Jeff Gordon’s full-time Sprint Cup Series career has come to an end.
Gordon finished sixth in the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway in his final drive for Hendrick Motorsports and the No. 24 Chevrolet. But amid all the fanfare and celebration around Gordon’s sure-to-be Hall of Fame career was the disappointment that his finish was not enough to give him the fifth championship he’s chased since 2001.
“We all know nothing would have been quite better than that and the win. But I’ve learned a lot in life, and there’s no such thing as a perfect day and a perfect life,” Gordon said. “I think had I won this race and this championship it would have been perfect, and I don’t think I could have accepted that. I wouldn’t have known how to.”
Although his driving career might be over, Gordon will still be a fixture in the sport as he moves to the broadcast booth. Beginning next year he’ll be a part of the FOX team, calling races in the first half of the Sprint Cup Series season. There’s little doubt Gordon will also continue to play a role at Hendrick, after forging a lifetime bond with team owner Rick Hendrick.
It was Hendrick who Gordon embraced upon exiting his car when he made his way back to pit road. Gordon then gifted him with the helmet he wore in the 400-mile event, which he had personally designed and featured pictures from throughout his career. A career made possible when Hendrick took the chance of a lifetime and signed him at 20 years old without a sponsor.
Gordon competed in 797 races after getting his start at Atlanta Motor Speedway in the fall of 1992. He won four Winston Cup Series championships. Gordon racked up 93 wins along the way with 325 top-fives, 475 top-10s and 81 poles. He led over 24,900 laps.
Sunday, Gordon helped that final tally by grabbing nine laps led early in the going. When he did so, Gordon found himself with hope that it was all going to end the way many believed it was scripted too. Instead, he admitted he just lacked a couple of things.
The day isn’t over for Gordon, however. Upon finishing with his final media obligations as a driver, he’ll head to party the season and his career away. With family, friends and his team, Gordon is not only going out on top but doing so when and how he wanted to.
“To me last year was a great year that I could have walked away from the sport, and I was like, yeah, I feel like I went out pretty much on top. So this year was disappointing in so many ways for a good portion of the season because I thought we had the ability to run like we did last year,” Gordon said. “I didn’t think that our competition would catch up as much as they did, as well as the rule changes with the power and aero would affect us as much as it did.”
The 2014 season looked to be Gordon’s year. Not only did he lead the point standings for a large majority of the season, the No. 24 was one of the fastest and most consistent, leading the series in top-10 finishes with 20. Plus, he was winning races, four to be exact. The only part that went wrong was Gordon failed to make it to the Championship 4.
This year, Gordon and crew chief Alan Gustafson struggled to get out of the gate with three finishes outside the top-18 in the first five weeks. Making the Chase went all the way to the wire in Richmond and as far as winning, that didn’t happen until Martinsville in October after dominant Joey Logano was taken out of the race. At that point, though, Gordon felt as if the team had turned a corner and were at least competitive.
“I’m extremely proud of my driving and our team effort over these last 10 races,” Gordon said. “I think that’s something that is going to stick with me for a very long time, and how I made the announcement and how we approached the season and how we finished it.”
When asked how he’d feel tomorrow and in the coming weeks with no more racing to look forward to, Gordon joked tomorrow he’d be sore. In reality, as he headed out into the Miami night he felt ready to bring his competitiveness to the TV booth.
And while he’s ready for the next chapter of his life, Jeff Gordon knows calling the sport’s biggest moments won’t be the same as creating them.
“On one hand I’m really looking forward (not having a race to look forward to) because I put so much into wanting to be the best and be competitive that I can be for my team every week that I’m kind of ready to take a shift in that,” Gordon said. “But when you watch a competitor go out there and pull off a great win or pull off a championship, there’s nothing like that feeling, and I’m going to miss being a part of something like that.”