The father of racecar driver Robby Gordon and his wife were found dead at their Southern California home Wednesday, according to the Orange County coroner.
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Longtime NASCAR driver Robby Gordon’s father and his stepmom were found dead Wednesday in their home in Orange, California, PEOPLE confirms – though it’s unclear how they died.
Officials said a weapon was found at the scene, and police do not believe a suspect is at large.
Known in racing circles as “Baja Bob”, the elder Gordon was a five-time victor of the grueling off-road competitions in the desert peninsula south of the USA border. He also owned a feed business that supplied a racetrack.
Robby Gordon has been participating in a series of off-road races, the Speed Energy Formula Off-Road, which he founded in 2013. “To kind of wrap your head around this tragedy is very hard to do”.
Bob and his wife are survived by Robby and his sisters Robyn, Haylee and Beccy who just had a baby with her husband Indy 500 driver Ryan Hunter-Reay.
“Robby mentioned his dad gave me my first ride and that he was always so proud of me, was a big fan and bragged about me”, Johnson said Thursday at the NASCAR Chase Media Day in Chicago.
CHICAGO (AP) – Six-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson remembers vividly the first time he rode in an off-road desert auto with “Baja Bob” Gordon about 25 years ago. “Hope they find strength and support”, he said.
Gordon recalled how his father instilled in him a love for competition and motorsports in the Orange County neighborhood, where many residents own horses and dirt riding trails line the suburban streets.
Jimmie Johnson’s tweet: “Heartbreaking news this morning”. It is unknown at this point if Gordon himself will race this weekend, however, it’s believed the Stadium Super Trucks races will still happen.
Robby Gordon competed in 396 career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races from 1991-2012, and he won three times during that span – at New Hampshire in 2001, and at Sonoma and Watkins Glen in 2003, according to NASCARcom. His best finish was fourth in 1999, losing when he ran out of fuel in the closing laps.
Gordon, 47, said he planned to honor this weekend’s off-road commitments at Costa Mesa fairgrounds.
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