“He’s sweating, his shirt’s all wet”: Rick Hendrick reflects on Jeff Gordon’s revelation about his ‘divorce.’

Rick Hendrick recently took a trip down memory lane when he revealed how Jeff Gordon, a former driver at his racing organization, Hendrick Motorsports, approached him and unraveled his divorce story. Gordon arrived to meet Hendrick at his house, and stayed with him for a couple of days during this time, stated Hendrick.

Mr. Hendrick recently sat with Kelley Earnhardt Miller, the sister of Dale Earnhardt Jr. and co-owner of JR Motorsport, in the Dale Jr. Download podcast. They discussed NASCAR and the business surrounding it.

During their conversation, the 75-year-old mentioned how Gordon started at Hendrick Motorsports as a driver and soon took over the team's leadership role. While Hendrick was at it, he also shared how he encountered a different Gordon one day, and he did not expect what came next.

"So, when he goes through a divorce, he comes up here and he tell me, he said you know you told me that if I ever was in town, I can come, spend the night with you. I said what? Something's wrong here because he's been the little prince, he flies from Florida to the race track and what's going on, he's coming to tell me he won't drive here anymore."

"So he comes in, we go downstairs, and he's sweating, his shirt's all wet and I thought what in the world's wrong? He said 'hey I just to tell you I'm getting a divorce'. I said 'oh man that's good.' So then he stays with us a couple of weeks or so," he added. (30:00-31:30)

Gordon has been married two times in life, firstly with Brooke Sealey in 1994, and after his divorce from her, the former HMS man married Ingrid Vandebosch in 2006. However, before his second marriage, the four-time Cup Series driver had to go through a rough divorce.

Sealey sued Gordon for marital misconduct and filed for divorce in 2002. She cited her husband's alleged relationship with a model named, Deanna Merryman and demanded Gordon's oceanfront home, alimony, and regular use of his airplanes and boats. Even though the former NASCAR driver disagreed, the court asked him to pay $15.3 million as alimony.

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Jeff Gordon's days at Hendrick Motorsports

Jeff Gordon joined Hendrick Motorsports in 1993 after Rick Hendrick was impressed with his Busch Series performance. He joined the HMS's Cup Series roster, driving the #24 car under full-time obligation.

Jeff Gordon, driver of the #24 DuPont Chevrolet of Hendrick Motorsport - Source: Getty

Two years later, Gordon won his first Cup Series championship. Two more championships followed in two years later again in 1997, and another in 1998. In the Winston Cup Series, he won his final title with Hendrick Motorsports in 2001.

Jeff Gordon had one of the most successful NASCAR Cup Series careers, where he took part in 805 races in over 25 years, claiming 93 race wins, 81 pole positions, and 477 Top 10s. He retired from full-time racing at the end of the 2015 Cup Series season and currently, works as Vice Chairman of Hendrick Motorsports.