Jeff Gordon will still feel the adrenaline rush when he jumps into the broadcast booth at Daytona International Speedway next month, sans the firesuit.
It will definitely be a different thrill ride. Just not quite as hazardous to one's health.
"It's going to be a very similar approach except I'm not going to be doing it at 200 miles an hour," Gordon, a four-time Cup champion, said during the NASCAR Media Tour.
He no longer takes the show on the road with his Hendricks Motorsports buddies. Gordon's teammates are now Fox analysts Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds, and race-day announcer/traffic cop Mike Joy. And like always on race weekends, there will be plenty of preparation from start to finish.
At 44, Gordon is ready for a mid-life career change, hopefully without the crisis. He shouldn't have to worry, given the natural camaraderie he seems to have struck up with his Fox teammates.
They worked the room casually and proficiently recently, throwing in a few jabs and zings at each other while sitting on stage. It's all part of what Eric Shanks, President and COO of Fox Sports, calls the network NASCAR brand: "Fun, entertaining, self-deprecating."
Athletes don't always transition well to the booth. Joe Theismann and Magic Johnson come to mind. No doubt every fan has their own list of athletes who make you want to make a bee-line for the ear muffs.
Gordon likely won't be one of them.
"How many drivers have hosted SNL ("Saturday Night Live"), and have gone through makeup to be a taxi cab driver to freak somebody out in a Pepsi commercial?" Shanks said. "...the way he fits in well with what these guys have created, I think it's going to be special."
As with most things in life, timing was everything. Gordon was ready to step out of the car after the 2015 season for numerous reasons, including concerns about his back, a greater focus on family time, and a bucket list that is very much fulfilled in 24 seasons as a NASCAR Cup driver.
He wanted a broadcasting gig. He made a call to Shanks. Done deal.
"What he's going to find out is the same thing I did," Waltrip said. "When you're in that race car and you've got that full-face helmet on it gives you a small perspective of what's going on around you. He's going to look at those cars and those drivers when he gets to Daytona and say, 'you guys have to be nuts. You'd have to be crazy to get out there and drive like that and act that way.' "
There will still be some connective tissue between Gordon and Hendrick Motorsports. He remains part of that dominant race team, as he settles into an uncertain role once his obligations to Fox end at the middle of the season and NASCAR switches to NBC Sports as its primary broadcast partner.
"My role is somewhat undefined as far as a title," Gordon said. "But it's pretty clear to me that I am partner at Hendrick. I think a big part of my support is from the sponsorship side of things, the marketing side of things.
"And if a team feels like they could use me for anything competition-wise to help them, I'm certainly ready to jump in."
NASCAR loses an iconic driver. But it will gain a familiar voice in the broadcast booth. Not such a bad thing.
"You don't have a helmet. You don't have a uniform," Waltrip said. "But you'll have a nice time in makeup to take its place."
Bazinga.
Many more zings to come.
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