Expressway named after Jeff Gordon

Here's an item that came into the inbox about Jeff Gordon:

In the history of Major League Baseball, there have been only seven players to hit 600 home runs and 28 who are members of the 3,000-hit club; two remarkable milestones in a professional career.

Then, by comparison, there are NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon’s 85-career victories, an extraordinary achievement that elevated him to third place all-time in Sprint Cup Series history after taking the checkered flag at Phoenix last September. On Friday, the North Carolina Department of Transportation dedicated a section of Interstate 85 to honor the four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion’s on-track achievement as well as his contributions in the community, including the Jeff Gordon Children’s Foundation.

State transportation and county officials joined NASCAR President Mike Helton and Hendrick Motorsports Team Owner Rick Hendrick to dedicate a 1.6-mile section of the expressway from the city of Charlotte corporate limits to the neighboring north Cabarrus County line as the Jeff Gordon Expressway.

"I'm going to have a big smile on my face because I travel on that road every week,” said Gordon, who was the first non-North Carolina native NASCAR driver to have a state road named in his honor.  “Every time I see that sign, I'm going to smile and be very proud of this moment. … Not every day you have an expressway named after you."

NASCAR Hall of Famers Richard Petty, Junior Johnson and Dale Earnhardt and the late great Benny Parsons each have state roads or highways dedicated in their names as North Carolina natives.

Petty has the most wins all-time with 200, followed by fellow Hall of Fame inductees David Pearson (105), Darrell Waltrip (84), Bobby Allison (84), Cale Yarborough (83) and Earnhardt (76).