VALLEJO, Calif. — Jeff Gordon's eyes lit up as he rode past one of the grand spots of his youth.
"There's where it was – one of the greatest go-kart tracks anywhere," Gordon said, pointing out the site off Interstate 80 near Vallejo. "Boy, was that a fun place. The carts were fast. Everybody else wanted to wreck people. I just wanted to pass everybody."
He has done that. Before the go-karts. And long after them.
Gordon ran go-karts with his pre-teen buddies for fun. By then, he already had recorded seven years as a race car driver, having started — at 5 years old — the long and winding road that will end this season with his final Sprint Cup race.