Four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon will end full-time racing at Homestead later this year.
The drive of the No. 24 Chevrolet SS announced his decision to walk away from full-time racing in the sport at the Hendrick Motorsports shop on Thursday and shared the information on twitter to his fanbase.
Gordon, 43, made his Sprint Cup Series debut in the season ending Atlanta race in 1992.
“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.”
Letting team know this will be my final year competing for a championship. pic.twitter.com/s7aH8OpGQZ
— Jeff Gordon (@JeffGordonWeb) January 22, 2015
Gordon’s account wrote “I’m proud of the career I’ve had & knew this day would come, but I’ll be involved with @TeamHendrick for many years to come.”
Gordon won four races during the 2014 season, his most since the 2007 season, while finishing sixth in the overall point standings. He has 92 career wins are third in the sport behind David Pearson (105) and Richard Petty (200). Gordon’s five runner up finishes in the championship race are second only to Petty who has six.
Thew news from Gordon comes one day after he said back problems he has dealt with have not gone away.
“It’s not worth talking about,” said Gordon of his back. “Nothing has changed since last year. It’s an ongoing process for me to maintain it. It’s not something I’m just going to fix. It’s not something I can do and all of a sudden my back will be healed.”
The eventual successor to Gordon’s seat may already be under contract with Hendrick. Chase Elliott won the Xfinity Series title a season ago and will run that series full-time again in 2015 while seeing limited Cup action. He is the son of former Cup Series champion Bill Elliott.
“To everyone at NASCAR, my teammates, sponsors, competitors, friends, family, members of the media and especially our incredible fans, all I can say is thank you.”
