Clean-cut and polished in front of a camera, Jeff Gordon helped transform NASCAR racing from a regional spectacle into a mainstream sport.

Gordon became the youngest driver to triumph at the Daytona 500 in 1997 and tied a modern record with 13 victories in one season in 1998, finishing both years as the series champion.

He notched a fourth championship in 2001, culminating an amazing stretch that produced 56 victories in seven years.

Gordon’s iconic DuPont Rainbow livery is the winningest paint scheme in NASCAR history, with 52 wins at 17 different tracks, three championship titles, and over 10,000 laps led.

One of the most important milestones in Gordon’s remarkable Rainbow-liveried days was achieved with this car at Talladega’s DieHard 500 race on 16 April 2000.

Although Gordon would rack up another 43 victories over the remainder of his NASCAR career (good for 3rd-best of all time), his ascent to greatness reached one of its most important statistical plateaus with this 50th wi...