Jeff Gordon Tapped for a Massive Step Up in the NASCAR World
One of the most successful NASCAR drivers of his generation is in line for one of the most prestigious roles in the sport.
Jeff Gordon has been tapped by Hendrick Motorsports owner Rick Hendrick as the man to succeed him when he retires.
Gordon raced for Hendrick Motorsports from 1992 to 2016 and was one of the most successful drivers of all time. He won the Sprint Cup four times and the Daytona 500 three times.
Overall, he won 93 NASCAR races, which ranks third all time.
Gordon is now a minority owner in Hendrick Motorsports, but the man who runs what is considered the most successful team in NASCAR history wants Gordon to take over for him when he steps down.
Rick Hendrick to Autoweek: “That’s the way we’re going. Whenever I finally step away, it’ll be Jeff Gordon in my place.”
Jeff Gordon, Tuesday on @dirtymomedia: “Right now, if you look at the (#NASCAR) business model on paper, no, it doesn’t make sense”https://t.co/7frGlBXyqX
— Daniel McFadin (@danielmcfadin) December 13, 2018
“That’s the way we’re going,” Hendrick said in an interview with Autoweek. “Whenever I finally step away, it’ll be Jeff Gordon in my place.”
Hendrick had planned to have his son, Ricky, succeed him, but Ricky died tragically in a plane crash in 2004 at just 24 years old.
“I would have liked that,” Rick Hendrick told Autoweek. “We had just built a building (on the HMS campus) with an office for Ricky near mine. He loved (the business) and was good at it because he’d grown up with it. He was good with sponsors, and he knew the racing part because he’d raced (in Xfinity and Camping World series). I was about to step away and let him take over. That was the plan that never happened.”
But the 69-year-old Hendrick does not plan on handing over the reins to Gordon anytime soon.
“I’ve gotta be out here at least one year longer than (fellow owner/automotive magnate) Roger Penske,” Hendrick joked to Autowwek. “No … just kidding. Really, I love this and still enjoy it so much, and it’s tied to my automotive businesses. My health is good, so I expect to be around for a long time.”
Hendrick Motorsports has won 12 NASCAR Cup titles: four by Gordon, seven by Jimmie Johnson and one by Terry LeBonte.
Overall, HMS has 252 victories in NASCAR Cup series races.
Jeff Gordon will take over Hendrick Motorsports when Rick Hendrick decides to step down as owner.#NASCAR pic.twitter.com/N4SAz1niJu
— MRM – MOTOR RACING MEDIA (@salasjr88) December 13, 2018
In an interview earlier this year with Racer, Gordon said he and Hendrick are very close and Hendrick Motorsports is like family to him.
“Part of my vision was that I’d hope I’d have a long career where one day I could, on my own terms, step away from driving, and I knew 10 years ago that I liked the business side and I needed to learn more about it,” Gordon said. “So, I guess I always felt like, when that day comes when I step away, then I want to get more involved and I look forward to that challenge. Over the last three years, that has definitely taken place.”
For now, Gordon will continue on as minority owner while working as an analyst for Fox Sports’ NASCAR coverage. But someday, he’ll head up Hendrick Motorsports … or will it become Gordon Motorsports?
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