JOLIET, Ill. -- Jeff Gordon hopped off a plane, his typical polished self, ready for a full day of appearances to promote NASCAR's championship race.
Then he glanced down at his black polo shirt and saw for the first time the thick, white streaks of deodorant that had soiled his shirt.
"What a rookie move!" he crowed before making a bee-line for the closest bathroom.
Gordon had been rushed that morning. His wife, Ingrid, had been in New York at Fashion Rocks, and the NASCAR driver was home alone with his two small children. It made for a frenzied morning of getting Ella and Leo up and out the door to school while also getting himself ready for a whirlwind media tour through Toronto.
The end result was a shirt stained with deodorant streaks on a driver known for an aplomb that made him the first NASCAR driver to dazzle the suits on Madison Avenue.
The height of his success was almost 20 years ago, when Gordon collected 40 victories in four seasons and won championships in 1995, 1997 and 1998. By the time he added his fourth championship, in 2001, Gordon could do no wrong.
He had a pretty wife, an appeal that brought in new NASCAR fans and opened doors that drivers had never been through, but life has changed so much in the 13 years since.
Gordon went through a public divorce, eventually remarried and started a family. And on the track, well, the victories were no longer so easy.
Now, at 43, his passion for racing and winning has been revived. Gordon wants nothing more than to win his fifth championship -- the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship begins today at Chicagoland Speedway -- and he has the full support of his family in chasing his goal.
When Ingrid, who didn't know Gordon when he was an annual threat for the championship, asked him what it would take to win a title, Gordon explained that it needed his full commitment.
"Meetings and testing and being well-rested, trying not to have too many distractions," Gordon said. "There's a fine line between balancing that out and being a good parent and a good race car driver."
These weren't the kind of problems Gordon had to consider in the first half of his career. He'd won nearly 60 races before his 30th birthday and could do no wrong. He moved to Florida with his first wife and lived far away from the Hendrick Motorsports crew doing the grunt work on his race car.
"When you are winning all the time, you can get away with a lot of stuff," Gordon said.
When the wins tapered off, the problems began.
"When you are not winning, it's all about the details and 'Where is Jeff? Is he working as hard as we're working? Is he as committed as we are?' " Gordon said. "I don't ever want there to be questions about my commitment."
There were, particularly midway through last season when he and crew chief Alan Gustafson were at odds. They were winless, struggling to get into Chase contention, and neither was satisfied with the performance.
It took a heart-to-heart talk between the two to strengthen the relationship and get the No. 24 rolling in the right direction. Gordon won his only race of last year in late October, but the team has been incredibly consistent this season. Gordon goes into the Chase tied for the second seed, with three victories this season, including a victory at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on the 20th anniversary of his win in the inaugural Brickyard 400.
Gordon led the points 17 of the 26 weeks in NASCAR's regular season and has an average finish of 10th this year.
"I've had four crew chiefs now, and with all of them I've said don't treat me like I'm a multi-time champion who has won a lot," he said. "You've got to treat me like you'd treat any driver. You do what it takes.
"Every one of them holds me to a different standard. So you have to have those moments where somebody like Alan gets to that point and says, 'I've probably spoiled him a little bit. Now I'm mad. Now we need to have a conversation.' "
That was the turning point for Gordon and his team, and his confidence has been soaring all season.
He's certain he's a viable threat to win this championship, even though Gordon has never won in the Chase format and this year's format has been dramatically overhauled. There are three rounds of eliminations that will set up a four-driver shootout in November's season finale.
He's always believed that no matter the format, the best team wins, and Gordon is adamant that title belongs to him this year.
"I've never wanted anything more than this, partially because it's eluded me," he said. "I've pretty much done everything in this sport except for winning Kentucky, and maybe I don't have seven or eight championships, but my bucket list is the Sprint Cup, under this format, to prove to myself and others that we can do it."
Sports on 09/14/2014