Hendrick Motorsports Vice Chairman Jeff Gordon Earns Big Praise From Top NASCAR Official

Jeff Gordon is one of the very best drivers in the history of NASCAR, this is a pretty well-known fact. But at the same time, the four-time Cup Series champion is also one of the best representatives of the sport to the outside world.

It’s pretty well documented how, as a driver, Gordon opened up NASCAR to an entirely new generation of fans and avenues.

But if you think in his retirement, he has stopped being a representative of the sport, you’d be wrong. Because he still is, in a different way, catering to a different group of people now.

Gordon, the current Vice Chairman of Hendrick Motorsports, is the perfect fit for being a representative for the current drivers. After all, he’s lived through almost everything a driver can live and go through.

This was something that NASCAR’s Chief Operating Officer, Steve O’Donnell, also opened up on in relation to his contributions to the driver’s council.

“Jeff’s been terrific,” O’Donnell said. “Jeff is such a well-respected guy, and it’s very tough for anyone outside of NASCAR to look at the sports as a whole. A driver, their goal is to win races. And how to go faster and how to please my sponsor.”

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“And if NASCAR wants to grow the sport in five years, then it’s great, but it’s on you guys, my priority is to go fast. Same with the owner.”

He continued, “Jeff has always been someone who’s been able to think broadly about the sport and involve many people. And he brings that to the driver’s group to talk about what can we do as a group? How can we sit down and really collaborate, not only on just today, but where we want the sport to go in ’23 and ’24?” 

Steve O’Donnell highlights the key contribution by Jeff Gordon to the driver’s council

NASCAR COO opened up on the difference Jeff Gordon has brought to the table in his new role.

“I think the biggest thing when we did this in the past, we would talk to a group of drivers, but it didn’t really get spread out throughout the driver’s core,” Steve O’Donnell said.

He added that Gordon has done “a really good job” of ensuring that the discussions and conversations between NASCAR and the drivers go through the entire driver’s group.

With all of that said, consider this rather peculiar situation about Jeff Gordon and his time in NASCAR – when he began his career, he was considered the future of NASCAR.

And now that he’s retired, somehow, he’s still the future of NASCAR.

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