NASCAR News: Jeff Gordon Bids NASCAR Good-Bye, Shows Emotion in Farewell Speech
Jeff Gordon will be known as one of the most recognizable names in NASCAR history, and when he announced his retirement before the start of the 2015 season, there really was no intention of slowing down. The professional stock car racing driver's final race may have lost some edge in his last season in the racetrack but he did fight hard in trying to capture his fifth Sprint Cup championship, eventually finishing third.
Now that his career is all but over, he successfully made a rather graceful and emotional exit in his farewell speech.
When the 44-year-old was presented with the Bill France Award of Excellence in the Sprint Cup Awards Ceremony held last Friday at Wynn Las Vegas, he couldn't hide his emotions, knowing the fact that he finally will be leaving a sport that he has contributed to a lot. The award was added with some fancy after Gordon was introduced by Hollywood actor Tom Cruise. "Daytona International Speedway, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, Rwanda, the Waldorf Astoria, the White House and now the Wynn, he felt as comfortable discussing a championship with George Bush as breaking down Homestead with Kyle Busch, at ease discussing SNL skits with Jimmy Fallon as racing door to door with Jimmie Johnson," Cruise talked about the widely admired NASCAR legend.
As Cruise was doing the intro, Gordon, who was seen with the rest of the audience beside his wife and two kids, was clearly surprised with someone as popular as Cruise would grace his eventual retirement speech. It was then NASCAR Chairman Brian France who took the stage to present Gordon the award.
When it was time for the 93-time winner to talk, everybody knew he already was crying. "I knew that it was going to be a rough night, but that made it tougher," he said. With everyone applauding afterward, Gordon said that his career and life as a professional driver has been "absolutely amazing."
He then proceeded by thanking a bunch of people who in one way or another helped and supported him in his career, but he did pause in between to hold his emotions once again. At one point, he glanced at Rick and Linda Hendrick, the Cup team owners he raced for his entire career. "Thank you so much for choosing me as your driver. I'm proud to say I drove for one car owner, the best car owner, my entire Sprint Cup career," Gordon said.
