The bodies of Robert Gordon, 68, and Sharon Gordon, 57, were found Wednesday at an Orange home belonging to former NASCAR driver Robby Gordon, reports the L.A. Times.
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Choking back tears, Robby Gordon stood at the gates of a house he knew as home all his life and said, “Obviously, we’re grieving over the loss of my dad and his wife Sharon”.
Bob, who had referred to himself on Twitter as an “Off-Road Racer & Proud Papa”, was a former off-road racer who had been known as “Baja Bob”, according to Heavy. He said Robert Gordon had a horse feed business and would regularly drop hay off at neighbors’ homes.
Robby Gordon has been participating in a series of off-road races, the Speed Energy Formula Off-Road, which he founded in 2013.
He added, “I’d like everybody to understand this is very tough”. “To kind of wrap your head around this tragedy is very hard to do”.
There were expressions of shock and sorrow from the NASCAR community, including Dale Earnhardt Jr., fiancee Amy Riemann and others connected with the Gordons.
Robby Gordon said he would speak about the deaths again once authorities conclude their investigation. “Hope they find strength and support”. However, the police mentioned their investigation was focusing on a murder-suicide, and a rifle was reportedly recovered from the scene of the crime, though it is not clear if it was used in the deaths.
Jimmie Johnson’s tweet: “Heartbreaking news this morning”.
The younger Gordon had raced in NASCAR, CART, IndyCAr, TRans-AM, IMSA, IROC and Dakar Rally, according to Wikipedia. Robby spent 19 years in NASCAR racing, won three Cup races and maintains a presence in the stock auto racing hub of Charlotte, N.C. Gordon’s appeared in 575 races over 20 years with his best (ninth place) finish occurring at the 2003 Winston Cup Series.
Robby’s off-road racing team, Stadium Super Trucks, is scheduled to race in Costa Mesa on the weekend of September 17.
Gordon had the distinction of being one of only four drivers to complete in the Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 on the same day. He almost won the 1999 Indy 500 before running out of fuel in the closing laps. The driver tweeted Wednesday that his wife had given birth to a boy.
Gordon’s sister, Beccy, is married to 2014 Indianapolis 500 victor Ryan Hunter-Reay.
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Gordon’s off-road racing team was scheduled to be in Orange County this weekend.
