Zac Emmons, PIR Director of Communications:
“We are joined here by Phoenix International Raceway President Bryan Sperber and four-time Sprint Cup series Champion Jeff Gordon. Gordon is a four-time winner at Phoenix, three times in NASCAR-sanctioned competition and Bryan’s got a really special announcement about our November race in Phoenix.”
Bryan R. Sperber, PIR President:
“Thank you, Zac. It’s not every year that an icon in our sport announces that this will be his last full-time year behind the wheel of a car that’s made so much history in our sport. So, knowing that by the time Nov. 15 and the Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 comes around, we’ll be down to just two more races with Jeff. We knew we had to step it up and put together a celebration that the fans and everybody who cares about this sport so much could participate to recognize and to celebrate Jeff’s amazing career both on the track and off the track.
“So with great honor and privilege today, I’m happy to announce that for Nov. 15, for the Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500, Phoenix International Raceway will be known as Jeff Gordon Raceway. We are very, very excited. This program is not just a changing of the name of the racetrack. We wanted to create an opportunity for fans to participate in this celebration, so we will also be distributing that day 24,000 limited edition trading cards. The fans will have an opportunity to get this limited edition trading card set for those that were there and got to see Jeff’s race at Phoenix.
“We also wanted to support Jeff’s efforts charitably as well, so we’ve got a whole charity initiative that will start today, actually. Jeff, we’re going to ask you to sign this one-of-a-kind hood that commemorates the Jeff Gordon Raceway event and that will be auctioned off for charity with the proceeds going to support the Jeff Gordon Children’s Foundation and Phoenix Raceway Charities.
“We also want fans around the world to have an opportunity to join us in this celebration, so there will be a whole digital online program where fans will be able to post their favorite moments of Jeff’s career. It will be ‘24 Moments of Greatness’, which we will unveil as we come in to the race. We couldn’t be more excited about this. As a fan myself, it’s hard to believe, Jeff, that we’re winding down your amazing career. It’s even harder for me to comprehend the impact that you’ve had, not just on track, which goes without saying, but what you’ve done for this sport. I think all of us thank you for your amazing career and we’re looking forward to Nov. 15 and celebrating with you.”
Jeff Gordon:
“I certainly am too. Thank you, Bryan. Thank you to everyone at PIR. I’ve always enjoyed racing at your facility, even prior to NASCAR. It meant a lot to me to be there and get a chance to win there. Over the years, you guys have been amazing to work with. This has been a very special year, especially as it relates to the fans, the tracks, and you guys just took it to a whole other level. So thank you very much. I’m really honored. That’s special. I know it’s not an easy task – it took a lot to pull that off and all the things that you’re doing for the fans that weekend for me, for our team and for the charity. Thank you so much. I’m very much looking forward to that race. No pressure or anything. I think I’m going to have to step it up at that one.”
Q: We’ve had this discussion on this before. The first time I interviewed you was in 1999. You won the Silver Crown race at the Copper World Classic at Phoenix. Can you talk about racing there in the early days and what this track has meant to you?
Gordon: “Yeah, in the early days it was like going to Talladega or Daytona for me, because we raced on short tracks and racing a midget, or I finally started getting into the Silver Crown cars racing on one-mile dirt ovals. PIR was really the first one-mile paved track that I ever raced on. So, when I think about how intimidating it was to go that fast in that type of a car and compete there, and we were also with the super-modifieds which were blindingly fast. It was a big, big event as an up-and-coming open-wheel driver. That really set you apart if you were at the event and were able to win that event. It was really a huge notch in your belt of your career and the stats. To go there and win was huge for me and it definitely was one of those big milestones and stepping stones in my career in the early stages.”
Q: Phoenix is obviously a very critical race in the Chase to determine the final four. Just how much more meaningful would it be for you to be in the mix going for that final four at Jeff Gordon Raceway?
Gordon: “Well, we know what went on there last year, so we know how wild and crazy and dramatic things can be, especially this year when I think about pit strategy and how it’s playing out, Phoenix has really been big on pit strategy and those restarts being so crucial. I look forward to that and I hope we’re in that battle so we can not just go there to try to win at the Jeff Gordon Raceway, but to make it meaningful for the Championship, to go win that Championship in Homestead. It’s become a very crucial and important race in closing down the season to get to the Championship and to play a major role in the Championship. It’s been a good track for us, not just in recent years, but in the past, too. So yeah, it’s definitely even more so going to be a highlight now when I look at the races at the end of the season.”
Q: When it comes to accolades like this, how much input do you have and will we see a retro rainbow paint scheme?
Gordon: “That’s definitely been a question that’s going around a lot lately and I wish I had an answer for you. It’s being talked about a lot within Hendrick Motorsports and ours sponsors. I don’t think anything’s been confirmed on that yet. You know, they came to me and I was overwhelmed. I was like, ‘Really, are you serious about this?’ That’s amazing, just the fact that they thought of this and were willing to do this was really, really meaningful right away. So of course I jumped on board right away. The only input I had, I think I had three different logos that they had asked my opinion on, which one I liked, so the one you see, I think, is the one I picked. So I had a lot of input.”
Q: Jeff and Bryan, is the track named after you forever, or is it just for the day?
Gordon: “It’s forever, right Bryan?”
Sperber: “We’re going to have to negotiate that one.”
Gordon: “What if I win?”
Sperber: “Alright, let’s do that. We’re willing to negotiate in Victory Lane. If you can imagine a ‘keys to the city’ type of thing.”
Q: Jeff, if it was forever, would that be your greatest accolade?
Gordon: “Yes. When you think of what’s going to stand out in your career, that would be it. I’m thrilled for it to be one day. If I win, maybe we can talk about some more, Bryan.”
Q: For Bryan, is Jeff’s likeness going to appear anywhere on the trophy? And how much of an undertaking is it to do something like this?
Sperber: “It’s really kind of a broad program. We started thinking about what we should do to recognize Jeff’s career. We wanted to make this as broad as possible so the fans that were onsite could have an opportunity to celebrate with us, the fans from around the world because we feel like Jeff’s career is so much more than the amazing track record that he had behind the wheel. He’s just had a huge impact on the sport and American sporting culture in general and probably beyond. We really wanted to try to rise to that occasion to put together a celebration and acknowledgement that would be on par with what we feel like he’s done for NASCAR and for the sport of motor racing. So there’s a whole range of things we’ve been working on to try to do that, and you see some of that here today. The trading cards, there’s some commemorative items that will be available on sale through the Fanatics website. The charity component, Jeff’s always been big-hearted about giving back, so we wanted to support him with that and hopefully be able to raise a lot of money this year through the Jeff Gordon Raceway program and just being able to reach as many fans as we possibly can to draw them in, bring them in and join us to acknowledge and celebrate Jeff’s amazing career.”
Q: Jeff, we’ve seen a lot of impressive tributes to you over the course of the year so far and I think this is near the top. But lightheartedly, have we jumped the shark and how can teams try to top Jeff Gordon Raceway?
Gordon: “Yeah, this is going to be tough. That’s why I say it’s been a very special year to start the season off, and I knew the first half of the season it would be sporadic as far as what tracks do because most of them, I’m coming back around the second time and as we get closer to the end of the season, I felt like some things would possibly ramp up. But when I think about what some of the tracks have done, on the 24th lap, the towels with the fence on the 24th lap and some of the different signage and things on the track, it’s been really overwhelming. So when I first showed up to the tracks and it said 24 in the grass at some of the mile-and-a-half tracks, or on the walls, it really put a big smile on my face. It was really cool. Never did I think any of them would be named Jeff Gordon Raceway for a day. I don’t know; I hope this has been fun for the tracks to be a part of, to have a friendly rivalry among one another. I know as we get closer down to Homestead, Bryan’s now taken it to the next level and he’s definitely leading the pack. He’s put the pressure on them, and that’s very cool. I’m very pleased and thankful because I really want to focus as much as I can on the competition and trying to win races and battle for this Championship. It’s been a bit of a tough start for us as far as that’s concerned, and I need more than anything now to be able to just stay focused on that. So that puts, to me, more pressure on the tracks to engage the fans in a way that there is a celebration, that there is a lot of fun and exciting things happening around that, and hopefully on the track I can give them what they came to see which is a great performance and hopefully a win.”
Q: Have you guys been pitched any sort of tribute idea that was so over the top, albeit probably very flattering, that you had to respectfully decline or try to talk them back?
Gordon: “You’ll have to talk to John Bickford or Jon Edwards about that. I don’t remember anything that stood out to me that was an absolute ‘No,’ that was over the top. But it’s possible it got to them and never got to me because it was so over the top. I’m not familiar with that.”
Q: This obviously is really cool, but do you have any regrets at all about your retirement thinking maybe it’s not time, or is it time?
Gordon: “No, I’m very content with the decision. Especially after announcing the FOX deal, that was something I was working on and now that we’ve got that done, it gets me excited about going to the racetrack next year and covering the races, still being involved in the sport I love so much. I’m so passionate about, but doing it from a different perspective. So my schedule and what I’ll be doing in the future is all starting to come together and I’m going to be really, really busy and it’s doing things that I enjoy. I’ve been thinking about this for a number of years. Last year was amazing to compete at that level and really be, in my opinion, a Championship caliber team, winning races. This year has been slightly disappointing on that front, but it’s a long season. We have more to come and our team is working really, really hard to get to where we were last year by the second half of the season and I think it’s still very possible. That, to me, would be the ultimate – to close out this season with things like what’s happening at PIR and also with the fans, the support that they’re giving me and to be able to reward them and my team and myself with spectacular finishes and still competing at the highest level. Nothing would make me happier than stepping away at Homestead and having that type of a season.”
About Phoenix International Raceway
Since 1964, Phoenix International Raceway has been the premier motorsports venue in the Southwest. As the only track in the West to have two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series weekends a year, PIR kicked off its 2015 NASCAR season with the CampingWorld.com 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race weekend in March and will round out the year with the semifinal race for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, the Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500, Nov. 13-15.
