Finish Line For Jeff Gordon Divorce

JUNE 12--The acrimonious legal fight between NASCAR star Jeff Gordon and his wife Brooke ended today, with the couple filing the below divorce judgment in the Palm Beach courthouse where so much of their dirty laundry has been aired over the past 15 months. According to Circuit Court Judge Peter Blanc, the Gordons--in a bid to avoid further publicity--did not file the settlement agreement detailing how they divvied up a marital estate that was estimated to be worth in excess of $50 million. In March 2002, Brooke filed for divorce, claiming that the marriage was "irretrievably broken" because of Jeff's "marital misconduct." During the course of the contentious case, Brooke's lawyers intimated that they had gathered confidential surveillance material that could be used at trial, and Jeff claimed that he was entitled to a greater share of the couple's loot because he earned most of it via his "hazardous, life-threatening occupation." Brooke countered his argument by claiming that driving a race car at nearly 200 mph was not that dangerous--compared to professional fishing, for example. (4 pages)