NASCAR: Jeff Gordon’s Television Career Slowly Becoming Reality

Jeff Gordon has begun the movement from NASCAR’s many tracks to television sets around the nation.

A few months after Jeff Gordon announced his retirement, fans began to wonder what would come next for the four-time champion. Would he compete in other races outside of NASCAR? Would he stay close to Hendrick Motorsports? Would he leave racing altogether and focus more on relaxing after retirement?

The answer came back in May, when FOX Sports announced that Gordon would be joining the team as an on-air analyst for 2016. He was scheduled to appear on NASCAR Race Hub at certain times but his main job would be working with Mike Joy and Darrell Waltrip in the broadcast booth for Fox’s scheduled races.

Now that we are a couple of months removed from the 2015 season, it has become more real to think of Gordon as a former NASCAR driver. Perhaps the most surreal moment is checking in on his Twitter account and seeing him in a suit and tie with a microphone in his hand or reading these words in his bio: “NASCAR on Fox Commentator, Retired 4-Time NASCAR Cup Series Champion.”

Gordon is set to make his first appearance on NASCAR Race Hub on Jan. 18. That will mark the beginning of his career as an analyst for FOX Sports.

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Though Jeff Gordon was in the drivers seat of a Cup Series car for 23 years, it was obvious that he was destined for television. Over his career, he was on television a lot, with some of his notable appearances being Live! with Regis and Kelly, Saturday Night Live, I Get That A Lot and many late night shows with Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, David Letterman and others. He also voiced many cartoon characters based on himself for shows like The Simpsons, King of the Hill and South Park.

Gordon captured the attention of many around the nation during his best years back in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. His likeable style and unique sense of humor was something that people enjoyed and it introduced many to the sport of NASCAR for the first time.

There’s no doubt that he will have the same kind of success with FOX Sports and he will be a huge gain for the team in the broadcasting booth. With so much experience, he can give fans a real view of what is happening inside the car or on the track at a certain point in the race.

Also, teaming him up with Darrell Waltrip provides fans with two different views of the sport. While Waltrip’s experience ranges from the 1970’s to the 2000’s, Gordon’s ranges from the 1990’s all the way up to the present. That’s coverage from five different decades of NASCAR racing, meaning that fans will gain more knowledge from the old days and the current days.

Gordon has slowly started making the transition over to the next stage in his life and it will be interesting to see what he gets involved in next.

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Though some fans won’t be seeing their favorite driver out on the track anymore, they will still get to see him on television and hear him during races, and that will open up opportunities for some very special insight from one of the best ever.