Mike Joy, Jeff Gordon and Darrell Waltrip in the FOX broadcast booth.
Photo – Getty Images

Wasn’t it just yesterday that Jeff Gordon ran his last race at Homestead-Miami Speedway?

Last season we were watching Jeff Gordon as one of the last four drivers eligible to race for the Sprint Cup Series championship – many were hopeful he might finally win his fifth title. But, then the checkered flag waved and as the newly crowned champion, Kyle Busch celebrated his first title, Gordon and his family quietly left the track, closing the door on his drive for five, and moving on to a new horizon.

Gordon has been busy planning the next chapter of his career in the FOX broadcast booth and we were anxious for the season to begin to see him in his new role – off the track. The wait is over and we were ready for Gordon’s broadcast debut at Daytona International Speedway during Speedweeks. 

And now, just as he did when he made his name in racing, we saw Gordon take that same professionalism and polish to the FOX broadcast booth to call the action on race day next to veterans Mike Joy and Darrell Waltrip and working along with Larry McReynolds on race news analysis. Watching and listening to Gordon during practices, pole qualifying, the Sprint Unlimited and Daytona 500, he clearly brings a refreshingly new perspective to the booth.

Gordon was a part of the growing experience of NASCAR and went through some of the aerodynamic changes with the Car of Tomorrow, and Gen-Six, as well as, the evolving Chase format over the last decade of his racing career. That is a great foundation for presenting his view of what’s taking place now. Gordon gives a point of view that fans trust because of his experience behind the wheel and their relationship with him over the last twenty-plus years.

With McReynolds – a former crew chief – moving into his new role as analyst and with Gordon’s recent racing experience, their commentary of the 2016 Rules and Team Charter packages gave fans fresh insight, helping us understand the reasons behind NASCAR’s decisions.

FOX has put together a perfect team and did a great job transitioning Gordon into his new role. Their commercials show Gordon changing from NASCAR Sprint Cup driver to FOX analyst. Although the Kenny Rogers song – ‘Through the Years’ – seems right for the spot, it’s not one of my favorites and the TV is on mute every time the commercial runs. That said, the song is still a good choice for featuring the new addition of Gordon at FOX and his relationship with fans.

With Daytona Speedweeks in the books, hopefully most fans are looking forward to Gordon’s point of view throughout the FOX season. For me, it will be fun hearing what Gordon has to say from Daytona to Sonoma.

As FOX mentions in their commercial, it was worth the wait.

Now to get this song out of my head…