Jeff Gordon And How 2015 Is Dimming His Career
Sports are a fickle thing in that fans and critics often only remember your most recent success or failures. For Jeff Gordon, he has witnessed the best and worst of the world of sports between the 2014 season and what he has done now in 2015.
Gordon had it all during the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. Four wins, three poles, and a deep run in the NASCAR’s new version of the Sprint Cup Chase. Sadly for Gordon, that wasn’t enough to hang his helmet on and call it a career. Instead, he had to do it all one more time and that’s what will tarnish his career the most unless something drastically changes in the next 12 races.
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It’s no secret that Gordon is one of the greatest NASCAR drivers of all time. His look and demeanor attracted thousands of new fans to the sport in the 90’s and helped take it to its peak in popularity. This was all happening on his way to winning 92 races and four championships.
While all those are great accomplishment and NASCAR is certainly indebted to Gordon for his time in the sport, should he feel ashamed for continuing to race as a shell of his former self? Long gone is the man that fans have affectionately called The Rainbow Warrior and his replacement is nothing more than a man that struggles to even run mid-pack during most Sunday afternoons.
If you want proof, just look no further than some of that stats that Gordon has amassed in 2015.
Sure, 12 top-ten finishes and a virtually guaranteed spot in the Chase might sound like his season is moving in a positive direction, but it’s nothing compared to what Gordon could do in the car back in 2014. In fact, it’s not even really a close comparison.
Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports
This time last year Gordon had racked up eight top-five’s, 18 top-10’s and three wins and that’s not even counting the win and six top-ten he achieved in last year’s Chase. Not only was he more consistent in 2014, he also set records in a few big races to boot. With all this mind, what would possibly possess Gordon to say that he wanted to do this all one more time?
The obvious answer is that he wanted one more run at that allusive fifth championship. Heck, after his 2014 run it looked like he could have easily run a few more years in the sport. Gordon’s 2014 performance turned back the clock and made us forget some of his forgettable performances from 2010-2013.
While the allure to return in 2015 might have been supported by his 2014 season, the result has been something that is sure to leave his exit from the sport on a sour note. Sure, the possibility of another title, another Daytona 500 win, another Brickyard 400 victory and crossing Kentucky off of his list as the only track he has never won it all might have seemed within reach after 2014. Unfortunately, 2015 has been humbling and it has exposed Gordon as a driver that should be heading into retirement as opposed to the championship contender he was viewed as only a year ago.
Think about it. He didn’t win his final Daytona 500, despite coming awfully close to doing so, he didn’t win his first race at Kentucky, he didn’t capture one final win at Watkins Glen or Sonoma and he couldn’t even kiss the Bricks one more time in Indianapolis. What kind of final run is this for a man that has accomplished s much in NASCAR? Certainly not one full of glory and accomplishments, but bitter failures and possible regret.
So Jeff Gordon fans, enjoy your final season with the man known as the Rainbow Warrior. Enjoy watching the man who used to be able to win 10 races in a season and now struggles to win just one. Enjoy watching a man make excuses for why he can’t hang with the younger boys on the track and most of all, enjoy the slightly dimmed legacy he leaves behind when this is all over.
Nobody will ever be able to take away the things that Gordon has accomplished and rightfully so. However, today in sports athletes are often remembered for what they have done most recently and for Gordon 2015 is his most recently and in all honesty he hasn’t done much. Gordon will be in the Hall of Fame soon and he will go down as one of the greatest drivers in the history of NASCAR but at this point it doesn’t look like his swan song is going to do anything for him and that’s truly a shame.