Even Without Fifth Title, Jeff Gordon Leaves NASCAR a Champion

The tributes and accolades for Jeff Gordon have been pouring in ever since he first announced in January that the 2015 NASCAR season would be his last as a full-time competitor in the Sprint Cup Series.

Numerous times this season, Gordon has said that all he ever wanted to be was a race car driver.

Without question, he accomplished that goal and along the way amassed a series of statistics that anyone – even six-time series champion Jimmie Johnson – will be hard-pressed to surpass.

Gordon has four championships of his own, but the most recent one came in 2001. He was hoping for a fifth and the stage appeared to be set in his final season to earn it.

He scored crowd-thrilling victory at Martinsville, Va., to guarantee his spot as one of the four drivers to compete for the series championship in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway along with reigning champion Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, and Martin Truex, Jr.

Alas, it was not to be, as Busch held off Harvick to win his first-ever race as a Chase participant and win his first series championship.

Gordon, however, went out anything but a loser.

There has been a lot of talk of how a fifth championship could cement Gordon's legacy in NASCAR, but that could not be further from the truth.

His legacy is already well entrenched because it involves something a lot bigger and longer-lasting than trophies.

Gordon helped take NASCAR to places it had never been before and lofted it into the sightline of mainstream American sports.

For decades, many of NASCAR's most successful drivers earned their Cup series rides and accumulated much of their success when they were in the mid-30s. Gordon rolled into NASCAR's premier series at age 21 and won his first championship at the ripe old age of 23.

He nearly single-handedly altered the model of how Cup drivers entered the sport. More than two decades later there are far more drivers waiting to enter the Cup series in their teens then in their late 20s or early 30s.

Gordon's early success drew the ire of some of competitors and their fans but it also helped build NASCAR into a sports property that could expand beyond its Southern roots. His charming personality and boyish good looks were welcomed on national TV shows, showcasing NASCAR on stages it had never before been able to establish a strong foothold.

As the years have passed, Gordon's championships have become less frequent but his competitiveness has never wavered. Even as many of the "next Jeff Gordons" have come and gone in NASCAR, the original has remained a stalwart of the sport he helped build.

In recent years, Gordon's voice – he has never been shy in speaking his mind – has grown louder and with more conviction as he took on a role as the sport's elder statesman.

Always, though, Gordon has had little trouble remaining a constant example of success with grace.

At one point during a news conference before his final race and discussing everything that has been building to the finale, Gordon said, "How could I not be having the time of my life?"

Indeed, how could he not?

No fifth championship will take away from that, nor should it.

He has given everything of himself – and more – to this sport and received back in return arguably more than any other competitor that came before him. As well he should.

And he's not going anywhere.

While he will maintain his partial ownership role in Hendrick Motorsports, Gordon most immediate career path will detour to the TV booth, where he will join NASCAR Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip and Mike Joy as part of the Fox Sports' NASCAR broadcasting team in 2016.

Is there any doubt it will be a seamless transition? Gordon has already made guest appearances on some Xfinity Series races and the reviews were very positive.

The addition of a recent NASCAR champion who just put up his steering wheel to the Waltrip's takes from his glory days should help give the Fox broadcast team a comprehensive and authoritative grasp on what it takes to compete successfully in this sport.

Gordon's life – both professionally and personally – has been filled with many highs and lows and a large part of his legacy is entrenched in the professional manner in which he handled all of those experiences.

He's been a champion his entire career – long before he secured his first one and regardless of whether he earned a fifth.