Photos: Gordon through the years
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — He was whisked away as soon as the morning press conference had ended, one obligation on a daily planner filled with commitments completed, and another one waiting.
He may now be Jeff Gordon, NASCAR analyst for FOX Sports, but he’s still, well, Jeff Gordon.
The four-time Sprint Cup Series champion, winner of 93 races and, as recently as three months ago, a championship contender, drives no more. But he remains driven. And busy.
The story that he was up and ready to hit the garage and begin his FOX rounds here at Daytona International Speedway recently, only to discover that the garage wouldn’t open for several hours, is true.
Gordon, 44, is more than ready for this next chapter in life.
Sunday’s Daytona 500 (1 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR), the season-opening event for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, will be his first major test. He got his first taste of working with the FOX Sports NASCAR crew, which includes Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds, during last week’s Sprint Cup practice sessions, the non-points Sprint Unlimited on Saturday night and Sunday’s Coors Light Pole qualifying program.
“This is where the magic happens, up here,” he said at the time. “I’m finding that out.”
Adding Gordon to the broadcast team was a no-brainer, according to McReynolds, the former crew chief. Along with Joy and Waltrip, the three have been the framework for the broadcast team since FOX signed on with NASCAR back in 2001.
“I never really got to know Jeff that well throughout the years of racing against him and talking about him, but getting to know him over the last few months it absolutely makes sense why he’s been as successful as he is,” McReynolds said Thursday. “He’s latched on to the FOX philosophy real quickly, and that’s that we tell the story, we explain why but more importantly have fun. … The philosophy for the three of us the last 15 years is we’re like three guys sitting on a couch, watching a race, having fun and talking about it. Now we’ve added another member to our couch. It’s almost been seamless.”
Joy gave Gordon high marks for his enthusiasm, his effort and preparation. “We want his knowledge and enthusiasm,” he said. “The short answer is we’re getting a lot more than we bargained for.”
Waltrip said Gordon’s enthusiasm “is contagious.”
“I thought I was jacked up; I thought I came down here … vibrating out of my shoes until I ran into him,” Waltrip, himself a three-time champion and member of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, said. “His focus and how he looks at things … he asks a lot of questions, which is great. Sometimes he asks a question and I say ‘I can’t believe you don’t know that.’ But then I remember he’s a rookie, he doesn’t know that.
“It’s been a real good awakening for me; I think I’m going to gain as much from this as he is. Standing beside him and what he sees and what he says really helps me think about things in a different perspective. … I think we’re only going to get better.”
Gordon had years to prepare for a NASCAR career; his move to the booth comes without nearly as much experience. But each broadcast, he said, has helped ease concerns and made him that much more comfortable.
“But there’s no doubt when that day comes — just like when you wake up that morning of the Daytona 500 as a driver, there’s a switch that goes off that this is a huge day, a huge moment and as a competitor I was always (thinking), ‘I cant wait to go out there and compete but don’t mess it up,’ ” Gordon said. “And that’s exactly the same way I’m going to approach the booth on Sunday.”
Waltrip, who made the move from the driver’s seat to the TV booth in 2000, said that’s when it will hit Gordon hardest — on race day of the series’ biggest event.
“I’ll never forget, I got up on that Sunday morning, I’d always gone to the garage, hung out with the team, looked at the car, gone to the drivers’ meeting and to chapel and then you’re out on pit road,” Waltrip said when Gordon’s appointment was announced. “And you don’t do any of that (now). You’re putting on a coat and tie, a little makeup and going to a TV booth.
“That’s a huge shock when that reality hits you. You don’t need a helmet and you don’t need a uniform. You just need a coat and a tie.”
The familiar No. 24 Chevrolet, fielded by Hendrick Motorsports and Gordon’s office for so many years, now belongs to another. Chase Elliott, son of 1988 series champion Bill Elliott, to be exact. Chase Elliott is a rookie. He’s also the pole winner for Sunday’s 58th running of the Daytona 500.
A photo of Gordon standing with Elliott and crew chief Alan Gustafson in the garage after the youngster sped to the pole caught former teammate Jimmie Johnson by surprise.
Johnson, who Gordon helped steer to Hendrick, called it “really weird.”
“He was standing around the 24 car with Chase and Alan. The car was on the pole,” Johnson said. “Jeff was standing there in street clothes. I never thought I would see that.”
Gordon called it a proud moment, and that’s what he wanted to convey to the team.
“We’ve been preparing for this (with Chase) for a long time; I’ve been 100 percent supportive,” Gordon said. “I think he’s a great kid; I think he’s going to be a superstar in the sport. I also know that there are ’24’ fans out there that were really on the fence about whether they should keep the 24 or not keep the 24 (car number). As soon as that car was on the pole, every one of those ’24’ fans were like ‘Yes!’ and they were on board.”
If there are misgivings about changing careers, Gordon is keeping them to himself. He remains tied to Hendrick Motorsports through ownership of that organization’s No. 48 team with Johnson. He has obligations to sponsors and potential sponsors and outside interests and, of course, family.
But Sunday, when the engines fire and the cars roll off pit road for the start of the Daytona 500? Gordon says he’s already made peace with that.
“All the cars were on the track Friday and I had no issues,” Gordon said. “When the 24 drove out there on Saturday to do the first 500 qualifying practice that was a bigger moment. Darrell told me, ‘Watch this; moment is going to impact you.’ And I was waiting for it and it was definitely there.
“When they won the pole, I was happy for them but at the same time I was going, “Wow, it’s sinking in right now; I’m not going to be driving that car anymore.’ “