08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
NASCAR legend and Bay Area rap pioneer reportedly linked by unexpected hobby
NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon and rap legend Mac Dre were in a Bay Area breakdance crew together as teenagers, according to local rapper Baby Bash.
The 'Suga Suga' rapper, whose real name is Ronald Ray Bryant, claims that he attended Springstown Junior High School with Gordon and Mac Dre, in Vallejo, where the three men grew up.
'Here they are in the Springstown Jr High Yearbook together,' he posted to Instagram on Tuesday, July 1, along with a black and white photo of a yearbook page that includes Gordon on the second row and the 'Feelin' Myself' rapper, whose real name was Andrew Louis Hicks, in the bottom right corner. 'Odd couple right?? Lol but its Real Facts!!'
Though there is not currently a Springstown Junior High in Vallejo, a Springstowne Middle School previously operated at 2833 Tennessee St. In 2011, the Vallejo City Unified School District restructured its schools, relocating Springstowne Middle School to the former Hogan High School campus at 850 Rosewood Ave. The school was subsequently renamed Hogan Middle School. The original Tennessee Street site is now occupied by Vallejo Charter School.
It is unclear if Springstowne Middle School is the same institution that Bryant was referring to on Instagram, but the timeline and location suggest a possible connection.
Bryant also noted in the comment section of his post that he was not in the photo because he was a grade above Hicks, who was a highly influential pioneer of the hyphy movement, and Gordon, who was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2019.
'I got stories for days,' he added.
Gordon retired from racing full-time in 2015, in part due to the physical toll the sport took on his body. Mac Dre died in 2004 after he was fatally shot by an unknown individual while traveling with his crew.
The Chronicle has reached out to Gordon and Baby Bash for comment.
Bryant first drew attention to Gordon and Mac Dre's unique connection in March 2024, sharing a composite image of the two men to Instagram overlaid with the text 'What do Mac Dre & Jeff Gordon have n common? (Besides both from Vallejo). They were both in a breakdancing group in the 8th grade called 'unique street dancers' facts.'
While Gordon has yet to officially confirm Bryant's claim, he did speak about his hip-hop past in a recently resurfaced 2016 conversation Oakland native Sway Calloway on Eminem's SiriusXM hip-hop station, Shade 45.
'At school with my friends, yo, I was breakdancing and listening to hip-hop,' Gordon said during the interview in promotion of his autobiography, 'Jeff Gordon: His Dream, Drive & Destiny.'
He also revealed that his breakdance name was Baby Smurf, noting that he even had a jacket with the name on it.
'I was like on the ground spinning … my back is old these days,' he said, pulling out a few moves with his arms while seated during the radio interview.
Since retiring, Gordon has served as vice chairman of Hendrick Motorsports, continuing to work within the world of racing. He briefly returned to race in 2016 as a substitute for Dale Earnhardt Jr., who was suffering concussion symptoms.
