The Orange County (Calif.) Sheriff’s Department said late Thursday evening that former NASCAR racer Robby Gordon’s parents died as a result of a murder-suicide.
The bodies of Robert Gordon, 68, and his wife, Sharon Gordon, 57, were found Wednesday evening inside a home owned by Robby Gordon. According to the Sheriff’s Department, Sharon Gordon was strangled to death and Robert Gordon died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Law enforcement had responded to the Orange County California home after a 911 call from a neighbor. That neighbor had been asked to check on the home owned by Gordon and occupied by his father and stepmother.
The former NASCAR driver, visibly distraught, spoke to reporters Thursday.
“I would like to thank the racing community,” Robby Gordon told media gathered outside the gated house as he choked back tears. “I’m so sad and I can’t believe it.”
“I’d like everybody to understand that this is very, very tough, and it’s not only tough for me, but it’s tough for my sisters Robyn, Beccy and my sister, which is Sharon’s daughter, Hailey,” he said. “It’s going to be tough on all of us.”
Gordon said he had given his home to his father and stepmother to live when he moved to North Carolina to be a NASCAR racer. During his NASCAR career, which began in 1991, Gordon made 396 Cup starts for such teams as Robert Yates Racing, Richard Childress Racing, and his own team Robby Gordon Motorsports. He has three wins in a Cup career that ended after three starts in 2012.
The younger Gordon helped start the Speed-Energy Formula Off-Road series in 2013 and continues to compete in that series as well as various off-road events. Known as “Baja Bob,” Robert Gordon was also an accomplished off-road racer.
“I grew up on this property my whole life. I learned everything about motorsports out of this little tiny barn over here,” he said.
Robby Gordon has two sisters, Robyn and Becca, as well as a stepsister Hailey. Beccy Gordon Hunter-Reay, is an off-road racer as well. Her husband, Ryan Hunter-Reay, is a professional racecar driver and won the Indianapolis 500 in 2014. The driver tweeted Wednesday that his wife had given birth to a boy.
Thursday, Robby said would speak about the deaths again once authorities conclude their investigation.
“The truth will come out, what went down here,” he said.
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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