“In a Lot of Pain”: Jeff Gordon’s NASCAR Retirement Decision Was Ten Years in the Making

Hanging your helmet is not easy for any NASCAR driver, and certainly not for someone like Jeff Gordon, who competed for wins even when he was 24 years in the sport. But in 2015, the Hendrick Motorsports legend announced that the coming season would be his final full-time season in the Cup Series. So what prompted Gordon to take the decision?

In a recent interview, Gordon revealed that the decision to retire was prompted by health reasons and not because he lost the appetite to compete at the top level of stock car racing.

“I started having some back issues, some lower back pain and spasms and pain in the car probably around, I mean it probably even goes back to 2005 or 2006. But it really started getting bad around 2010, and I started working on it, physical therapy and things.”

“I went to Rick Hendrick and I said Rick, I don’t know how much longer I’m going to be able to be able to do this, my body is just not doing well. I’m in a lot of pain throughout the race and every time I get out of the car,” the 4-time Cup Series champion revealed.

Gordon started his broadcasting duties with FOX Sports from the 2016 season. Interestingly, the former HMS driver took the wheel once again, running eight races after Dale Earnhardt Jr. was sidelined with an injury.

How did Jeff Gordon fare in his final Cup Series season?

The 2015 Cup Series was an extremely emotional one for Gordon, but that did not take anything away from the fact that he was still gearing up to win his fifth Cup Series title. His first win of the season at Martinsville, which was also his career’s 93rd and last win, secured his path to the Championship four race at Homestead-Miami.

Unfortunately, Gordon finished sixth in the race, losing out to Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch for the title. The third-place finish in the final standings took nothing away from the fact that 20 years after his first Cup Series title, Gordon was yet again in contention for a title, a rare feat in any sport.

After his broadcast duties with FOX ended, Gordon took up an executive role at Hendrick Motorsports, still serving as one of the more sensible voices in the sport at a time when NASCAR is making major decisions to expand the sport’s outreach.