Jeff Gordon sets NASCAR record with 789th straight start

LOUDON, N.H. -- Jeff Gordon has set a NASCAR record with his 789th consecutive start.

Gordon was behind the wheel of the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports and became the sport's iron man Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The 44-year-old Gordon passed Ricky Rudd for the record. Rudd set the mark in 2002 when he broke Terry Labonte's streak of 655 consecutive races.

The four-time Cup champion will retire at the end of the season and shift into the Fox broadcast booth in 2016.

His streak began with his Cup debut on Nov. 15, 1992, at Atlanta Motor Speedway. He has never missed a race and holds the record for the longest consecutive starts streak from the beginning of a career.

Should Gordon make every start the rest of the season, he'll have 797 consecutive starts.