Jeff Gordon 1-on-1: On his love for Martinsville, Hendrick's championship outlook

Jeff Gordon, a four-time Cup champion, now serves as vice chairman of Hendrick Motorsports. An equity owner in the organization, he assumed that role in June 2021 as the executive overseeing day-to-day operations.

Gordon's final win of his Cup career came at Martinsville in 2015, a victory that launched him into the Championship 4. He didn't win the title in his final full season, but it is still an iconic moment in his history.

The Cup Series heads to Martinsville this weekend for another elimination race. Hendrick Motorsports knows it will have at least one driver in the Championship 4 as Kyle Larson already has earned a spot. William Byron is 30 points to the plus side going into the race. The Hendrick No. 9 car, driven by Chase Elliott, also is eligible for the owners championship, but Elliott would need to win Martinsville for that car to have a shot at the owners title next week at Phoenix.

Gordon talked with FOX Sports a couple of times over the past couple of weeks — once in victory lane after Larson's win at Las Vegas and then prior to the Cup race last Sunday at Homestead — about the organization, the playoffs and Martinsville. 

Kyle Larson won his High Limit Series championship, goes to Indy, got his first laps in IndyCar and wins the race in Las Vegas all in one week. What does that say about what type of driver Kyle Larson is?

He's the kind that he's worked really hard to get himself all these great opportunities and he capitalizes on them. He's a real talent. That was a heck of a week.

Just how much does winning Las Vegas mean for Kyle Larson when vying for the title?

It certainly means a lot because it does take pressure off of you, but I also know [crew chief] Cliff [Daniels] and this [car number] 5 team, and they're just going to ramp it up and keep trying to keep the pressure on the competitors and themselves. ... They're a team that can be very dangerous in this position. I'm anxious to see what they've got and how they approach that. And then hopefully we can get William and the 24 in there.

What would it mean to have two in the final four? I know the goal every year is four in the final four, but is two somewhat OK?

I'm not giving up on three.

Three with the 9 in the owners title, yes?

That's a whole other interview. ... I look at it a couple different ways. I think, one, we've had two teams that have performed extremely well this year. It's always special to have one, if not more than one, in the championship race. But more so, I'm just looking at the kind of breakout year that I've seen William and [crew chief] Rudy [Fugle] and that team have. They've been steadily growing to get here. But the way they've stepped up as a team this year — pit crew, cars, I think William's confidence as a driver — they've had a heck of a year. And so no matter what, it's a good year. 

But I know how they feel in the same way we feel as it wouldn't be complete without going to Phoenix and being a part of that Championship 4. To me, it's like winning a championship [in] getting there. And then, if all the stars align and you execute, then you can come out of there with something very special, which would be amazing. But right now, I think the reward for them would be to go to Phoenix.

You're in the camp of the goal is to get to Phoenix, and then obviously, you want to win Phoenix and everything, but as a one-race championship deal, you can set that as a goal, but it's kind of difficult?

Especially the last round [the Round of 8]. We knew this round lines up good for Larson, good for William, good for us as an organization. I'm sure there's other organizations that are in it that would say the same thing. But that last round was just tough — you've got Texas, you've got Talladega, and then the Roval. Just to kind of get through that, which we've seen it go the opposite way with Larson last year. And it was tough this year. You just have a whole new respect for the way that this system works and how difficult it is, no matter what kind of year you've had, to be able to get to Phoenix. Or just even get this far into it.

Going to Martinsville, what is the most special about that track?

You love the history of the racetrack in general and the role that it's played in the history of the sport and just great short-track racing. I think we all agree that more short tracks, just like we're going to Iowa next year, is important. Mainly when I think of Martinsville, I just think of the success that we've had as an organization. Our history was built on that track. We're going to celebrate that next year [with Hendrick Motorsports'] 40th anniversary, and it all got started with Geoff Bodine winning at Martinsville. And I think Rick would tell you it's been a special place. 

It's also been a place of heartache when we think of this time of year [with the anniversary of the 2004 Hendrick plane crash, which killed 10 people, including four members of Rick's family]. But [there's also] great memories that we have on track and the wins. There's a lot of — I don't want to say a lot of pressure — but I think within our organization with the history we've had at Martinsville, there's a little bit of added pressure to go there and keep that tradition or that streak alive.

So when you won there in your last season, was that ...? 

It couldn't have been any better for me. It's funny because when I think of the first time I went there as an Xfinity driver, I thought, "What is this place? Oh my goodness, I'll never figure this place out." But it was a big challenge. And then it became my best track. And then to end my career — one of the very first tracks I ever saw in NASCAR was Charlotte Motor Speedway and it also quickly became one of my favorites. To get my first one there and then Martinsville be my favorite and to win my last race there, I don't know how you bookend a career any better than that from my perspective.

Does your role change during these last few weeks as far as either your involvement with the teams or the drivers or talking to the drivers about championships and pressure or anything like that? Or is it pretty much the same as it was in March or April?

I can't say it's the same because there's a lot more intensity just surrounding every meeting and every day at the shop, the preparation and at the racetrack. You feel the energy is different. I try to let these guys — you hire them to do a job and you give them the reins to go do that. For me, I don't try to get overly involved unless I really need to, to give some great advice or guidance or anything like that. 

This is what they all work for, and it's just making sure they have the tools and that they have everything they need to go and perform and execute and just enjoy watching them do what they do best when the pressure is on. My job, it's stressful because you can't control what happens, and so you just have to accept it and that's not always easy. But it's also a lot of pride when they go and execute well, and you know that they've been working for that all year long to get in that position.

It used to be when Mr. Hendrick and probably you walk down pit road, it'd be like, "Oh, they're the big owners or they're the big executives." And now there's Michael Jordan and Pitbull?

That's good.

Do you ever feel like, "Oh, there's other people to attract the attention and not us and the ones who have been here for years?"

First of all, I'm not in an attention-seeking position. That was different as a driver — you're trying to attract sponsors or keep your sponsors happy and fans and all those things. We love the brand that we have, and we want to maintain that. But when Michael Jordan and Pitbull and others like that come into the sport, it grows the sport. It makes it better for all of us. I'd like to think we're competitors on the track with the other teams. But off the track, I feel like we're all on the same team to build the sport.

This is the 20th season of the playoffs — the first Chase was 2004 ...?

I wish it was, like, 15. Just give me another five years without it.

You would have won more titles then. Did you think it would last 20 years? And what do you make of the way it has evolved?

I'm not surprised. Because while a purist like myself that have won championships under the old format, I also look at it and go, "This is far more entertaining. It's more intense." It's not always easy to explain to fans, especially new fans, but it does add excitement to the sport. It makes that final race of the year heightened, and I think it attracts more fans because of it. 

Once they introduced that, I don't think there was any looking back. To eliminate teams the way that they've done has only even done more of that. You kind of wish it didn't just come down to one race. But at the same time, you could say the same thing about other sports, right? The Super Bowl, it doesn't matter what kind of season you had up to that point, you've got to go, you've got to win, you've got to execute. I think the winners, it's meant to be. The best teams win.

An engine can blow or something mechanical can happen in this sport that takes you out compared to the Super Bowl.

There's a lot of things that can happen and everybody's pushing the envelope and limit in that race to win the championship because it means so much. And so that means drivers on track are taking more risks. You're going to take more risks with your setups and your pit stops. We've been on both sides of it. We've seen it pay off and we've seen it not work out. 

What To Watch For

Track position. It has been difficult to pass at Martinsville since the start of the Next Gen car. Ryan Preece won the pole in April, led 135 laps, had a speeding penalty and then never sniffed the lead after that.

The drivers who need the track position the most? The six drivers — William Byron, Ryan Blaney, Tyler Reddick, Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr. and Chris Buescher — who are vying for the final two spots in the Championship 4.

Hamlin led 36 laps in the spring and finished fourth, one spot behind Truex. They both will be drivers to watch as they try to go from 17 points below the cutline to either above the cutline on points or victory lane.

Pit road is tight, which can lead to problems of either contact on pit road or mistakes by crew members.

And this is one of the more grueling races at 500 laps on this flat, short track — the drivers take a beating from slamming on the brakes as well as getting hit from behind. The spring race is "only" 400 miles. 

One thing you won't see — the Hail Melon. NASCAR has banned the move that Ross Chastain made famous last year at Martinsville, where he mashed the gas and used the wall to steer the car as he passed several cars for a spot in the championship race.

Thinking Out Loud

The charter agreement between NASCAR and the teams allows NASCAR to repossess a charter and then sell it (most of the proceeds would go to the season-ending points fund) if a car is in the bottom three of charter team owner points for three consecutive years. Rick Ware Racing's No. 51 car, which is the No. 15 from the previous two years, is in jeopardy of being in that spot as it is 31 points behind the Spire Motorsports No. 77 for the 33rd spot among the 36 charter teams. 

The key is that NASCAR isn't required to repossess the charter. It is totally NASCAR's decision. The fact that the car is averaging 9.1 points a race — 28th place — would be an argument that the team is competitive enough to avoid charter repossession. The point of the performance requirement was to make sure a team didn't start-and-park and didn't finish close to last every race.

It would be somewhat surprising if NASCAR does repossess the charter, considering the gains that RWR has made the past two years. Maybe NASCAR doesn't want to say anything publicly — a NASCAR spokesman over the past six weeks has repeatedly said it has no definitive answer to the question — because it wants RWR to continue to focus on the points and feel a little bit of the pressure.

But it seems unfortunate to still have the question. Considering how much charters are going for — reportedly close to $40 million — NASCAR should let its intention be known so there are no surprises.

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They Said It

"You know that if you have one bad race, especially in the Round of 8, you're cooked and what you did for the first 35 races just doesn't matter." —Denny Hamlin, who heads to Martinsville needing to make up ground in hopes of joining the Championship 4 

Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including the past 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass, and sign up for the FOX Sports NASCAR Newsletter with Bob Pockrass.