Jeff Gordon says he reached decision to step away during 2014 season
Jeff Gordon said he made the decision to make 2015 his last season driving full-time in the Sprint Cup Series midway through the 2014 season.
He was leaning in the direction of stepping away at the beginning of the season and said as the season progressed, his inclinations were confirmed. Back pain has been an issue for Gordon in recent years and he had a bout with it at Charlotte in the 2014 season, though he didn't miss a race because of it. He won four races in 2014.
"I really was leaning towards this at the beginning of [2014], but it didn't get serious until midway of [2014]," Gordon said. "It was a combination of things. It wasn't just one thing. Yeah, the back thing played a role. I think that really more just confirmed things for me rather than anything else. Even the great stretch and the run that we had and how good we were last year confirmed things even more for me."
"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."
While Gordon, winner of 92 Sprint Cup Series races, hasn't used the "retirement" word in any of his comments about his decision to stop running full-time and doesn't rule out running races in the future, he said the final race of the 2015 season will likely be his last Cup race.
"Well, the way I see myself in the world is that retirement means you go off to a beach somewhere and sit in a rocking chair on the front porch and drink your coffee and pet your dog," Gordon said. "That's not me. I plan on working. I'm going to be working -- I'm actually going to have to get a real job now. So when I think of retirement, I just don't think that that's what I'm doing.
"I want to leave myself open, as well, to be able to get in a car ... 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."
The timing of the decision means that Gordon knew of his future plans when he skirmished with Brad Keselowski at Texas after the two made contact racing for the lead. Gordon told the Associated Press that it played a factor into his decision to confront Keselowski after the race. Gordon ended up sixth in the points standings and is announcing his decision while he's still at the top of the Sprint Cup Series heap.
He said Thursday that he'll be at the track plenty in 2016 and doesn't want to turn 2015 into a victory tour of sorts with honors at every track that hosts Sprint Cup Series races.
"One of the things that we are planning on doing and one of my big focuses with [crew chief Alan Gustafson] 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 said.
"So my plan is that I'll be back at the track in 2016 doing all kinds of things with the fans. I'm certainly going to be there at Hendrick Motorsports and the team. I'll be a major fixture at the track quite a bit in 2016, and I look forward to really getting interaction to those fans that have been so loyal to me over the years. I think they want me to be competitive out there when I'm on the track. That means a lot to me"
Hendrick was asked about the possibility of Chase Elliott, the 2014 Xfinity Series champion, moving up to Gordon's seat in 2016. Hendrick deferred to the future on the announcement. Elliott, 19, is seen as Gordon's likely successor. He has a developmental contract with Hendrick and won three races in his first Xfinity Series season. Elliott is considered by many to be one of the future stars of NASCAR.
"Oh, we're just kind of looking at what's down the road a little bit later," Hendrick said. "We're going to kind of focus on Jeff and what he's accomplished, and then at a later time we'll kind of focus on who is going to be in the car."
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
