Jeff Gordon retired from NASCAR over a decade ago and, since then, has been elected into the sport’s Hall of Fame, named Vice Chairman at Hendrick Motorsports, and has gone on to become one of the most respected executives in the sport.
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But on Sunday at Kansas Speedway, Gordon was both part executive and part fan, on the verge of an emotional high as he watched Chase Elliott climb from 10th to 1st to win the race and secure a berth in the Round of Eight, which begins in two weeks.
“There was definitely a lot of emotion there in the last few restarts,” Gordon said in the post-race media conference. “It’s lane choice. From where I get to sit, I get to hear all the conversations that are happening with the engineers and the team and Alan (crew chief Alan Gustafson) and just trying to figure out how many tires to take, where to line up, all those things.”
In a way, it took Gordon back to his days as a NASCAR Cup driver, when he had to worry about many of those same things while behind the wheel. This time, though, he was more of an observer, watching as Elliott rallied to victory, much like Gordon himself had done 93 times throughout his career.
“Every decision you make, you can either lose your positions or gain your positions,” Gordon said. “I don’t know that we thought we could win from 10th, but they went with fresh tires. They got a couple cautions. I think those tires were obviously big and paid off. That last restart, just everything kind of went the way that Chase needed it to.
“He got a big run off the top down off one and two and down the back straightaway. He just maintained the momentum, and of course we all saw what happened there with Denny and Bubba. He put himself in the right position to have the tires, to have the grip to be able to get back to the gas early and run that bottom line and kind of duel it out with Denny to the line.”
Elliott Needed Moral Support, and Gordon Gave Just That
Gordon chose to sit on Elliott’s pit box because, of the three Hendrick Motorsports drivers remaining in the playoffs — Elliott, Kyle Larson, and William Byron (Alex Bowman was eliminated after the first round) — Elliott was in the most concerning spot heading into Kansas.
Now, Gordon doesn’t have to worry about that anymore, at least not until the Round of Eight.
“I was sitting on the 9 box with these guys and couldn’t be more proud,” Gordon said. “You go through the race, and you go through a lot with these guys because they brought a good race car, they qualified good. They were running up front getting good stage points all day. Then you’re looking at the points, and it’s just going back and forth, back and forth.
“My favorite part was what Alan said to Chase on that last restart, something about the cut line. He kind of mentioned something about if Bubba wins. Chase acknowledged it, and then he said something else about like screw the cut line (he said with a laugh).”
But nothing could top the way things wound up for Elliott, for Gustafson and for Gordon. It almost made him want to cry in joy.
“I love the way it all turned out,” Gordon said. “That put a big smile on my face.
“But I’m a little hoarse because I celebrated with my boy A.G. I love this guy and love watching him do his thing, especially when they have success.”
And who knows what may still be to come in the last five races. Maybe Gordon will cry those tears of joy even more, especially if Elliott goes on to win his second Cup championship five weeks from now.
