Jeff Gordon’s Final Rainbow Chevrolet Is Hitting the Auction Block
In the world of NASCAR, certain cars have become an iconic part of the sport’s history. Take, for example, Dale Earnhardt’s signature black ride; over the years, that vehicle became a central part of the Intimidator’s image. At the other end of the color spectrum, though, Jeff Gordon found fame and fortune as the Rainbow Warrior.
For those who appreciated Gordon’s paint job, there’s now a chance to own a piece of NASCAR history. The driver’s final rainbow Chevrolet will be hitting the auction block, giving anyone a chance to take it home and add it to their garage.
Jeff Gordon rose to NASCAR stardom in his famous rainbow Chevrolet
Given that he retired from full-time racing in 2015, it’s been a while since NASCAR fans have seen Gordon climb behind the wheel and hit the track. His body of work, however, ensures that no one will ever forget his stock car career.
The driver cut his teeth with go-karts and sprint cars before joining the stock car scene in the early 1990s. He quickly made a name for himself in NASCAR, capturing the Busch Series Rookie of the Year crown in 1991. He’d earn his first Cup Series crown in 1995 and only kept improving from there.
By the time he called it a career, Gordon had won a grand total of 93 Cup Series races to go along with his four championships. On-track success, however, was only part of his brand.
As racing fans will surely remember, Gordon usually hit the track in an iconic rainbow Chevrolet. As explained by NASCAR.com, that paint job became a key part of the California-native’s identity, especially in contrast to Dale Earnhardt and his all-black Chevy.
“It certainly changed my life forever as a race car driver to come to Hendrick Motorsports and having a paint scheme that now, looking back on it, was so iconic,” Gordon explained.
The final rainbow Chevy will be hitting the auction block
With Gordon no longer hitting the track on Sundays, his stockcars can move on to the next stage of their metaphorical lives. For one of them, that means hitting the auction block and going to the highest bidder.
On May 22, Sotheby’s will be auctioning off the final rainbow Chevrolet that Gordon drove during his racing career. It hit the track eight times in 2014 and 2015 before being restored by Hendrick Motorsport.
“The car’s engine is the top-of-the-line Hendrick Motorsports-certified Chevrolet ‘R07’ fuel-injected race engine good for 725 horsepower. Inside, the cabin has been furnished with a new NASCAR-spec safety cell, fire suppression system, and carbon fiber dash complete with all the proper specifications preferred by Jeff Gordon himself,” Sotheby’s explained.
To make the deal even sweeter, the car also comes with a race suit that Gordon wore during the 2015 NASCAR campaign.
The car can (probably) be yours for only one-thousandth of Jeff Gordon’s net worth
As mentioned above, Gordon put together quite the NASCAR career and, despite being unfairly labeled as a villain, had no problem achieving commercial success. Even today, CelebrityNetWorth estimates his fortune at approximately $200 million.
If you don’t have that much money lying around for disposable purposes, though, fear not. Owning a piece of NASCAR history could still be in your price range.
According to Sotheby’s predictions, Gordon’s final rainbow Chevy will sell for somewhere in the neighborhood of $150,000 to $200,000. While anything can happen in an auction — all it takes is two collectors in a bidding war to drive up the price — the prospect of scoring a famous stock car and a racing suit for less than $200,000 doesn’t seem like a bad deal in the context of sports collectibles. In a vacuum, would you rather pay hundreds of thousands for two tangible NASCAR artifacts or an NBA NFT?
If you loved the Rainbow Warrior during his time on the track, the answer to that question will be fairly obvious.
