Will fatherhood change Jeff Gordon?

The year 2007 will be remembered as a season of change in the Nextel Cup Series, with the emergence of the Car of Tomorrow, foreign automobile manufacturer Toyota and former Formula One standout Juan Pablo Montoya.

However, perhaps no other driver will experience as drastic a change as Jeff Gordon, whose wife, Ingrid Vandebosch, is scheduled to give birth to a baby girl in late June or early July.

About to become a father for the first time, Jeff Gordon is anticipating a very hectic period.

"There will be adjustments that will have to be made with scheduling and things like that," Jeff Gordon said. "Obviously, coming up June and July, I'm keeping my schedule fairly open so I can be prepared for the month after that to spend as much time as I can with Ingrid and the baby.

"As far as what I'm going to do on the racetrack and being competitive, once I put that helmet on and I flip that switch, there is really nothing that's on my mind that is going to change my competitiveness."

That remains open for debate.

Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon's teammate, does not expect the driver's personal life to impact his performance on the track.

"He doesn't seem any different," Johnson said. "I know he's married and he's going to become a father, but [I don't see] him any different as a driver.

"Maybe we're not used to seeing the finishes we've seen out of Jeff in the past few seasons or so, but as a teammate and a friend he's always been the same with that competitive spirit and that desire to win."

It would be easy to think that Jeff Gordon has experienced it all since becoming a full-time driver in the Nextel Cup Series in 1993.

He has driven to four championships and 78 victories, passing the legendary Dale Earnhardt on the career wins list in the process, and is currently leading the Nextel Cup points standings.

However, Jeff Gordon will gain a different perspective seat once his baby girl arrives. The 35-year-old is ecstatic about his upcoming special delivery. He even jokes about the timing of it all -- he and Vandebosch were married in a small, private ceremony in Mexico on Nov. 7, 2006. He is even ready to change diapers.

"Of course, I will [change diapers]. I'm going to be an involved parent, for sure," Jeff Gordon said. "It might not be like that if I were 21 or 22, but I'm 35 and I'm extremely excited and it's something that we've actually planned.

"It didn't take as long as what we thought [laughs]. When the wedding day came, so did that [laughs]. But it's something I can't wait for, and something I've wanted for a long time."

Jeff Gordon won the rain-delayed Dodge Avenger 500 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway on Mother's Day, the last race his wife was allowed to travel to before awaiting the birth.

"It was fantastic to think that here in about six or seven weeks she's going to be a mother, and anybody that's had a child can tell you that you feel like a mother at this stage in the game and she's got a lot of emotions going on right now," Jeff Gordon said after the Darlington win.

Jeff Burton, who has two children, cautions that Jeff Gordon's life is about to change in more ways than he might expect.

Now when he climbs into his No. 24 Chevrolet, he will carry thoughts of his little girl. It is not always an easy thing for a father to do.

"There is a race car driver, and then there is the person," Jeff Burton said. "Those two are genuinely different people. If Jeff Gordon conducts himself in public the way he does in his race car, he wouldn't be very successful.

"You have to be arrogant and selfish and self-centered and self-serving [in a race car]. You have to be everything your mother taught you not to do, but you can't live your life like that."

Rick Hendrick, Jeff Gordon's car owner since he entered the Cup Series, thinks the baby has motivated his driver.

"I feel like his personal life right now is really focused," Hendrick said. "He's got a baby on the way. When people say, 'Is that going to slow him down?,' I think he's got everything together, just like he's always wanted it.

"He's determined here in this championship run. He's points racing and wants to win races, too. I think he's going to be a tough guy to beat this year."

There is another special day Jeff Gordon has circled on his calendar -- June 17, Father's Day.

The Nextel Cup circuit will be racing at Michigan that afternoon, and if he winds up in victory lane the fans might see a new level of celebration -- one that will be topped a couple of weeks later when his wife gives birth to his daughter.

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