The NASCAR community needs no introduction to Jeff Gordon, the driver who had an illustrious career spanning from 1992 to 2015, where he dominated the scene with over 90 wins and picked up 4 title wins for Hendrick Motorsports. Gordon is currently the Vice Chairman of the team. However, as the second in line only to the boss Rick Hendrick, he recently say a tough with the team after their $400,000 penalty.

But after this past weekend’s race, despite their run-ins with the sanctioning body, the team seems to be sailing pretty well. And it is evident with Gordon’s smile returning to his face.

While Josh Berry came in as a relief for the team replacing an injured Chase Elliott, the race in Richmond proved his potential big time. The NASCAR fraternity is pretty amazed by the part-time driver’s performance and so is Jeff! In a recent press conference, the Vice Chairman sang high praises of Berry.

Jeff Gordon opens up about Chase Elliott’s replacement after the Richmond Race

Josh Berry proved his talent by holding his ground and driving strategically to clinch the race points while coming in second only to his teammate, Kyle Larson.

At the post-race presser, Jeff shared his excitement. Talking about Berry, he said, “I feel like he has done a great job every time he has been in a car.”

With 3 Hendrick cars in the top 10, the reporter quickly asked Jeff about Josh’s performance. “We made one adjustment there early that didn’t seem to go the right direction. They got him further behind.” 

He further said, “But Josh, when you look at his lap times, he is a guy that he gets in there, he feels the car out, he doesn’t take too many risks or chances until he knows what he has. Then you just start to see the lap times come good and build and the run starts to come together.” 

Josh is a full-time NASCAR Xfinity Series racer, who came in as a replacement for the injured Chase Elliott, certainly delivered the hype, as the Vice-Chairman mentioned, “So he clearly knows how to manage tires and manage a race well. It seems like the longer the race, the better he does. We’re really happy with the job he has done.” 

The NASCAR veteran further went on to predict, “I think he’s got a future in Cup Series.” 

READ MORE: “There Was Enough Communication” – Jeff Gordon Finds Glimmer of Hope Despite Hendrick Motorsports’ Tragic $400,000 Loss

Jeff Gordon discusses the strategies, the appeal against the penalty, and more!

Joining Kevin Meendering, crew chief of the #5 team, Jeff Gordon laid out the plot. While the NASCAR world was shocked by the whole $400,000 fiasco, Hendrick Motorsports have successfully appealed against NASCAR’s penalty.

Gordon had a pretty straightforward response to the reporter when he asked about the whole incident. He said, “Well, I’m probably looking at it a little bit different than you are because I don’t know that we should have ever had the points taken away, to begin with.”

The 51-year-old veteran explained, “But, yeah, it’s been a  good week. It’s been really stressful trying to prep for an appeal and not knowing what the outcome is going to be. We’re really happy with what the appeal committee came to that conclusion, but at the same time we feel like we laid out enough information there that it shouldn’t have ever happened.”

WATCH THIS STORY: Amid $400,000 battle, Hendrick Motorsports boss Jeff Gordon exposes the entire grid while questioning NASCAR’s 2022 Daytona 500 hypocrisy.  

The NASCAR legend seems to be pretty optimistic as he coins his excitement and pleasure. “Certainly this win will do a lot for us as we move forward and go to Bristol.”