49ers Fan Jeff Gordon Reveals What Dale Earnhardt Jr Took Away From NASCAR; Demands the Sport Takes Pages From NFL

While the stock car racing giant NASCAR is still the community’s dose of weekly entertainment, the sport’s glory days seem to have gone by. It is no secret in NASCAR nation that the organization’s years of having Dale Earnhardt or his beloved son as the organization’s top drivers are long gone and so are the American Series’ prime days as a premier racing promotion.

Even though NASCAR has recovered quite well from the pandemic years that took the sporting world by storm, it is nowhere near its popularity that once shot the sport into the stratosphere in the late 70s, 80s, and 90s.

Recently, 4-time Cup Series champion and one of NASCAR’s greatest drivers, Jeff Gordon shared his thoughts on getting the wind in its sails. Mentioning Dale Earnhardt Jr and the void he left in the sport at the time of his retirement, Gordon got the attention back on the sport’s teams, taking a page from the NFL and its team promotions.

Jeff Gordon cites Dale Earnhardt Jr as an example, urging teams to bring back the sport’s prime days the NFL way

Unlike contact sports like the NFL and NBA, motorsports have a lot of variables that one needs to take into consideration before jumping to conclusions. While football and basketball fans rally after their favorite teams like the San Francisco 49ers or the Chicago Bulls, racing fans are more focused on drivers and individuals whom they admire.

Now, this is both a good thing and a bad thing. For instance, when a fan follows an individual who got him into the sport, he/she suddenly starts to lose interest in the sport once that individual is past his prime or bids goodbye to the sport. While that is one downside of individualism and star power, sports like the NFL have invested more into promotions such that the fans are glued and engaged to their favorite teams irrespective of the player’s moves.

Taking this into account, Gordon at Racers Forum said, “Joey Logano I heard say this the other day and it kind of hit me, and I was like, ‘I love this.’ In all other sports, the teams are kind of what the fans are all drawn to. I’m a [San Francisco] 49ers fan, and no matter who the players are, I’m going to like the players on that team.” 

The HMS Vice Chairman then mentioned his football hero to prove his point while he highlighted the void guys like his former teammate Jimmie Johnson and Dale Jr left on the sport. “Joe Montana, of course, was one of my heroes, and I loved him because he was a 49er. When he left the 49ers and went to the Kansas City Chiefs, I was like, ‘eh, who’s the new quarterback?’

He further added, “I think we have a role as race teams to build our brand up, maybe not as much as the star power of the driver, but in a way where drivers — and we’ve seen this recently with Jimmie Johnson, Dale Jr., and myself, several big drivers that have huge fan followings stepped away from the sport, and I think it had a big impact on the sport. Because the fans seem to not have a connection to the team as strongly as they did to the driver.”

WATCH THIS STORY: Jeff Gordon’s take on Denny Hamlin’s “villain” persona 

Gordon opens up about Kyle Larson, and what makes the HMS #5 driver truly special

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Kyle Larson is a unique individual, his talent and his know-how of the whole racing dynamics are just mind-blowing. Reflecting on his driver’s capabilities, Gordon has high praise for the HMS talent. He even has the “Yung money” a step higher than him on the scale. Responding to the question about what Larson has brought to the table, Gordon said, “Anybody that’s bringing a high level of talent and aggressiveness and speed to match up with people that are building the cars, it’s about having confidence in one another.”

The 4-time champion mentioned Larson’s crew chief’s reaction and then added, “He was excited about that,” Gordon added. “So there’s certain drivers that bring that, not a lot of them, but the ones that do instantly elevate the team. But you gotta follow that up with a work-hard attitude and he’s doing both of those things so it’s a good combination.”

While the veteran, Gordon is not of the opinion that the sport should be devoid of star power, the 52-year-old believes that for the sport to grow out of its shell and rival promotions like F1 on a global scale, teams need to focus their efforts more into promotions as a unit, not on a specific individual.

READ MORE: “My Dad Never Saw One”- 24 Years After Earning Father’s Approval at Homestead, Teary-Eyed Dale Earnhardt Jr Reminisces Sweet Memories