According to reports, the initial 911 call was made by a neighbor who discovered the bodies on the Gordon property.
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The bodies of Robert “Baja Bob” Gordon and Sharon Gordon, were found at a home owned by the NASCAR driver Wednesday night.
Gordon told The Orange County Register he thinks he knows what happened, but declined to say more until he spoke with the coroner. 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.
“With respect to him and in his honour, both my [off-road racing] event in Costa Mesa will go on and Ryan Hunter-Reay, who is Becky’s husband, will continue on at Sonoma [IndyCar Series] this weekend”. Yet, no further details about the incident on what the motive or what triggered the father of the former auto racing star, to commit the heinous crime, have been released.
When he moved to North Carolina for NASCAR racing Gordon gave the home to his dad and step-mom to live in.
A police spokesman said the cause of the deaths have not been determined. One firearm was apparently discovered, but no other weapons or drugs were apparently present. No outside suspects are believed to be involved in the deaths.
“He taught me at a young age that one horsepower wasn’t going to be enough – go do something different”, Gordon said, as reported by ABC News.
Gordon’s sister, Beccy, is married to 2014 Indianapolis 500 victor Ryan Hunter-Reay. “Hope they find strength and support”, he said. The driver was also known for making 396 NASCAR Premier Series starts for 19 seasons. Known as “Baja Bob”, Robert Gordon was also an accomplished off-road racer. He was a full-time driver early last decade and finished a career-high 16th in the points standings in 2003 driving for Richard Childress Racing.
Johnson even rode with Bob in off-road races on occasion.
Six-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson got his first off-road truck ride with Gordon in the 1990s. His best finish was fourth in 1999, losing when he ran out of fuel in the closing laps.
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Other NASCAR drivers began reacting to the news on Thursday, including Dale Earnhardt Jr., who tweeted “Praying for friends @RobbyGordon @BeccyGordon and the Gordon family during this hard time”.
