Jeff Gordon‘s influence in NASCAR has been far-reaching. Both on and off the track, he has proven his status as a valuable asset to the industry. After his retirement, he continued to stay close to the sport, joining Fox Sports as an analyst. Currently, the Vice President for the evergreen Hendrick Motorsports, Gordon remains a big influence in NASCAR.

In a recent interview, the voice of NASCAR and broadcasting genius Mike Joy affirmed the same. Joy is one of the most knowledgeable people associated with the sport, and to earn his praise relates to the fact that Gordon’s work must have been pretty commendable.

Mike Joy talks about lining up Tony Stewart as a replacement for Jeff Gordon

Being a 4-time NASCAR Cup Series champion is only a testament to a driver’s acumen. Well, Gordon’s achievements speak for him. His post-retirement stint at FOX lasted six years, during which he earned much praise for a great job. Speaking on the BVM Sports’ talk show Cup Connection, fellow crew member Joy laughed out when host Mike Massaro questioned him about the challenges of gathering a star-studded analyst crew.

“Like herding cats. This is the second year that we’ve done this. Instead of naming a perfect replacement analyst for Jeff Gordon. And at first, I was a little concerned having somebody different every week. But then some people decided they wanted to do more races than not. It’s been fun to have the very different viewpoints and experience levels right across the board.

I mean we’ve had some guest analysts that haven’t really been in the sport the last 4–5 years. Some were a little out of touch with what was going on, and some were just right on point,” said Joy. The hunt for a toe-to-toe replacement for Gordon would have indeed been hard to find.

The commentator then turned to the possibility of including Tony Stewart as a full-timer. Stewart has been exploring his options so far with multiple ventures, most notably, Stewart-Haas Racing.

“And then we have Tony Stewart, that if he hadn’t gone drag racing this year, I think he would’ve done them all. And done a great job at it,” said Joy praising Tony. The case is indeed as he explained. Tony would most definitely have been a valuable addition to their team. Instead, he has become more serious about drag racing—which was introduced to him by his wife Leah Pruett.

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Stewart lights drag strips on fire, quickly becoming one of the most influential persons in NHRA

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Tony Stewart is as skillful and versatile as a driver can be. The 3-time Cup Series champion would no doubt have been the best replacement for Jeff Gordon, had he taken up the role full-time. But the top flight of NASCAR is not what he wants to limit himself to. Perhaps the most versatile driver in the history of motorsports, he is as much at ease in stock car racing as he is in sprint, late-model, midget, dirt, and even Indy. He holds the distinction of being the only driver to win an IndyCar championship as well as a Cup Series. Perhaps this is the reason why not many were surprised when he followed Leah and entered the drag racing scene at the age of 50.

As the owner of Tony Stewart Racing, Stewart has been fielding entries in USAC and World of Outlaws for two decades. In 2021, he decided to field entries in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series, with dragsters Leah and Matt Hagan driving the Top Fuel and Funny Car. With the couple representing their team with full force, the fans have also taken notice of the duo’s participation in the competition. And he saved the best for the last.

Earlier this year, the couple announced that Stewart will be driving full-time in the Top Alcohol Dragster class for McPhillips Racing. He won his first-ever NHRA national event win in April.

Considering how highly he speaks of the environment at the drag strips, it is unlikely that he will be backing down any time soon. Mike Joy’s search will go on.

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