Father of driver Robby Gordon, his wife found dead in California home
(Corrections & clarifications: An earlier version of this story misidentified the female found dead at the home of Robby Gordon’s father.)
The father of racecar driver Robby Gordon and his wife were found dead at their Southern California home Wednesday, according to the Orange County coroner.
What led to the deaths of Bob Gordon, 68, and Sharon Gordon, 57 ”had not been ruled one way or another,” Orange County Supervising Deputy Coroner Kelly Keyes told USA TODAY Sports. Keyes said autopsies were scheduled to be conducted Thursday.
“I’m so sad and I can’t believe it,” Gordon told reporters at the home where the bodies were found.
Police in Orange, Calif, received a 911 call from a neighbor at 5 p.m. on Wednesday that reported there were two bodies inside the Gordons' residence, Orange police Lt. Fred Lopez said in a statement sent to USA TODAY Sports. Officers located a rifle inside the home, Lopez said.
"There is no cause of death at this time," Lopez said.
Neighbor Jill Dombroske said the Gordons were longtime residents of the quiet neighborhood where large homes sit on expansive hillside properties and many people own horses. Residents were out Thursday morning walking and riding horses on dirt trails that run along the winding hillside roads.
“I feel very sad,” she said. “Everyone here will be very sad.”
Robby Gordon, 47, is a former NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver and owner.
He won three Sprint Cup races in a career that spanned parts of 19 seasons. Known as one of the most versatile and aggressive drivers in the sport, Gordon is an accomplished off-road racer and started the Indy 500 10 times. He nearly won the 1999 Indy 500 before running out of fuel in the closing laps.
Gordon is one of only four drivers, joining John Andretti, Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch, to compete in the Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 on the same day.
NASCAR drivers Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. were among the fellow drivers who expressed sympathy on Twitter.
Jimmie Johnson (@JimmieJohnson) | Twitter
Gordon is currently a driver-owner in the Stadium Super Trucks series. He said an event featuring his off-road racing team scheduled for this weekend in Orange County will go on as planned.
One of Bob Gordon's daughters, Beccy Hunter-Reay, is married to Verizon IndyCar Series driver Ryan Hunter-Reay.
Robby Gordon said his father, an accomplished road racer known as Baja Bob, instilled in him a passion for motorsports and competition.
“He taught me at a young age that 1 horsepower wasn’t going to be enough,” Gordon said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.