Jeff Gordon trace his way from the first racing steps to meet Rick Hendrick

Jeff Gordon He is considered one of the most influential figures in the Kingdom of Nascar due to the great success he accumulated in the Cup series in a small period of time, a legacy that has based on several other roles on the field. On the other hand, his first racing exhibition was taken by his stepson, a path that led him to join the Rick Hendrick team in the upper league a few years later.

The 54 -year -old young man is a four -time champion of the Cup series and remained in the first class of vehicle racing for more than two decades. However, stockmakers were never their main destination, as Gordon was daring by the sphere of open wheel racing and wanted to venture to Indycar.

But, before all this, his initial interest in the races was really caused by his stepson, John Bickford. He had a machine shop when the future runner was young and it was he who took him to the field of races, as he told Kyle Petty (via road Country of the country):

“At the beginning, I introduced myself to cars and races really, really young. My stepson, he, had a machine shop and built things for people with race cars and cars.”

Later, Jeff Gordon entered the racing sprint cars and won titles on the USAC scene. But his interest was soon directed to the car racing field, and began to compete in the Busch series (Ara Xfinity Series).

In his second season in the championship (1992), his victory in Atlanta was indicated by Rick Hendrick, who brought him aboard the Hendrick Motorsports stable while adding:

“So we go for the second year, we go to Atlanta at the beginning of the season and win this race … On Monday or Tuesday of the following week, Rick (Hendrick) asked me to go down to his office. And I went … and I was like” Holy shit, I am sitting in front of Rick Hendrick. Like that really, true? Is this really possible? Will this happen? “”

On the other hand, Rick Hendrick's decision to hire Jeff Gordon proved to succeed as the team won his first pilot championship in the hands of Vallejo's pilot.

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Jeff Gordon revealed how Rick Hendrick saw his request to venture on TV

While Rick Hendrick and Jeff Gordon had been in a collaboration for several decades, this heading relationship could not continue for a long time when he was about to retire in the series. With the two with a narrow bond, Gordon had stated his concern about moving away from races to Hendrick in his last years in this sport.

However, his love for races was still there, but he wanted to enjoy sports differently, as an analyst, a proposal Gordon gave to Hendrick, who reacted as follows, as the champion revealed on Kyle Petty:

“Rick Hendrick and I have an incredible relationship. So I came to him and said,” Hey, it hurts me. I really have to start thinking about when I'm going to start by driving. “So, I directed her (the idea of ​​commenting) for him and he is like,” You know, I think it's a great idea, go for a couple of years, and then I want you here, “and I said,” OK, good treatment. “

Jeff Gordon's links with Hendrick Motorsports were strengthened over the years, as the co -owner became vice president of the workforce in 2022.