This Father's Day has new meaning for Gordon

Now it all changes.

Jeff Gordon is entering the most pivotal month of his life. This will be a time when he takes a few moments and discovers new depths within himself. He'll find himself challenged in new ways, forced to adjust to a faster pace and taking on assignments he would have never thought possible.

And none of it has anything to do with that NASCAR Nextel Cup championship he'll also be chasing.

Sometime in the next month, Gordon will become a father. After that, all bets are off.

And Gordon knows it.

His life is reaching new peaks right now. He's happily married with a daughter on the way. He's winning races and competing in a style reminiscent of the Gordon that exploded onto the NASCAR scene in the 1990s. He's leading the points chase by 242 points, is coming off his fourth win of the season and pioneering a new role for himself.

It doesn't seem that he'd have it any other way. Gordon is so intent on being present for the birth of his first child with his wife, Ingrid Vandebosch, that he has Mark Martin on standby for the next two weeks. If the choice is to be made between making a race and being present for the birth, don't search the track for Gordon.

Even though he and his team are on a roll, Gordon will happily miss one race.

These days, everywhere that he goes, Gordon finds himself getting a little friendly advice from parents.

"I get advice and thoughts from parents all across the nation and everywhere I go," he said. "From how great it is going to be and how much it is going to change my life and how challenging it is, you know, all across the board. I think this Father's Day is certainly going to be a very meaningful one, because of what is about to happen for me, and I am getting excited. It is right around the corner."

Gordon says that he misses having his wife with him when he travels on race weekends and looks forward to getting back home each week.

"I hate that Ingrid can't travel with me, but it is so much fun to go home and feel what is going on inside of her belly and just know how close we are getting and talking about what it is going to be like to be parents," he said.

He's heard entertaining stories, most surrounding changing diapers, and lots of words of encouragement.

Meanwhile, he's enjoyed a resurgence on the track that has him back in championship form.

Gordon's fast pace to the front includes 12 top-10 finishes in 14 races, 10 of which are top-fives and four of which are wins.

He and his Steve Letarte-led Hendrick Motorsports crew have been tough to contend with week to week and have grown comfortable enough with their lead to gamble en route to the wins. They did that with pit strategy at Pocono and it worked for them.

Some would be trying to play things a little safer at this point. Not Gordon and Letarte. They're looking at the big picture - the one where a win now translates into 10 extra points when the Chase For The Nextel Cup begins.

"The way we performed in the first 11 or 12 races has allowed us to try to go out for wins and 10-point bonuses," Letarte says.

Still, the team is cautious about the lead. Gordon admits he wants to win it all, but knows that running well now doesn't necessarily mean that will happen.

"For us right now, it's to try to secure that we're in the Chase, and then it's about momentum and our cars and our communication and everything being at its peak and best in the last 10," he says. "That's the only time it really counts.

"We're in it to win a championship. We're not here to try to improve one or two positions over last year. We're here to win. We've got the tools to win. I feel like we've got the crew chief and I have to do my part as well."

Clearly he can balance the multiple facets of his life. Gordon's shown the ability to focus intently on his on-track effort without sacrificing the joy of impending fatherhood. Charmingly honest about what his future holds, he seems as star-struck by parenthood as autograph-seeking fans are by him.

Since he announced that he and Ingrid would be having a child, Gordon has faced questions about his focus, about his future and about his daughter's role in determining his retirement date.

While he's clearly held on to the first, he has continually pointed out that he can't address the latter.

Not yet.

"I really don't know [how it will affect my lifestyle], I just know that I am looking forward to it," he says. "I am excited about it. I am committed to it. I know it is going to be one of the most rewarding and challenging events and experiences that I have ever had.

"But until she is here and until I see her for the first time and hold her in my arms and go through it, it is hard to say."

He's heard other drivers that are fathers talk about how having a family changed their lives. He's watched some step away from full-time driving in order to spend more time with their families.

He just doesn't know whether or when he'll do the same. He simply knows that his life is going to change dramatically sometime soon.

"I will be surprised if it doesn't change me," he said. "I think that it will. It is a life-changing experience, so it is going to change everything in my life. It is either going to make me more motivated to go out there and be more competitive on the race track because I actually have more purpose and meaning and something to really truly strive for, to see my daughter and my whole family at the race track experiencing what I do.

"In other ways, it could make me say, 'You know what, this is a dangerous sport and I have been extremely successful, I have got nothing to prove, why continue to do it?' I have no idea, that is why I go into it with an open mind."

© 2007 Street & Smith Sports Group. NASCAR Scene is published weekly, 50 weeks per year. Visit www.scenedaily.com for more information.

• Mentioned Drivers:
• Jeff Gordon