Jeff Gordon retiring as full-time NASCAR driver after 2015

Big news for those who still care about auto racing:

Jeff Gordon to run final full-time NASCAR season in 2015 | News | Hendrick Motorsports

Had some back problems last year and isn't the every-race contender he was 10 years ago.

But one of the all-time greats and a super-nice and accommodating guy in the 3-4 times I interviewed him at Talladega back in the day.

 

Well, dang. Not the biggest fan, but any time someone gets into the rare air of the all-time greats you've got to appreciate their skill. I was hoping he'd get to 100 wins, though it doesn't look likely now -- unless he has a Mark Martinesque "retirement" where he's still running 25-plus races a year.

 

Wasn't a fan, but can certainly appreciate his talent. I've always wondered where open wheel racing might be today if that version of racing had been able to hang on to guys like Jeff Gordon, Robby Gordon and Tony Stewart in the 1990s, especially Jeff Gordon.
Gordon is an interesting case study to me in how athletes get treated in the press when they are accommodating vs. gruff. For example, Earnhardt was gruff like Stewart tends to be now, while Gordon was the opposite and seemed to get the benefit of the doubt more as a result.
Also, anyone betting against Chase Elliott getting Gordon's seat in 2016?