Fire suit worn by NASCAR driver, Jeff Gordon during the 2005 NASCAR Cup Series season

Object Details

Description (Brief)

Fire suit worn by NASCAR driver, Jeff Gordon during the 2005 race season is a dark blue and red one piece uniform with a zipper and velcro front. The uniform was made by Sparco one of the leading manufacturers of race uniforms in the world. The fire suit is a standard piece of equipment for all NASCAR drivers to insulate the driver’s skin from fire and still be comfortable and was custom made for Jeff Gordon. This fire suit represents the innovations in material and manufacturing techniques of the mid 2000s.

This suit uses three separate layers of fabric, sewn in a quilting pattern with fire resistant thread to allow pockets of air within the layers to protect the driver’s skin from heat. It also represents a fire rating system that determines how long the suit will protect the wearer from 2nd degree burns – this suit will protect the wearer for 40 seconds of flame exposure before burns will occur.

Jeff Gordon began racing quarter midget cars at age 5 and in 1991, he won rookie of the year driving the Carolina Ford Dealers car and the next year racing the Nestle Baby Ruth car, he won at the Atlanta Motor Speedway and was noticed by Rick Hendrick. Gordon became a member of Hendricks Motorsports, one of racing’s premier racing teams. Gordon would go on to become one of the best drivers in NASCAR history. He is 3rd on the all-time win list and has earned 93 NASCAR victories. He is a four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion for the years 1995, 1997, 1998 and 2001. He won the Daytona 500 in 1997, 1999 and in 2005. He was a five-time Brickyard 500 winner for the years 1994, 1998, 2001, 2004 and 2014 and a 7-time winner at Darlington Raceway, in 1995, the spring and fall of 1996, 1997, 1998, 2002 and 2007.

Location

Currently not on view

2005

ID Number

2017.0272.01

accession number

2017.0272

catalog number

2017.0272.01

Object Name

uniform, auto racing

auto racing uniform

fire suit, auto racing

Physical Description

cotton (overall material)

nomex (overall material)

plastic (overall material)

velcro (overall material)

Measurements

overall: 60 in x 16 in; 152.4 cm x 40.64 cm

See more items in

Culture and the Arts: Sport and Leisure

Sports & Leisure

National Museum of American History

name of sport

auto racing

level of sport

Professional

Record ID

nmah_1859196

Metadata Usage (text)

CC0

GUID (Link to Original Record)

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746b3-909f-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa