5 interesting facts about Jeff Gordon that you should know

Former NASCAR driver and current co-owner of Hendrick Motorsports, Jeff Gordon is one of the most successful stock car drivers. The California native drove the No. 24 Chevrolet in the Cup Series since his debut in the early 1990s. He won the Cup championship four times and now oversees Hendrick Motorsports's competition department as its vice chairman.

Gordon raced full-time for over 20 years and played a big role in NASCAR's rise to mainstream popularity. The 53-year-old retired from full-time racing in the Cup Series after the 2015 season and has since worked as a broadcaster and taken part in different business ventures. Here are five interesting facts about him:

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#1 He ranks third on NASCAR Cup Series wins

Jeff Gordon has 93 career wins in the NASCAR Cup Series which is the third-highest on the all-time list.

He holds the record for the most wins in NASCAR's modern era (since 1972) and matched the record for wins in a single season with 13 wins in 1998.

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#2 He was the first rookie award winner in the top two series in NASCAR

Gordon became the first driver to win Rookie of the Year in both the Xfinity Series and Cup Series. He won the Busch Series rookie award in 1991 and the Winston Cup Series rookie award in 1993.

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#3 He holds the record for pole positions

Gordon also set a record by winning at least one pole position for 23 straight seasons. He is also the winningest NASCAR driver on road courses (9 wins) and restrictor-plate tracks (12 wins).

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#4 NASCAR introduced religion to Jeff Gordon

Gordon was not raised in a religious family and has said that he started practicing religion after he got involved in NASCAR. He later kept Bible verses taped on the steering wheel of his car.

"I didn't grow up in a religious family, or even in a family that went to church. I always knew I believed in God, but I don't know if I actually knew what that meant...I got involved in the NASCAR Busch Series, in 1992, I started going to the chapel service that was going on there, then to the Winston Cup chapel service," Gordan said (via beliefnet.com).

His first wife, Brooke Sealey, also played a big role in his belief.

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#5 He was the highest-paid NASCAR driver

Jeff Gordon was one of the highest-paid drivers in NASCAR. He earned $515 million in his career and was also the first NASCAR driver to earn more than $50 million (per Forbes).

In 2016, Gordon was named the 18th highest-paid athlete of all time by Forbes.