In Atlanta, Jeff Gordon Proud Of His Pink Race Car

Have you seen Jeff Gordon’s car this weekend? Gordon’s paint scheme for Atlanta looks like it was designed by a 3-year-old.

That’s because it was. Gordon’s 3-year-old daughter, Ella, is responsible for the paint scheme on Gordon’s No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports car, which is being sponsored by the Jeff Gordon Children’s Foundation.

“The guys in the shop tell me that we better run really, really fast in this car, because it’s got a lot of pink on it and it’s bright,” Gordon said as reporters chuckled. “Not a car you want to run in the back with.”

Gordon’s car goes along with a month-long campaign by his foundation to encourage fans to help fight pediatric cancer. More than 13,000 children are diagnosed with cancer every year.

To design “Papa’s Car” (which is written above the door instead of Gordon’s name), the four-time Cup champion took Ella to the Concord, N.C. offices of NASCAR artist Sam Bass, who helped with the design.

“We tried to explain what she was doing and I don’t think she really grasped the concept,” Gordon said. “But you lay some paper down in front of her with an outline sketch of a race car and give her a bunch of paint brushes and things, and that’s all it takes.

“That’s pretty much what she did. She kept wanting to put her hands in the paint, so finally we let her do that.”

The result is a mixture of colors, along with brush strokes and hand prints. Bass put the finishing touches on the design.

It’s certainly not a conventional race car paint scheme. So as Gordon said, he’ll need to go fast to avoid embarrassment.

“On the flip side, I can’t wreck this car,” he said. “She’s not going to want to see me wreck a car she designed.”

Photo: Jeff Gluck / SB Nation