"I thought long and hard about my future this past year and during the offseason, and I've decided 2015 will be the last time I compete for a championship. I won't use the 'R-word' because I plan to stay extremely busy in the years ahead, and there's always the possibility I'll compete in selected events, although I currently have no plans to do that.” Those were the words of NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon as he announced his retirement back in January. Gordon decided to hang up the fire suit for the final time at Homestead Miami Speedway on November 22nd finishing with 93 career wins, 81 poles (qualifying #1 prior to a race), and 4 championships (1995, 1997, 1998, and 2001). Gordon not only has left the sport with a legacy in his career numbers but in his California boy but raised in Indiana personality that fans and media adored throughout his career.
Gordon made his debut in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at the Hooters 500 in Atlanta in 1992. Gordon finished in 31st after a crash, but his debut was not the center of attention as many fans’ focus was towards the great Richard Petty as it was his final race. Despite the finish, Gordon showed promise in his driving and went on win his first race on May 29th, 1994 at Charlotte during the Coca-Cola 600. It only took one year following winning his first win for Gordon to capture his first of four championships.
Early on in his career, Gordon had a primary sponsorship with DuPont an American chemical company. Gordon’s car had a paint scheme with a red base and yellow, green, blue straight lines located up near the top of the hood and the part of rear nearest to the cockpit. This paint scheme became very significant to Gordon’s career as his racing crew were called the “Rainbow Warriors” from his rookie season in 1993.
Gordon’s then crew-chief Ray Evernham said their nickname to USA TODAY sports, “I thought it was cool. The rainbow on the fire suit was big and the warriors, we were warriors.”
The “Rainbow Warriors” not only gained success on the track but became an iconic symbol that accurately represented the sport. Fans soon became huge fans of Gordon during his rise in the late 1990s. Just like any popular professional athlete, Jeff Gordon merchandise was also advancing. Gordon was easily the fresh young talent in NASCAR in a sport where the successors were long time veterans like Mark Martin, Dale Jarrett, Terry Labonte, and Dale Earnhardt. However, what made Gordon stand out in front of the rest of the field is that he was humble but still had the will of competiveness to win.
The competiveness Gordon had in his career was mainly driven from his rivalry with Dale Earnhardt. It was a battle between a past proven champion and the future of the sport. This rivalry was one the more significant ones in NASCAR’s long 70-year history. It also propelled fans attention and help boom stock car’s popularity in the 1990s. These two competitors never had any memorable crashes or off the track confrontations as the attraction to the rivalry was the clean competitive nature of their encounters on the track. This battle told a lot about Gordon’s respect as a driver and a person as Earnhardt was famously nicknamed “The Intimidator” but never showed that quality of racing when beside Gordon on the track.
Gordon might not have captured that illusive 5th title at Homestead this past weekend however, that will not keep him out of the Hall of Fame. Gordon was well respected in the cockpit as well as the media room. The way he handled nerve wracking situations whether on the track or not, he also stayed humbled. People appreciate those who are calm in stress times and Gordon was the poster boy for how fellow drivers should act. Examining the race field on the last race this past season, at least one time or another have said that they grew and inspired to be a racecar driver because of Jeff Gordon.