Two bodies were discovered Wednesday evening inside a home owned by former NASCAR driver Robby Gordon in Orange County California.
The bodies were found by law enforcement after a call from a neighbor who had been doing a welfare check at the request of relatives. Law enforcement said the victims as a 68-year-old male and a 57-year-old female. A spokesperson said they did find a weapon in the home, and believe they are dealing with a murder-suicide.
Thursday morning a representative with the coroner’s office said via phone that notifications have been made and identified the dead as Robert and Sharon Gordon, parents of Robby. Robert is Robby’s father, Sharon is his stepmother. An email to a representative Gordon for confirmation had yet to be answered early Thursday morning.
Gordon,47, is an accomplished racer with open wheel and off road experience in addition to his NASCAR career. 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 Cerritos California native 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.
Robby’s father “Baja Bob” Gordon also competed in off-road racing. His sister, 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.
UPDATES:
Robby Gordon speaks to media about parent’s death
Police confirm murder-suicide of Robby Gordon’s parents
“Baja” Bob, dad of race car driver Robby Gordon, dead in possible murder/suicide. (Fmr Baja 1000 winner) @CBSLA pic.twitter.com/Lky42YFizd
— JASMINE VIEL (@jasmineviel) September 15, 2016
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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