PERSONAL PROFILE
	Spouse: Jada Hometown: Danbury, CT Birthdate: September 9, 1970

With a victory in the 2000 season finale at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Jerry Nadeau silenced critics and satisfied car owner Rick Hendrick. Some believed Hendrick had made a risky decision by putting Nadeau behind the wheel of his coveted No. 25 Chevrolet, but the driver proved he is still a contender.

The Danbury, Conn., native had driven for four different teams in his first three seasons in Winston Cup, and the beginning of the 2000 season confirmed those erratic tendencies. In the first 13 races, Nadeau scored eight finishes of 29th or lower, and he was mired in 30th in the standings.

Qualifying, however, has always been the brave pilot's strong points and that continued under the guidance of crew chief Tony Furr. Nadeau qualified for 20 of the 34 races in the first round, hoping his results would improve. In the second half of the season they did, and Nadeau, despite ending up with only three top-5 and five top-10 finishes, had made his mark. He ended up a career best 20th in the final point standings, being plagued by nine DNFs.

He returns to the solid No. 25 package in 2001 with new backing from UAW and Delphi Motorsports. The organization hopes he can consistently put up numbers to match his absolute flashes of brilliance in a career that only includes 103 Winston Cup starts.

Nadeau started on the path to professional racing when his father put him in a kart at age four. He went on to win 10 karting championships between 1984-90. Nadeau's introduction to professional racing came in the single-seat, open-wheel cars of the Skip Barber Eastern Formula Ford Series in 1991. Eight victories earned him rookie of the year honors and one of 10 spots in the inaugural Skip Barber Racing Big Scholarship Run-Off. He finished third and went on to claim the championship the next year.

During the next four years, Nadeau honed his racing skills in the Barber Pro Series, capturing five victories and the respect of Barber's racing instructors. In 1995, Nadeau decided he was ready to move into the ranks of NASCAR. He relocated to Charlotte, N.C., and competed in five Busch Series events.

After running only two Busch Series events in 1996, Nadeau returned to open-wheel competition in the Formula Opel European Union Series. He placed sixth in the overall standings, despite not attending four of the 17 events. He also led America's two-car contingent to the silver medal at Nations Cup VII at Donington Park in England later that year.

Nadeau ran five Winston Cup races for team owner Richard Jackson in 1997. His on-track performance, including two top-4 finishes in ARCA RE/MAX Series races caught the eye of many in the garage area.