Tag: Jeff Gordon

Gordon swept up in surreal day at Martinsville

The surreal fashion that Sunday’s race at Martinsville Speedway was unfolding for Hendrick Motorsports got to Jeff Gordon. There were many emotions layered onto the NASCAR Cup series race as Hendrick Motorsports celebrated its 40th anniversary. …

The surreal fashion that Sunday’s race at Martinsville Speedway was unfolding for Hendrick Motorsports got to Jeff Gordon.

There were many emotions layered onto the NASCAR Cup series race as Hendrick Motorsports celebrated its 40th anniversary. William Byron being the victor was an accomplishment only made better by Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott, making it a 1-2-3 sweep.

“I felt like I was in the car there about 50, 60 laps to go because it reminded me of when you’re leading and you feel like you’re going to do something really, really special,” Gordon said. “You start thinking about the moment, what it means. You start getting choked up a little bit. I was like, ‘Stop, stop, stop, can’t think that. We got to a long way to go here.’ Usually, it’s not that easy and it wasn’t.

“I don’t even know where to begin, honestly. There are so many things that are special. … You just cannot plan it any better, script it any better.”

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Before the race started, it was already a Hendrick Motorsports weekend. The facility was taken over by the legendary organization, which only exists today because Geoff Bodine was victorious at Martinsville Speedway in April 1984.

All four drivers had a ruby red paint scheme. The tunnel leading to the infield featured pictures of previous Hendrick Motorsports wins. Bodine and Gordon were co-grand marshals, and Rick Hendrick was scheduled to be the pace car driver, but slow-healing knee replacement surgery kept him home. There were also different cars on display throughout the property, and most notable were the 1,500 people wearing ruby red shirts high above Turn 2. Byron made sure to celebrate in front of them after winning.

William Byron celebrates after his victory at Martinsville Speedway. Motorsport Images

“That’s the last number I heard,” Gordon said of how many people were in attendance for the company. “That’s employees (and) families. The coolest thing about this whole thing is, one, Rick agreed to do it. Clay (Campbell, track president) opened it up to be able to do. Also, it wasn’t just, ‘Hey, come for free.’ It was, ‘Bring a family member, and if you want more tickets, we’ve got a really good discounted rate on more tickets.’ They bought more.

“We expected, I don’t know, maybe 500 people. You just don’t know until you put that invite out to the group and they start RSVPing. One day, it was 400. The next day, it was 700. The next day, it was 900. Every day, we were like, ‘Well, we’re going to have 700. Oh, really, 900?’ To see our folks rally behind this milestone and this moment, this day, get on buses early this morning and come up here. Listen, the music was going. They were partying up there pretty early. They had a good time.

“To be able to cap that off with the victory, what this is going to do for our company is incredible. To be able to have them that engaged with a day like today, our history, but also making history at the same time.”

Gordon won four championships and 93 races driving for Hendrick Motorsports, including nine at Martinsville Speedway. But what accompanied those accomplishments was much different from what Gordon felt Sunday when sitting atop a pit box watching but feeling like he was in the car.

“It’s not even the driving part, it’s the emotion part,” Gordon said. “It’s what does it mean to you working with your team, what the moment means. Like this accomplishment. There’s not a person in our organization who didn’t realize winning today how much that was going to mean to Rick Hendrick, Linda Hendrick, to Hendrick Motorsports. Gosh, you look at William, he’s been stepping it up at the big milestone wins for this company.

“I didn’t know if I was going to like being in this role, working as much as I am. These guys work hard. I don’t work that hard. But from being a driver to basically a desk job and being in the office every day that’s not where I envisioned my life going. But days like today and weeks like this, years like what we’re already off to, celebrating, makes it beyond what I could ever imagine and dream of.

“I’m in the ultimate position. These guys make us all look good, so it’s cool. Fun to be in that role right now.”

Jeff Gordon talks about the No. 24 car returning to victory lane at Daytona 500

Jeff Gordon talks about the No. 24 car returning to victory lane at the 2024 Daytona 500. Find out what Gordon had to say about the victory!

[autotag]Jeff Gordon[/autotag] won the Daytona 500 three times in 1997, 1999, and 2005. Almost 19 years to the day of Gordon’s last Daytona 500 victory, he witnessed his famous No. 24 car return to glory. William Byron won the 2024 Daytona 500 after barely beating Alex Bowman before the caution flew on the final lap. It is Byron’s first win in the Great American Race.

Following Byron’s victory, Gordon, crew chief Rudy Fugle, and team owner Rick Hendrick sat down for a press conference in Daytona. Gordon was asked if the No. 24 car made the victory more special for him, and he gave an honest answer.

“I try not to be biased, but [William Byron] is making it hard on me,” Gordon said. “It is 2024, and the No. 24 car is always going to be very, very special to me. But what I loved the most is seeing him make it his number and building that fan base not only — 24 fans have been around for a long time, but his own fans.”

“A win like this, my gosh, this is going to elevate that up to the next level and bring a whole lot more new fans to the sport and for William. That’s what I get excited and look forward to.”

Gordon may not be driving the No. 24 car anymore, but it’s easy to tell how special that moment was for him. Byron is driving his famous number and turning into a NASCAR superstar. The NASCAR world spent 23 years witnessing Gordon’s greatness in the No. 24 car. Now, it’s Byron’s turn to strike fear into his competitors following the Daytona 500.

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Jeff Gordon tells Dale Earnhardt Jr. why he’s a bit surprised Jimmie Johnson is still racing in NASCAR

When so many of Jimmie Johnson’s contemporaries have left NASCAR racing for good, the 48-year-old driver still going.

Seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson was just inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame last month. He’s 48 years old and retired from full-time NASCAR racing after the 2020 season, then trying out other styles of racing, including the Indianapolis 500.

He obviously has nothing to prove. But Sunday, he’ll start 23rd in the 2024 Daytona 500 — a race Johnson won in 2006 and 2013.

Johnson competed in last year’s Daytona 500, along with two other Cup Series races, and he has a nine-race schedule planned with the team he co-owns, Legacy Motor Club, behind the wheel of the No. 84 Toyota.

But when so many of his contemporaries have left the cockpit for good, Johnson’s still going. And his former Hendrick Motorsports teammates, Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr., are a little surprised Johnson is still racing.

But not entirely.

Recently, Gordon — currently the vice chairman of Hendrick Motorsports — was a guest on the Dale Jr. Download podcast, and he explained to Earnhardt about Johnson:

“I am surprised he’s driving, I’ll be honest. You know, like, again, I admire what he did in IndyCar. I’m like, ‘Man, phew!’ I went and did one sports-car race and got my butt kicked. And it was the hardest I’ve ever had to work in a race car in a long time. And it made me think a lot about Jimmie and that commitment that he made to go run IndyCar. Whether you could say it was successful or not successful, just taking that step and committing to it is what I admired so much about it.

“It just goes to show you, I think, his mindset, his talent, his ability. So on one hand, I’m surprised he’s gonna run in the Cup Series, especially with the Next Gen car right and how different this car is. But at the same time, I’m not because I’ve seen him take on big challenges throughout his whole life.”

Johnson weighed in on this recently as well. He told Fox Sports’ Bob Pockrass that the nine races he has planned for 2024 are because he truly wants to race in them and running this schedule still allows him to balance his family life and business ventures, along with more racing.

More from Johnson, via Fox Sports:

“I know my friends that have all retired are like, “Why in the world would you want to go back to a plate race?” But this is Daytona. I just can’t see not racing in this race. I’ve always been after the marquee events. Sure, this is a plate race. But, man, having a shot to win another Daytona 500 is really something I want to experience.”

For Sunday’s Daytona 500, Johnson had to race his way into the 40-car field on Thursday at Daytona International Speedway, and he made it but just barely.

And this is exactly where he wants to be, telling Fox Sports:

“I am in race cars now because it’s truly what I love to do and want to do. … The desire to win, the desire to increase the win total number, to experience the thrill of victory — that’s always there. And that’s a given. So, one, I’m just going to continue to chase that. I love that aspect of it. But what will make me stop? There isn’t some number I’m trying to achieve and say, ‘OK now that’s enough.’ It’s probably going to be when my wife grabs him by the ear and says, ‘Look, you don’t need to be out there anymore. If you’ve been doing this long enough.'”

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Kyle Larson gets to live out Jeff Gordon’s dream by attempting the 2024 Indy 500

In 2024, Kyle Larson will attempt the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day, aiming to race 1,100 miles.

Kyle Larson is getting a chance that some NASCAR drivers, and racers worldwide, only fantasize about — a chance to run the Indianapolis 500, one of the biggest and most prestigious races in the world.

The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champ, one of the most versatile racers in the U.S., will attempt to qualify for the 2024 Indy 500, thanks to a two-year partnership between Hendrick Motorsports, his current NASCAR team, and Arrow McLaren in the IndyCar Series.

“It’s been something that I’ve wanted to do for a very long time,” Larson said Thursday at a press conference at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which is preparing for the 107th running of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” on May 28.

“I wanted to be patient and kind of wait for the timing to feel right. It feels right. Having Hendrick Motorsports be extremely supportive of it, supporting the efforts with Arrow McLaren, it’s something that I’m extremely excited about.”

Not only is Hendrick Motorsports on board with Larson’s Indy 500 plans — which were announced in January — but some in the organization also may be a little envious. Particularly four-time NASCAR champ Jeff Gordon, who, in 2022, became the organization’s vice chairman and the team’s No. 2 behind Rick Hendrick.

Larson — who has two wins in the No. 5 Chevrolet through the first half of the 2023 NASCAR regular season — continued at his press conference:

“Jeff kind of told me that I get to live out a dream of his. That’s really special also to me.

“I’ve obviously come here a lot in a stock car. I lived in the area for a couple years. So this place for a long time felt like home or a second home to me.

“In my opinion, this is the biggest race in the world, so you want to be a part of the big ones. Hopefully someday be a winner of a big event. Look forward to it. Happy to be here today. Look forward to kind of taking in as much knowledge as I possibly can in a single day, just trying to better prepare myself for whenever I get behind the wheel.”

Gordon described racing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway as “every race car driver’s dream,” and he’s lived that dream as NASCAR’s winningest driver at the iconic 2.5-mile track with five checkered flags. But as his NASCAR career took off, the Indy 500 never became a reality.

The NASCAR Hall of Famer added:

“Like Kyle said, it’s true, I did say to him he’s going to be able to live out a dream of mine. I go back to the mid to late ’80s when I was living here in Indiana, raced all around here. …

“I don’t know if really the right opportunity or it ever became serious enough after that to become a reality. So to me, this is equally as exciting because, one, I sure as heck right now don’t want to drive into Turn 1 at 238 miles [an hour] — whatever they’re running — but Kyle does. Kyle is capable of it.”

NASCAR Cup Series driver Jeff Gordon during practice for the 2015 Crown Royal 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. (Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports)

For the 2023 Indy 500, McLaren is fielding four cars with the team’s regular drivers Alexander Rossi, Pato O’Ward and Felix Rosenqvist, along with Tony Kanaan. Next year, thanks to the partnership orchestrated by Gordon, Larson would be the team’s fourth or possibly fifth car, as the Associated Press noted.

The Indy 500 is a grueling physical challenge in itself. But with Larson still running full-time in NASCAR, his 2024 Memorial Day Weekend will be doubly difficult.

He’ll attempt the “Memorial Day Double” by racing in the Indy 500 early in the afternoon before heading down to Charlotte Motor Speedway for NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600, held annually on the same day. Should Larson complete both events, he’ll end up racing for 1,100 miles.

Only four drivers have ever competed in the “Memorial Day Double,” and Tony Stewart in 2001 is the lone one to finish both events. Kurt Busch is the most recent NASCAR driver to attempt it in 2014, finishing sixth in the Indy 500 before engine problems kept him from finishing the Coke 600.

Larson said it’s humbling for him to be one of the few to attempt “The Double,” but, of course, he’s looking forward to the daunting task.

“It will be crazy,” he said.

“There’s going to be a lot to soak in over the next year, and I look forward to the challenge. I love racing new vehicles to challenge myself and learn something new. I feel like ultimately it makes me a better race car driver.”

Every NASCAR Cup Series playoff champion through the years

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Gordon says Hendrick fully supportive of Larson’s Indy run

Jeff Gordon says that Hendrick Motorsport had no hesitation in clearing Kyle Larson to compete in next year’s Indianapolis 500, despite two of the team’s other NASCAR Cup Series stars having been sidelined this year with injuries sustained during …

Jeff Gordon says that Hendrick Motorsport had no hesitation in clearing Kyle Larson to compete in next year’s Indianapolis 500, despite two of the team’s other NASCAR Cup Series stars having been sidelined this year with injuries sustained during extracurricular activities.

Chase Elliott sat out six races while recovering from a broken leg sustained in a snowboarding accident, while Alex Bowman is continuing to work towards returning from a sprint car crash that left him with a fractured vertebra. Larson regularly races in sprint car events in between his Cup commitments; however, he’ll face a different level of risk when he suits up for Arrow McLaren at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway next year. But according to Hendrick vice-chairman Gordon — himself no stranger to the Speedway as a five-time Brickyard 400 winner — the benefits of granting driver freedom outside of their Cup duties outweigh any potential downsides.

“Our approach is that we want to support these guys in things that they want to take on,” Gordon (pictured above, with Larson) said. “I mean, with Kyle, we’ve had this conversation a lot. He feels like that type of racing actually helps him get prepared and be sharp on Sunday in the Cup car. We’ve actually seen the results of that.

“They have to make good, smart decisions, be in good equipment, not take too much risk when they’re involved in that, whether it’s racing or other things.

“I can tell you I did a lot of extracurricular activities, even if it wasn’t in other race cars, throughout my entire career, and see the benefits of it. We’re going to support our guys to do the same. We’re going to encourage them to really weigh out the risk versus the reward and make sure they’re in the best equipment with the best team and the best opportunity to go out there and make the experience a good one. That’s the way we look at this.”

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Gordon’s own career path never led him onto the Indy 500 starting grid, and he admits that he’ll be living vicariously through Larson the flag drops next Memorial Day weekend.

“I did say to him he’s going to be able to live out a dream of mine,” said the four-time Cup Series champion. “I go back to the mid to late ’80s when I was living here in Indiana; raced all around here. Every race car driver’s dream, if you race around Indianapolis, is to get here, to compete at this facility.

“I watched guys like Rich Vogler, a few other competitors I raced with, come over here and do that. Certainly it was on my radar. But NASCAR came calling. Once that happened, I kind of shifted my focus to that. I don’t know if really the right opportunity (arose) or it ever became serious enough after that to become a reality. So to me, this is equally as exciting because, one, I sure as heck right now don’t want to drive into turn one at 238 miles, whatever they’re running, but Kyle does. Kyle is capable of it.

“Super-excited. Excited for Kyle. When he has the equipment and the resources, the people surrounding him, he has the ability to go do extraordinary things. We’ve seen him do it in other cars. I have no doubt that he’ll be able to do that in the Indy 500 next year, as well.”

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Chase Elliott explains how Jeff Gordon can help Hendrick Motorsports in new No. 2 role

Chase Elliott broke down some of Jeff Gordon’s ‘biggest strengths’ for helping the powerhouse NASCAR team.

It’s a safe bet that few people know Hendrick Motorsports like Jeff Gordon does.

The NASCAR Hall of Famer raced full-time for the Cup Series team from 1993 until he retired in 2015 — and even after, he still moonlighted for the team part time — winning four championships and 93 races. He also became an equity owner of the team in 1999.

Staring in 2022, Gordon officially will take on a much larger role with Hendrick Motorsports, stepping out of FOX Sports’ broadcast booth to become the organization’s vice chairman and making him the team’s No. 2 man behind Rick Hendrick.

This season, Hendrick Motorsports is on a tear with a series-high of nine wins in the first 19 races, and it’s now the winningest team in NASCAR Cup Series history.

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Despite the team’s current success, defending Cup champ Chase Elliott — who took over the No. 24 car when Gordon retired before switching to the No. 9 car in 2018 — explained what he believes Gordon will add to the powerhouse team in his new role.

Via NASCAR.com:

“He has a good feel and a good mindset for all the things that it takes to make racing and make a race team work,” said Elliott. … “He has fought the battles on the driver’s side, on and off the race track, and he has a good understanding of the business aspect of it, the NASCAR aspect of it and just how all these puzzle pieces that come together to make it work.”

Above all else, however, is one thing. Gordon is already a big part of what keeps the Hendrick machine humming. And happy.

“I would say one of his biggest strengths is understanding all the different areas of how it works and how to make everybody as happy as they can (be),” Elliott said. “I feel like he has a really good understanding of how to do that.”

Gordon is in position to lead the organization some day, and his No. 2 position is far from surprising when you remember now-71-year-old Hendrick told Autoweek in 2018: “Whenever I finally step away, it’ll be Jeff Gordon in my place.”

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Jeff Gordon is leaving FOX Sports to be a top exec at Hendrick Motorsports, and fans have mixed feelings

“Being part of the competition is where I’m happiest,” Jeff Gordon said.

Jeff Gordon and FOX Sports’ NASCAR broadcast team just concluded the first half of the Cup Series season — NBC Sports took over last weekend for the remainder of the season — but Gordon won’t be back in the booth in 2022.

After six seasons in the broadcast booth with FOX, the four-time NASCAR champion and Hall of Famers is leaving TV to be the vice chairman of Hendrick Motorsports, putting him second in line to team chairman and majority owner Rick Hendrick. The news was first reported by The Athletic before the team announced it Wednesday.

Gordon’s move is far from surprising, especially after Hendrick told Autoweek in 2018: “Whenever I finally step away, it’ll be Jeff Gordon in my place.”

Plus, there have been rumors lately about Gordon’s role at Hendrick expanding.

Gordon has been an equity owner of Hendrick Motorsports since 1999 and won all four of his championships and 93 races while racing for the team. And now he’s taking on a larger role specifically related to competition and marketing.

More via the HMS release:

“I cannot put into words what Hendrick Motorsports means to me,” Gordon said. “In many ways, it’s my home and the people here are my family. I’ve never lost my passion for the organization, for our sport, and for the sheer challenge of racing and winning at the highest level. Being part of the competition is where I’m happiest and feel I can make the biggest contribution to the continued, long-term success of the team.”

Understandably, fans had a lot of mixed reactions to the news Wednesday, including jokes. Those loyal to Hendrick Motorsports seem pretty pumped to see what kind of additional influence Gordon could have on the team — which has been the team to beat so far this season.

While some are excited, they’re also pretty bummed Gordon won’t be part of FOX Sports’ broadcasts. And according to FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass, Gordon’s replacement in the booth has yet to be determined, but fans had suggestions for that too.

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. beats Jeff Gordon in paint scheme contest for Alex Bowman’s Nashville ride

It was Dale Jr. vs. Jeff Gordon in a blind fan vote for the best paint scheme design, and Earnhardt won.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon faced off with dueling paint schemes as their designs competed for Alex Bowman’s ride at Nashville Superspeedway on June 20, and Earnhardt came out on top.

The two retired Hendrick Motorsports drivers each designed a paint scheme for Bowman’s No. 48 Chevrolet, and since May, fans have been voting on social media for the best look.

However, it was a blind vote rather than a popularity contest, so fans had no idea if they were voting for Earnhardt’s or Gordon’s paint scheme.

With the Neon Lights scheme versus Music Row scheme, Dale Jr.’s Neon Lights design came out on top. And that’s what Bowman’s car for the Ally 400 at Nashville will look like.

Neon Lights (top) and Music Row (Courtesy of Ally Racing)

Both designs are clearly fabulous, but without knowing who designed it, fans liked Earnhardt’s more.

About the Neon Lights scheme, Dale Jr. previously said the “tough part” of coming up with a design was building on the designs Jimmie Johnson raced with in the No. 48 car before retiring from NASCAR at the end of the 2020 season and jumping to the IndyCar Series.

RELATED: We asked Jimmie Johnson’s IndyCar teammates to grade the rookie’s season so far

But Gordon’s Music Row paint scheme isn’t going to waste. Per Ally, Bowman will compete in an upcoming iRacing event with Gordon’s design on his car.

Here’s a closer look at Earnhardt’s winning design for Bowman’s car at Nashville:

(Courtesy of Ally Racing)
(Courtesy of Ally Racing)
(Courtesy of Ally Racing)

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See Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s, Jeff Gordon’s dueling paint schemes for Alex Bowman’s Nashville car

Fans can vote for Dale Jr.’s or Jeff Gordon’s paint scheme to be on the No. 48 car at Nashville Superspeedway.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon retired from full-time NASCAR racing in 2017 and 2015, respectively. But the two former Hendrick Motorsports drivers are back to competing against each other, this time in an internet contest.

And current HMS driver Alex Bowman will be the real winner no matter what.

Earnhardt and Gordon each designed their own paint scheme specifically for the No. 48 Chevrolet, which Bowman now pilots, taking over this season after another Hendrick legend, Jimmie Johnson, retired from NASCAR at the end of the 2020 season.

Fans can vote on Twitter for their favorite of the dueling paint schemes — Neon Lights versus Music Row — and Bowman will race with the winning look in the Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway on June 20. (Ally Racing is also the primary sponsor for the No. 48 car.)

(Courtesy of Ally Racing)

However, this is a blind vote, so fans won’t know if they’re voting for Earnhardt’s or Gordon’s design until the winner is ultimately revealed.

But the options are fabulous regardless.

“The tough part right out of the gate is trying to improve on something that’s already really good, and the Ally paint scheme that Jimmie ran in the past has always been really good,” Dale Jr. said in a video about the contest.

“I had to get out of my comfort zone a little bit and be a little more brave and aggressive. … There’s always pressure, especially going up against Jeff. It will sting a little bit to lose to Jeff because we’re competitive and we were teammates and we raced each other hard.”

The former teammates are also part of rival NASCAR broadcasts with Gordon in the booth for FOX Sports for the first half of the season, while Dale Jr. is in the booth with NBC Sports for the second half. And as Earnhardt noted, the Nashville race is NBC’s first of 2021,

So while Dale Jr. said he’d love to talk all afternoon about Bowman running his winning paint scheme, Gordon, obviously, is hoping for the opposite.

“I had these thoughts in my mind of what I thought would be cool,” Gordon said about his design in the video. “So I just want that thing to look like it’s doing 200 miles per hour sitting there. …

“And Dale Jr., I know he likes to bring it. Nothing would be sweeter for me than to be sitting on my couch watching that broadcast and seeing Dale Jr. have to talk about the car that I designed!”

Here’s a look at Earnhardt’s and Gordon’s competing paint schemes, and fans can cast an unlimited number of votes using the two hashtags. The winning design is expected to be revealed about a week prior to the race at Nashville Superspeedway, which is a new addition to the Cup Series schedule this year.

NASCAR drivers share their favorite Jimmie Johnson stories before his sendoff race

We asked NASCAR drivers to tell us their favorite Jimmie Johnson stories from over the years, and they didn’t disappoint.

After more than 20 years in NASCAR, Jimmie Johnson has made a lot of friends. And those friends were only too happy to share some of their best memories of the seven-time champion, who will retire from full-time racing after Sunday’s season finale at Phoenix Raceway. After that, he’s off to compete in the IndyCar Series for Chip Ganassi Racing.

Throughout the 2020 season, For The Win has been talking to drivers, active and retired, and asking them to tell their favorite Jimmie Johnson stories ahead of the seven-time champ’s NASCAR retirement. They opened up about memorable days and quintessential moments that quickly come to mind when they think of him and their friendships.

From Tony Stewart to Dale Earnhardt Jr. to Alex Bowman — Johnson’s teammate who will replace him in the No. 48 Chevrolet in 2021 — 15 drivers shared funny, ridiculous and touching stories from Johnson’s two decades in NASCAR.