NSCS: Gordon makes decision to end full-time competition past 2015, says right decision for him

Rick and I have talked about for a number of years.  You’re always trying to, when you get to this point in your career and you’ve done as much as we’ve done as a team, trying to figure out when that right time to step away is.  I always said I wanted to step away on my own terms if possible, and I want to be competitive out there, and I hoped that I could do that all the way through my final year.

On Thursday, January 22nd, it was announced that era in NASCAR was officially closing as Jeff Gordon will retire from full-time Sprint Cup Series competition following the completion of the 2015 season. The four-time Sprint Cup Series Champion will give it one more shot at the title this coming season, before calling it quits for full-time competition.

Speaking with the media on Thursday following the announcement, Gordon believes that he has made the decision at the right time, having made his mind up midway through the 2014 race season.

“Rick kept talking me into going longer and longer and longer.  And I kept saying no, I think this is the year.  I think this is the year,” Gordon commented. “Finally about halfway through last year I said, no.  This is it, Boss, and we agreed and the timing was good for me, good for Hendrick and other opportunities that are out in front of us.

“Looking forward to spending more time with my family, but most of all looking forward to just that next chapter of my life working with Hendrick Motorsports and other partners.”

Going through some back spasms a couple years ago brought up the dreaded retirement word, but Gordon kept putting it off, saying that he was ready to keep racing. However, now looking back, he feels that the back pains helped confirm the decision more for him.

“Even the great stretch and the run that we had and how good we were last year confirmed things even more for me,” he added. “I was like, you know what?  This is all I could ask for is to be at this point in my career, 20-plus years into my career and be that competitive week-in and week-out, I was almost ready to walk away right then.  But I wanted to give one more year to my team, to Rick, to the sponsors, to the fans, my family and myself.  It just seemed like the timing was right to do those things and start that next chapter.”

However, with the announcement, Gordon has steered clear of the ‘r word’ – retirement – because, that’s not what his announcement is about. He sees retirement as going “off to a beach somewhere and sit in a rocking chair on the front porch and drink your coffee and pet your dog”, and that’s what he intends to do. But rather, he is set to get down and do some work in other areas of the sport, some of it not behind the wheel, and some of it possibly behind the wheel.

“I want to leave myself open, as well, to be able to get in a car,” he expressed. “It doesn’t have to be a Cup car.  It could be an [XFINITY] car.  It could be a truck.  It could be a prototype for Le Mans or the Rolex.  It might not be any of those things.  Heck, I was just out in the desert driving buggies and I maybe want to do the Baja 1000.  I don’t plan on doing any racing, but I know I’m not going to be retiring because I have a lot on my plate already that we have plans for, and we’ll be talking about in the future.  And I’m excited about that.  I really am.”

Heading into the year, the goal is simple – go after that fifth championship, but more importantly, have fun and enjoy himself more than he normally does.

“Normally I just take it so darn seriously that sometimes no matter how we run, good or bad, I don’t always enjoy it to the fullest. I want to enjoy this season to the fullest,” he commented. “I want my family around me, being a part of it, enjoying it.  Yeah, I’m looking forward to going to the track and smiling, lots of reminiscing, and enjoying the people and friendships that I’ve made over the years as well as getting the most out of that race car with my team.  I hope all of those things can come together.

“One of the things that we are planning on doing and one of my big focuses with Alan on this decision was I want my focus to be on driving that race car to the best of my ability, and I don’t think that you can do that and try to have this retirement or sign off type of festivities every weekend.”

Gordon added that the festivities can be saved for 2016 as he will be at the track doing things with the fans, then.

Beginning his career in 1993, Gordon went out and had a solid season, taking home rookie of the year and his first win at the Coca Cola 600. The years that followed, though, would kick start a career filled with beauty. 92 victories and 77 pole positions certainly are the highlight, but there’s also three Daytona 500s and five Brickyard 400 wins mixed in there.

Being the first of the “young drivers” to come and clash with the good ‘ole boys, he inspired many drivers to get their start in racing. He inspired a slew of drivers from the west coast that they could make it, while also bringing forth the technique of how to market yourself to the sponsors with a good image. Reflecting back on his career, Gordon recognized the 90s of being one of the crucial eras for NASCAR in the expansion of television coverage and bringing NASCAR from just a southern activity to a natural sport.

“I know it seemed like just a lot of things were coming together at one time through those mid to late 90’s,” he said. “o it was fun to be a part of that and an incredible growth.  Just going to the racetrack and every weekend the grandstands were filled.  They were putting new grandstands in, and they’d fill those.  They’d put more grandstands in and they’d fill those.  So it was very, very cool.”

The other big NASCAR moment of his career – the introduction of the Chase for the Sprint Cup, and changing how to race for a championship. Gordon recalled hearing about it for the first time, and saying that it wasn’t a good idea. Though now with the Chase being 11 years in, and a year under the elimination format, the perspective has changed as Gordon loves it.

“I think it’s great. It’s great for the fans.  It’s great for the sport.  It really brings a lot of excitement,” he commented. “It really bums me out I haven’t won one under this format.  We’ve been close, but haven’t won it, and I’m using that as motivation in this final season to run for the championship and to go out there and get it done.  I thought we had a chance to do it last year, and, boy, I would have loved to get into that same position that we were in this past year and do that again this year with running for the championship at Homestead.”

Looking back over his own career, Gordon says the biggest thing that he wants to leave with his legacy – the passion that he shared for the sport.

“I just love driving race cars,” he expressed. “Ever since I was a kid, that’s what I wanted to do was be a race car driver.  I hoped that it would get to this level, but I didn’t know that was going to happen.  I think, if anything, it’s about seeing a kid’s dream come true in real life in front of thousands if not millions of people.”

For some, they say it’s the end of era and that it leaves a void due to how much he has impacted the sport. Though for the champion, he feels that the growth of the sport will only continue.

“I’m very appreciative and thankful of sometimes others looking at it that way or the things that I’ve done that have helped contribute to the sport’s growth,” Gordon commented. “I look forward to the future growth of the sport.  I mean, I feel like my experience behind the wheel, my experience of being partners with Rick and learning from him that that’s going to help me continue to add to the sport in any way that I can.

“But there are a lot of talented drivers out there that really have the ability to keep the sport growing and transcending.  A lot of young drivers out there that are coming up as well that I think are extremely exciting for the fans in the sport.”