Legendary Crew Chief Kept Hendrick Motorsports Legend in the Same Category as NASCAR Pioneers Junior Johnson & the France Family in 2009

The NASCAR community has often considered Jeff Gordon as one of the best drivers to have graced the sport. Even one legendary Hendrick Motorsports crew chief sang praises for Gordon. Back in 2009, the former crew chief Ray Evernham stated that Gordon falls in the same bracket as the top few drivers to have ever raced in the sport throughout its history.

Evernham stated, “Throughout history, NASCAR has had its building blocks. The France family, the Pettys, Junior Johnson, Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon. You never can say who is the greatest in any major sport. But I will say this: Jeff should be mentioned as one of the top five drivers for what he’s meant to NASCAR.”

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Ray Evernham obviously respected Gordon tremendously and he, considering Gordon to be amongst the top five of the greatest, really showed his admiration towards the driver.

Jeff Gordon might have never raced in NASCAR

Initially, Gordon wanted to get into the open-wheel racing scene. However, he and his family were short of funding, so none of the teams ever gave him a spot. Even as a child growing up, the ‘Wonder Boy’ would often state that his goal was to race at Indy.

Had Gordon received a seat in one of the open-wheel teams, he would have gone on to become an IndyCar racing driver. Who knows, perhaps even great at it. But as luck would have it, they showed him the gates for the open wheel. So instead he moved down south and got himself into a stock car and the rest was history.

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Jeff Gordon won the NASCAR Cup Championship four times in total. Not only that, but he also managed to win the inaugural round of the Cup Series race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. As his career progressed, he would further win 5 times at IMS and thrice at the iconic Daytona 500. Even after his retirement from the sport, he is still highly regarded by many of the fans, as one of the greatest.