Nadeau's life story is, in fact, a real page-turner. If his recent success marks the first time you've really noticed the driver of the No. 25 Chevrolets owned by Hendrick Motorsports, let's skim the chapters. Nadeau was born in Danbury, Conn. He lived a half-mile from Danbury Race Arena where his father, Gerard, ran modifieds every Saturday night until the track closed to make room for a mall. Nadeau got his first go-kart at 41/2. By the time he was a teen-ager, he was touring the country racing go-karts and winning championships. He moved on into open-wheel cars and eventually to road racing, earning a spot in the Barber Pro Series, where he won eight races in 1991. That same year, he was rookie of the year in Formula Ford and traveled to Europe to race those cars. At a race at Sebring, Fla., he met Tom Cotter, a former public relations man at Charlotte Motor Speedway who now owns a PR firm. Cotter advised Nadeau to move south if he wanted to pursue a NASCAR career, so Nadeau moved to Charlotte and ran seven Grand National races in 1995-96 before sponsorship options dried up. Nadeau went back to Europe, racing in the Formula Opel European Series in 1996. He ran 13 races all over the continent, flying over and back from Charlotte on some weekends. On one trip he flew to Luxembourg, stayed with a director of the series and borrowed one of his cars to drive to races in Italy, Austria and Germany before coming back. "I don't think I'd want anybody to do that same thing I did because I don't think they could hack it," Nadeau said. "It was tough. There were times I cried myself to sleep at night wondering if I was ever going to get here." He passed on a chance to stay in Europe to race Formula 3000 cars, a possible entre to Formula One, and came home to chase his NASCAR dreams. He and Cotter wrote letters to dozens of teams and got one reply, from Winston Cup car owner Richard Jackson. Nadeau went to work for Jackson's team and wound up working as a spotter for driver Morgan Shepherd. Nadeau got Jackson to give him a car for two Automobile Club of America races at Charlotte in May of 1997 and Nadeau finished fourth and second. A few weeks later, Shepherd and Jackson parted ways and Jackson offered Nadeau the ride. He made his first start at Michigan on June 15. He started 1998 driving for a team owned by Bill Elliott and Dan Marino, then moved to Melling Racing after 14 races. When he signed to drive the Michael Holigan Homes-sponsored car from the Hendrick shops for 2000, Melling hired another driver after 22 races last season and Nadeau completed the year subbing for the injured Ernie Irvan in the No. 36 Pontiacs. When Nadeau first moved to Charlotte, a friend sometimes let him sneak into the Hendrick shops to look around. Now, he's driving for the operation that has produced Winston Cup's champion in four of the past five seasons. |
With a victory in the 2000 season finale at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Jerry Nadeau
silenced critics and satisfied car owner Rick Hendrick. Some believed Hendrick had made a risky decision by putting Nadeau behind the wheel of his coveted No. 25 Chevrolet, but the driver proved he is still a contender. and the beginning of the 2000 season confirmed those erratic tendencies. In the first 13 races, Nadeau scored eight finishes of 29th or lower, and he was mired in 30th in the standings. Qualifying, however, has always been the brave pilot's strong points and that continued under the guidance of crew chief Tony Furr. Nadeau qualified for 20 of the 34 races in the first round, hoping his results would improve. In the second half of the season they did, and Nadeau, despite ending up with only three top-5 and five top-10 finishes, had made his mark. He ended up a career best 20th in the final point standings, being plagued by nine DNFs. He returns to the solid No. 25 package in 2001 with new backing from UAW and Delphi Motorsports. PERSONAL PROFILE |
FULL NAME: Jerry T. Nadeau BIRTHDATE: Sept. 9, 1970 AGE: 30 HEIGHT: 5'6" WEIGHT: 150 FAMILY:Wife: Jada BIRTHPLACE: Danbury, Conn. RESIDENCE: Mooresville, N.C. MOST MEMORABLE ACHIEVEMENT: Winning the NAPA 500 in Atlanta. RACING HEROES: My Dad FAVORITE TRACKS: Dover, Bristol PRE-RACE PREPARATION: Work out several times each week and get plenty of sleep the night before the race IF NOT RACING: Roofing with father GREATEST INFLUENCE: My Dad and about 20 guys who helped me get my career started HOBBIES: Golf, Jet skiing, video games PERSONAL VEHICLES: V70 Volvo, Chevrolet Tahoe FAVORITE BAND: Edwin McCain FAVORITE TV SHOW: Who wants to Be a Millionaire? FAVORITE MOVIE: Apollo 13 |