NASCAR: Jeff Gordon Has Made A Flawless Transition

After a legendary NASCAR career, Jeff Gordon has made a smooth transition into the broadcast booth.

Jeff Gordon announced his retirement from full-time racing in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series shortly before the beginning of the 2015 season.

Throughout a year of up-and-downs, he managed to win one last emotional race at Martinsville Speedway, clinching his spot in the Championship 4 at Homestead. After a hard-fought battle and a sixth-place finish in the final race of his career–and a third-place finish in the Chase standings–Gordon climbed out of his No. 24 Axalta Chevy.

He was almost immediately embraced by Rick Hendrick, the owner that had given him a chance to succeed in NASCAR, followed by his family.

Though Kyle Busch walked away with the championship that night. It was hard not to recognize the ending of an incredible career.

As Gordon entered the world of retirement, many wondered what he might get involved in next. It was a given that he would hang around with Hendrick Motorsports and guide Chase Elliott, as the beginning of his career in the No. 24 car was set to take place in 2016.

But it seemed like something bigger was on the horizon.

That was when Gordon announced his plans to join Mike Joy and Darrell Waltrip in the FOX Sports broadcast booth beginning in 2016. Over the years, Gordon had made appearances on Live! with Regis and Kelly, Saturday Night Live and Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, among countless other television shows.

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If there was one thing that he could use going into the booth, it was his experience from previous events.

Once February rolled around and the day of the 2016 Daytona 500 arrived, there was a different feeling in the air. For the the first time since 1992, Gordon wouldn’t be strapped into his No. 24 ride and he wouldn’t be competing for arguably the most prestigious trophy in all of NASCAR.

Instead, he found himself in a suit and tie, preparing for his first day in the booth. Since then, it’s been nothing but professionalism and credibility from the four-time champ.

With FOX Sports’ portion of the season coming to an end, and with NASCAR switching from FOX over to NBC, we can take a look back at how smooth Gordon’s transition has been.

Whether it the occasional “whoa” when something exciting was happening on the track, or Gordon’s general excitement for drivers like Martin Truex Jr. and Tony Stewart, it was obvious that he was having a ton of fun in the booth.

But Gordon added in extra commentary that we weren’t used to hearing. Since he had just climbed from a car roughly two or three months before the season started, he knew about all the newest technology and he knew about how the cars drove compared to Darrell Waltrip, who raced last in 2000.

Gordon could give the viewers a side of the story that only current drivers could tell because of his familiarity with the cars. He knew much more about what it took to win races in the current era of NASCAR.

Gordon also provided one interesting situation for the fans and for the sport this season. During the Axalta ‘We Paint Winners’ 400 at Pocono, Gordon pointed out the fact that a member of Brad Keselowski’s crew had forced a dent into the right side of the car during a pit stop.

Keselowski was issued a penalty for an unapproved body modification during the race, but it was the way Gordon covered the situation that bothered the 2012 Champion.

Gordon stated that the team had done the same thing earlier in the season at Las Vegas, when Keselowski won the race, but they weren’t called for a penalty that time around. After the race, Keselowski had some harsh words for Gordon and FOX Sports.

The next weekend, Gordon followed up with a pre-planned interview with Keselowski in which they dove into the controversy and revisited the situation over the weekend, providing some interesting commentary from two drivers who famously got into it at Texas in 2014.

Though Gordon certainly showed some favor towards Chase Elliott and the No. 24 team, that was something that was expected coming into the season.

Then the final weekend of FOX Sports NASCAR coverage approached with a race at one of Gordon’s best tracks: Sonoma Raceway.

His classy actions and ability to stay comfortable in the booth got him noticed by Live with Kelly, as the popular morning show had targeted Gordon as a possible addition to their crew. Gordon had appeared on the show nine times before and made it clear that he would be back with FOX Sports but would be open to something that would fit into his schedule (via usatoday.com).

After one more successful week of broadcasting, Gordon saw one of his biggest competitors, in Tony Stewart, win an emotional race in his final season–something reminiscent of Gordon’s win at Martinsville in 2015.

Gordon had this to say after his first season in the booth (via motorsport.com):

"“I feel like it’s gone pretty well. I’m looking forward to a break, no doubt about it. It’s nice to know that I’m going to get some time to spend with my family, but I’ll still be coming to the race track. But at the same time I’ve enjoyed it so much that it’s been a great transition and great experience. I can’t wait for next year.”"

While his brilliant year in the booth is set to attract even more attention from other sources, there’s no doubt that he’ll always be involved with NASCAR, and that’s something fans should be happy about.

must read: Five Biggest Mid-Season Surprises Of 2016

After covering just 17 races this season, Jeff Gordon has already become one of the most popular analysts in motorsports broadcasting.