After 23 years of racing in the Cup Series, Jeff Gordon hung his racing suit up to join the FOX Sports broadcast booth as an in-race analyst in 2016. With track-to-box being a popular transition for racing icons, most recently adopted by Kevin Harvick, how well did the 4x Champion adjust to the role back then?
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Talking to Jason Stein of Cars and Culture in 2022, Gordon talked about his 6 seasons (2016-2021) with FOX and how it would help his future. At the time of the interview, he was already set to join Hendrick Motorsports as Vice Chairman. He said, “It was a great way to transition out of driving the car and still being a part of the excitement of live race. I love the challenges that came along with it.”
He added that FOX had treated him like family and taught him so much more about NASCAR. In his words, “Taught me so much about broadcasting, about the sport, about viewership and personalities, and what makes people drawn into it. That I’m going to hold with me forever.” Gordon believed that he would be working closely with FOX in his then-new role at HMS.
His stint that began in 2016 was preceded by a year in which he was a guest analyst on FOX for the 2015 Xfinity Series season. While Gordon had his doubts about taking the mic for the first time, he did not when he signed the multi-year deal in 2016.
The “no-brainer” move from Jeff Gordon to join FOX Sports
Gordon announced after the culmination of the 2015 season that he would be moving to the booth full-time. He had signed a deal with the broadcaster that ran until the end of the 2018 season. He said ahead of his Hall of Fame induction that came at the time, “It was a no-brainer for me, even more so this time around. The first time, I didn’t exactly know what I was getting myself into. I didn’t know whether I was going to be any good at it. If I was going to enjoy it.”
Despite the dilemma, he did end up enjoying his first guest run which pushed him to put his pen on the paper. He continued, “It’s a great transition because you work with a team of people, the competition is probably you, yourself, and trying to push yourself to get better.” The one thing that Gordon was wary of was the criticisms that his work could get on social media.
However, the champion loved the role so much that he did not mind the colors of the feedback he got.
