Jerry Nadeau

His parents were Gerald Joseph, a roofer, and veteran in the United States Army during the Vietnam War (1944–2007) and Pauline Cyr Nadeau.

Nadeau's ancestors originate from St. John's Valley, Maine.

He has one sister, Debbie.

Nadeau was educated at Henry Abbott Technical High School and studied automotive technology.

His family had connections to auto racing; Gerald raced modifieds at the Danbury Race Arena.

Nadeau was given a go-kart by his father when he was four and one-half years old.

He also worked with his father in the construction industry to support his career.

Speaking about his father's role in his career, Nadeau said, "I learned a lot from my dad, Gerry, while I was growing up. He wasn't afraid to yell and get on my toes to do my job because he hated to lose and I hated to lose. He made me the hungriest guy on the race track."

At age seven, he came in first in the eight- to twelve-year-old karting championship held in Bethany, Connecticut.

Jerry Anthony Nadeau (born September 9, 1970) is an American former stock car racer.

He competed in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series.

He started racing go-karts before moving up to car racing, driving in the 12 Hours of Sebring, the European Formula Ford Festival, and the Barber Dodge Pro Series.

Nadeau arrived in NASCAR, the highest and most expensive level of stock car racing in the United States, with a limited budget.

Nadeau was born on September 9, 1970, and grew up in Danbury, Connecticut.

In 1988, aged eighteen, Nadeau won his first World Karting Association (WKA) Gold Cup championship.

Motorsports Talent Scout, Dicken Wear, had seen Jerry race for a number of years in Karting and asked if he would like to drive his SCCA SS/C Toyota Celica at an EMRA open track event at Lime Rock Park.

Jerry caught the eye of Skip Barber and a few other driving instructors that day.

Afterward, he was introduced to Bruce MacInnes and fellow graduates Walter Bladstrom, Tom Cotter, Bill Fisher, Bob Kullas, Frank Martinelli, and Art Regan who gave Nadeau financial support.

He defended his karting title for the next two years.

In 1991, he took the WKA Grand National Championship.

In the same year, Nadeau moved into car racing, driving in the Skip Barber Eastern Series.

He took eight victories and became the Rookie of the Year.

At the end of 1991, Nadeau won the $100,000 Barber Pro Series shoot-out, allowing him to race in the Barber Dodge Pro Series.

Nadeau drove alongside sports car driver Gene Felton for the Jill Prewitt team which entered the 1992 12 Hours of Sebring, but retired after forty-eight laps because of a differential problem.

He also took part in karting events in St. Petersburg, Russia, competing on an ice track, winning two out of eight races.

Nadeau later stated the experience helped him to develop the skill of not using his car's brakes on slippery surfaces.

In 1993, he raced in the Barber Pro Series, where he finished with one win and took fifth in the points standings.

Nadeau also drove in the European Formula Ford Festival winning the qualifying race and coming second in the semi-finals behind Formula Ford champion Peter Duke.

Nadeau secured fourth in the final heat.

He also took five, top-four finishes in the Firestone Firehawk Series.

Nadeau improved in the Barber Pro Series in 1994 by finishing fifth in the championship with two victories.

In 1995, he took two victories but fell to thirteenth overall in the standings.

Nadeau entered eight NASCAR Busch Grand National Series races for T&G Racing in 1995.

At that time, the Busch Grand National Series was considered NASCAR's feeder circuit, a proving ground for drivers who wished to step up to the organization's premiere circuit, the Winston Cup.

He started racing part-time in NASCAR and finished sixth in the 1996 Formula Opel Euro Series.

He started full-time racing in 1998 and came third in that year's NASCAR Rookie of the Year award standings.

After Nadeau took his first Top Ten finish at Talladega Superspeedway in 1999, he won his first NASCAR sanctioned race in the Winston West Series at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

He earned his first Winston Cup victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway the following year.

Nadeau achieved his top NASCAR season in 2001 when he finished 17th in points, but his racing career ended in 2003 after he suffered serious injuries in a practice crash.

He attempted a comeback before moving on to mentor drivers.