Jeff Gordon announces retirement from full time racing

Team owner Rick Hendrick and Jeff Gordon have raced together since 1992. (Getty Images)
Team owner Rick Hendrick and Jeff Gordon have raced together since 1992. (Getty Images)
Team owner Rick Hendrick and Jeff Gordon have raced together since 1992. (Getty Images)

Four time NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon made the stunning announcement Thursday that the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup season will be his final year of full-time competition. This year will mark his 2rd season, and has he announced Thursday morning, his final full time one.

“As a race car driver, much of what I’ve done throughout my life has been based on following my instincts and trying to make good decisions,” Gordon said. “I thought long and hard about my future this past year and during the offseason, and I’ve decided 2015 will be the last time I compete for a championship. I won’t use the ‘R-word’ because I plan to stay extremely busy in the years ahead, and there’s always the possibility I’ll compete in selected events, although I currently have no plans to do that.”

Gordon has raced for Hendrick Motorsports since 1992. He is credited with bringing the once southern regional sport into the mainstream. A native of Vallejo, California, Gordon was considered an outsider in a sport filled with drivers from the American South. MORE>>>

Greg Engle
About Greg Engle 7421 Articles
Greg is a published award winning sportswriter who spent 23 years combined active and active reserve military service, much of that in and around the Special Operations community. Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.