Gordon talks playoffs, William Byron and charity work

By James Jackson
September 10, 2017

RICHMOND, Va.—He wasn’t racing, but four-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon was on-hand in Richmond for the final regular-season NASCAR race.

Gordon talked with The Racing Experts on a few topics, including who he thought were real contenders to make it to the Championship 4 in Homestead-Miami Speedway.

“I think you saw two of them today really dominate this race, which was Martin Truex Jr. and also [Kyle] Larson who ended up winning it,” Gordon said. “I think those guys have been really battling it out for quite a bit this year.

“I think it’s going to be really hard to beat Truex but at the same time when you get down to that last race at Homestead, I don’t know if that’s his best race track.

“I think Larson is very very good there. I think it’s almost a lock that Truex is going to go all the way to Homestead because of all the points he has from the regular season.”

William Byron was also shadowing Gordon throughout the evening.

Gordon had nothing but praise for the 19-year-old who will be driving his old number next season.

“I’ve been more impressed with him this year than I have any other year,” Gordon said. “The equipment he was in in the Truck Series was pretty superior to everything else, so you kind of expect that truck to win.

“Where the competition is much more fierce [in the XFINITY Series], JR Motorsports is a great team but I don’t know if they quite stack up to Gibbs and maybe Penske.

“William has been able to run with those guys and be very impressive. I’m excited to have him at Hendrick and the No. 24 next year.”

Gordon also discussed some things he’s been doing since retiring.

“I’ve got a lot of things happening, certainly with our foundation,” Gordon said in reference to the Jeff Gordon Foundation. “We just finished our Corvette program; very very successful, probably the most we’ve ever had.

“We’re working with Memorial Sloan Kettering up in New York. We’re working on a program up there for cancer research.”