Legendary 4-time NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon is set to make a return to the racing seat on September 2nd when he jumps into a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway round of the Carrera Cup series. The long-time race announcer and Vice Chairman of Hendrick Motorsport has been retired from full-time racing since 2015, and departed the driver’s seat altogether following his team winning the 2017 Daytona 24 outright. Sadly this jump back into racing is a one-time-only affair, as he’ll be participating in the race weekend that is part of Porsche’s Sportscar Together Festival at the track. The California Kid is no stranger to Indianapolis, with a total of five Brickyard 500 victories when he raced there in his stock car. He also has no problem with road course racing, as he still owns the record for NASCAR road course race victories with nine. And that’s to say nothing of his endurance racing victories.
“I’m looking forward to getting back in a race car and competing against a talented field of teams and drivers. It’s always special when I get a chance to compete at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Ray (Evernham) and I have always talked about running another race together, and we felt like Indy was the perfect place. It’ll be a fun way to spend the holiday weekend and make some new memories.”
Gordon will be running in a field of thirty identical GT3 Cup racers for three days of competition at the Speedway, and will be reuniting with former crew chief Ray Evernham for the weekend. Opening practice for the two 40-minute Carrera Cup races will come on Friday, Sept. 2, followed by qualifying and Race 1 on Saturday, Sept. 3 and Race 2 scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 4. If you want to follow along with all of the action, including Gordon’s hopeful successes, the races will be broadcast live on the official series website – www.porschecarreracup.us – as well as on IMSA.com/TVLive.