Apart from his records, his wins, and his on-track achievements, what made Jeff Gordon such a legendary figure in the history of NASCAR was what he achieved off the track. Gordon was perhaps the single biggest reason for the popularity boom the sport experienced in the 90s. The Hendrick Motorsports driver took the NASCAR brand from being a niche sport to a national phenomenon, introducing it to a newer, wider audience, as Mike Joy too had claimed recently.
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Now, of course, his career and his place in the spotlight came to an end, as all things do. But Gordon is pressing on the four drivers at Hendrick Motorsports today to try and emulate what he ended up doing for the greater good of NASCAR.
This was something he recently touched upon.
Jeff Gordon wants Hendrick Motorsports drivers to step outside their comfort
During a press conference after William Byron’s win in Atlanta, Gordon was asked if he has given any tips or advice to the current #24 driver to be in the mainstream just as he did when he was driving the #24 during his career. “Well, it’s just the opportunities have to present themselves,” he replied.
“It can come through a sponsor. It can come through maybe something that NASCAR has set up or comes from winning races or something that sort of resonates with either mainstream media or the fans or fans that are outside the sport, casual fans.”
Gordon added that he has told Byron to keep doing what he’s doing, but he has also made it “pretty clear” before, as he did now. He wants drivers to step outside of their comfort zones to push through into the mainstream.
“I do want our drivers to reach just slightly outside their comfort zone when it comes to the media and opportunities, just so they can open up more doors for their own brand, and it helps us sell sponsors, and I think it helps grow the sport,” the 4x Cup champion claimed as per Speedway Digest.
Having said that, Gordon wanting his drivers to step out of their comfort zones to be more mainstream isn’t something new.
Gordon had touched on the same subject last year as well, giving his own example
Last year, Gordon described in an interview how he wants the current crop of HMS drivers to be “organic” and not anything they’re essentially not. But with that, he still advised them to step outside of their comfort zone.
“If you’re willing to put yourself in places people don’t expect you and you want to be there — the traditional sporting events and country music concerts are great, but let’s take that a step further — that’s what I’m trying to encourage our guys to do,” he said.
