend from school, Bruce Pfiefer, sat next to him. Charlie Nye / The Star
A large banner is carried at the front of the Jeff Gordon Day Parade held on Main Street in Pittsboro on Thursday, July 23, 2015 honoring NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon. Charlie Nye / The Star
Hundreds of Pittsboro, Ind. residents and Jeff Gordon fans lined Main Street in Pittsboro for the Jeff Gordon Day Parade on Thursday, July 23, 2015. Children from the Pittsboro AYS held up signs to honor NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon, a former resident, as he passed by them on the parade route. It was followed by special presentations at Scamahorn Park. Gordon, a four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and five-time winner at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, is wrapping up his final full season as a driver and will make a final appearance on Sunday (July 26) at the Crown Royal Presents the Jeff Kyle 400 at the Brickyard in Indianapolis. Charlie Nye / The Star
NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon (left) waves to the crowd along Main Street in Pittsboro during the Jeff Gordon Day Parade that the town held in his honor on Thursday, July 23, 2015. A graduate of Tri-West High School, Gordon invited an old friend from school, Bruce Pfiefer, to sit next to him. Charlie Nye / The Star
Hundreds of Pittsboro, Ind. residents and Jeff Gordon fans lined Main Street in Pittsboro for the Jeff Gordon Day Parade on Thursday, July 23, 2015 to honor NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon, a former resident. Charlie Nye / The Star
Young girls held a sign at the Jeff Gordon Day Parade on Main Street in Pittsboro, Ind. on Thursday, July 23, 2015. Shown from left are Addyson Cole, 5, Indianapolis; Grace Santarossa, 10, and her 5-year-old twin sisters Olivia and Madelyn (in light blue). Charlie Nye / The Star
Six-year-old Tye Freije delights parade-goers as he drives his Jeff Gordon toy motor car up Main Street in Pittsboro before the start of the Jeff Gordon Day Parade on Thursday, July 23, 2015 honoring the NASCAR driver who once called Pittsboro home. The car originally belonged to his brother, Tanner, 15 (on bike). Charlie Nye / The Star
Children wave checkered flags at the Jeff Gordon Day Parade on Main Street in Pittsboro, Ind. on Thursday, July 23, 2015. Charlie Nye / The Star
The Gordon Pipers march up Main Street in Pittsboro in the Jeff Gordon Day Parade on Thursday, July 23, 2015, honoring NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon. Charlie Nye / The Star
Jeff Gordon high-fives Dalton Williams (far left), 11, Brownsburg, one of the hundreds of fans that turned out at Scamahorn Park in Pittsboro, Ind. Charlie Nye / The Star
NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon shakes hands with state, school, police and Pittsboro, Ind. civic leaders after being honored at Scamahorn Park in Pittsboro, Ind. on Jeff Gordon Day, Thursday, July 23, 2015. The NASCAR driver was honored with a parade down Main Street at noon followed by special presentations at the park. Charlie Nye / The Star
Hundreds of Jeff Gordon fans turned out at Scamahorn Park in Pittsboro, Ind. for Jeff Gordon Day on Thursday, July 23 to honor their hometown hero, NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon, with a parade down Main Street at noon followed by special presentations at the park. Gordon, a four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and five-time winner at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, is wrapping up his final full season as a driver and will make a final appearance on Sunday (July 26) at the Crown Royal Presents the Jeff Kyle 400 at the Brickyard in Indianapolis. Charlie Nye / The Star
Hundreds of Jeff Gordon fans that turned out at Scamahorn Park in Pittsboro, Ind. for Jeff Gordon Day are reflected in his sunglasses as he receives special recognitions from school and civic leaders on Thursday, July 23, 2015. Charlie Nye / The Star
Jeff Gordon's mother, Carol Bickford (right) and step-father, John Bickford (center) listen to their son address the crowd of hundreds of his fans that turned out at Scamahorn Park in Pittsboro, Ind. for Jeff Gordon Day on Thursday, July 23, 2015. Gordon, a four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and five-time winner at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, is wrapping up his final full season as a driver and will make a final appearance on Sunday (July 26) at the Crown Royal Presents the Jeff Kyle 400 at the Brickyard in Indianapolis. Charlie Nye / The Star
Hundreds of Jeff Gordon fans turned out in Pittsboro, Ind. for the Jeff Gordon Day Parade, followed by special presentations to Gordon in Scamahorn Park on Thursday, July 23, 2015. Charlie Nye / The Star
Pittsboro, Ind. Police Chief Christi Patterson presents NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon, a former Pittsboro resident, with an honorary police badge during presentations at Scamahorn Park after the parade in his honor on Jeff Gordon Day, Thursday, July 23, 2015. Charlie Nye / The Star
NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon makes comments to hundreds of his fans gathered at Scamahorn Park in Pittsboro, Ind. on Jeff Gordon Day on Thursday, July 23, 2015. Charlie Nye / The Star
Hundreds of Jeff Gordon fans turned out at Scamahorn Park in Pittsboro, Ind. for Jeff Gordon Day on Thursday, July 23, 2015 Charlie Nye / The Star
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence presents NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon with the Sagamore of the Wabash as Indianapolis Motor Speedway President Doug Boles (left) looks on during honorary presentations at Scamahorn Park in Pittsboro, Ind. on Jeff Gordon Day, Thursday, July 23, 2015. Charlie Nye / The Star
Hundreds of Jeff Gordon fans turned out at Scamahorn Park in Pittsboro, Ind. for Jeff Gordon Day on Thursday, July 23 to honor their hometown hero, NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon, with a parade down Main Street at noon followed by special presentations at the park. Charlie Nye / The Star
NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon makes comments to hundreds of his fans gathered at Scamahorn Park in Pittsboro, Ind. on Jeff Gordon Day on Thursday, July 23, 2015. The NASCAR driver, a former Pittsboro resident, was honored with a Jeff Gordon Day Parade down Main Street at noon. Charlie Nye / The Star
Parade-goers take photos as NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon rides in a white Chevrolet convertible up Main Street in Pittsboro during the Jeff Gordon Day Parade on Thursday, July 23, 2015 to honor the town's former resident. Charlie Nye / The Star
Hundreds of Jeff Gordon fans turned out for the Jeff Gordon Day Parade in Pittsboro on Thursday, July 23, 2015 to honor their hometown hero, NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon. Charlie Nye / The Star
Tri-West softball players ride a float in the Jeff Gordon Day Parade in Pittsboro on Thursday, July 23, 2015 to honor their hometown hero, NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon. Charlie Nye / The Star
Tri-West Little League players ride a float in the Jeff Gordon Day Parade in Pittsboro on Thursday, July 23, 2015 to honor their hometown hero, NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon. Charlie Nye / The Star
NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon (left) waves to the crowd along Main Street in Pittsboro during the Jeff Gordon Day Parade that the town held in his honor on Thursday, July 23, 2015.(Photo: Charlie Nye / The Star)Buy Photo
PITTSBORO, Ind. — Twenty-one years ago, a large crowd lined the streets of this small Hendricks County town west of Brownsburg hoping for a glimpse of the hometown hero.
Jeff Gordon didn't come that night after winning NASCAR's inaugural Brickyard 400 — he was eating pizza at the old Speedway Motel — but he was paraded through the streets Thursday.
His parents had a different view of the two events. In 1994, John Bickford had to tell the festive Pittsboro gathering his stepson was too busy celebrating at Indianapolis Motor Speedway to come out. Thursday, Bickford and his wife, Carol, watched Gordon roll by in a convertible with Main Street lined with adoring fans.
"I got to wave at my son in a parade," Carol said. "I love that."
Seems everyone among the thousand or so lining the 10-block route enjoyed it. An appearance by Gordon in this community is rare; the family moved to North Carolina in the early 1990s. Gordon noted the Dollar General being new, but mostly it's the same place he remembered from his high school days at Tri-West.
"Not a lot has changed," he said. "I like it that way."
Gordon and his family, including sister Kim, moved to area farmland from the San Francisco suburb of Vallejo, Calif., in the summer of 1986, living in a ranch home that had a backyard workshop for Gordon's sprint cars.
The change of scenery for the Gordon's opportunity to race at a younger age was dramatic.
"We slept on two cots next to the air conditioning vents because we weren't used to the heat or humidity," Bickford said. "Carol got us a washer, dryer and a refrigerator and she showed up in December and made sure we had beds and she redid the kitchen.
"It's a funny story how we lived for a while."
Gordon quickly became the source of community pride by winning races important enough to be written about in the newspaper.
"In California no one knew what I did," he said. "Here, most people did, including teachers."
Jeff Gordon Parade in Pittsboro
NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon (left) waves to the crowd along Main Street in Pittsboro during the Jeff Gordon Day Parade that the town held in his honor on Thursday, July 23, 2015. Charlie Nye / The Star
Gordon, who is retiring from Sprint Cup Series racing at year's end, didn't say with 100 percent certainty that Sunday will be his last IMS race, but everything points to that being the case. So, he plans to enjoy it.
Thursday was a good start to the weekend. Gordon rode in the parade with a pair of longtime friends, and he seemed to recognize people standing on either side of the street.
On a stage in the park, Gordon received Indiana's highest honor, the Sagamore of the Wabash, from Gov. Mike Pence, and Tri-West presented him with a plaque replicating his high school diploma. A joke was made that his academic transcript and the number of school days missed for racing weren't included.
After seeing two helicopters flying above, Gordon described the event as "one of the best days of my life, and I say that sincerely."
Later, a nostalgic Gordon talked about many of "the silly things you do living in the country," including driving to school in the snow and playing basketball in a barn loft.
"Called it barn ball," he said. "Be up in the top level of a barn with hay and stuff stacked. (There was) a little basket and you had to shoot over rafters. It was so much fun.
What an amazing #JeffGordonDay! Thx to everyone who came out & was part of today. Pittsboro is a special place to me. pic.twitter.com/4EdbHfshhE
— Jeff Gordon (@JeffGordonWeb) July 24, 2015
"It seems like it's been a blur (since then). You go to a race track trying to win that (first Brickyard 400 in 1994) and the next thing you know you've won four (Sprint Cup) championships and they're naming a day after you in a parade."
As for Sunday's final Brickyard race, Gordon said he will be extra motivated due to the sendoff Pittsboro gave him.
"When you hear that many people cheering for you, that's the thing that kind of gets you in here (pointing to his chest)," he said. "You go wow, and you start to feel the impact of what you've accomplished and this is the last time you get to experience it."