MARTINSVILLE, Va. (AP) – Jeff Gordon celebrated the last win of his NASCAR career as if it was his first trip to victory lane.
He jumped and screamed and sprayed champagne as if he was a fresh-faced rookie last year at Martinsville Speedway. A scripted finish to an iconic career couldn’t have written it better.
That win last November at Martinsville put Gordon in the championship finale and ensured him one final shot at a fifth title. Although he came up empty three weeks later in the championship race, that one final victory was something to savor.
So he had mixed feelings returning to the Virginia race track this weekend, because who wants to spoil such a memory? Gordon is driving his eighth and final scheduled race at the replacement driver for Dale Earnhardt Jr., who is sidelined with a concussion.
“There is a part of me that wasn’t sure if I wanted to come back and take away from that, but at the same time, I’ve always said if there was one track where I felt like I could get back in the car and feel comfortable and competitive, it’s this track,” Gordon said Friday. “For that, I’m happy that I’m here.”