Flag falls on Jeff Gordon marriage

[MORTARDUDE]

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localne...cf0d400d0.html


Flag falls on Gordon marriage


By Bill Douthat, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Friday, June 13, 2003



Jeff Gordon, a NASCAR superstar who makes about $1 million a month, regained his title as a single man Thursday by paying an undisclosed share of his fortune in winnings and investments to end a bitter divorce contest.

The checkered flag fell on the seven-year marriage after a marathon day of mediation earlier in the week between attorneys for Gordon and his wife, Brooke.

The union was officially dissolved with a four-page final judgment filed in Palm Beach County Circuit Court. The separate settlement agreement was not recorded with the court.

"Brooke is very happy the divorce is now over, and she wishes Jeff Gordon well in his racing career," said her attorney, Jeffrey Fisher, who wouldn't comment on the terms of the settlement but said Brooke was pleased.

"The parties entered into an amicable agreement after a lengthy mediation," said Thomas Sasser, Gordon's West Palm Beach-based attorney. Both attorneys said each party negotiated their share in the split.

Brooke Gordon, 32, waived her right to alimony. The marriage produced no children.

At issue was splitting up the trappings of a luxurious lifestyle that included million-dollar homes, boats, a Falcon 200 airplane, Ferraris, Porsches and Mercedes-Benzes.

The high-profile divorce was scheduled for a six-day trial in October before Circuit Judge Peter Blanc in the Delray Beach courthouse.

The court filing grants Brooke $15 million in liens on the couple's $10.2 million, 23,095-square-foot oceanfront home in Highland Beach and a Delray Beach property worth $1.36 million.

But the court filing does not detail the full extent of the division of assets.

Normally assets accumulated during a marriage are divided 50-50 under Florida law.

Gordon, who's won four Winston Cup NASCAR points titles, asked for a greater share, citing his dangerous occupation.

Although Brooke had asked for use of the Highland Beach home, she is not expected to make it her post-divorce residence.

Gordon, 31, claimed in court filings that he had a net worth of $48 million. His wife argued the figure was vastly understated.

The divorce marred the storybook relationship of the couple, who met at Daytona 500's victory lane in 1994 after he won the race. She was a model holding the title of Miss Winston and he was the handsome prince of the auto racing world. They admitted that their move from Charlotte, N.C. -- the hub of NASCAR -- to Florida in 1997 was the beginning of the end.

"Moving to Florida, it was me and Brooke, we had no friends, no family," Jeff Gordon once said. "We moved away from our relationships and maybe we were a little guarded, we didn't open ourselves up to any new friends."

Brooke Gordon's aggressive pursuit of financial records and her claim that Jeff Gordon had engaged in "marital misconduct" caused controversy among NASCAR fans and drivers.

No alleged incidents of marital misconduct or extramarital affairs appear in court records.

Brooke, who filed for divorce on March 15, 2002, may have gotten an upper hand in the dispute when her attorneys discovered that Gordon's financial interest in racing teams were valued at five times more than what he reported in affidavits.

Court records show Brooke's attorney claimed that Gordon, also a NASCAR car owner, was deliberately hiding records from his wife. The discovery "will literally turn the case on its head," Fisher said in a March 13 motion before the court.

To gain information, Brooke Gordon's attorneys researched the value of racing teams, going so far as to subpoena car owners during Daytona 500 week in February.

A motion filed on behalf of Brooke Gordon indicated the appraisals showed Gordon's interest in the racing teams could be worth as much as $45 million, much more than Jeff Gordon's stated value of $9 million, according to court records.

No appeals or contests to the terms of the divorce are expected, said Sasser, Jeff Gordon's attorney.

"I would be very surprised if anything else would be done," he said. "This is, legally, the end."

bill douthat@pbpost.com

[Jerry D]

Here is an interesting fact: No Driver or Winston Cup Girl are allowed to fraternize at the track or off it is a rule of Nascar. If Gordon and Brooke had been caught before her job was up with Nascar. Gordon would have been fined and she would have been fired for contract violations . And the Big IF ,if they had followed the rules they might have never gotten married something to make one say Hmmmm.