NASCAR grind has Jeff Gordon eyeing retirement
In fact, the 36-year-old Gordon insists 40 might be his point of no return.
"I don't see myself driving past 40 very much," he says.
"In some way I'll always want to drive a race car, but to do it full-time in the Sprint Cup Series, I don't see myself doing it more than four to five more years."
What does he see himself doing after that?
"I would love to do the Rolex 24-hour race again," he says. "I'd love to do LeMans. I'd like to drive cars I used to drive or don't get a chance to drive. Heck, even the dirt track late models we do at Tony's has been a blast."
That's a reference to fellow NASCAR driver Tony Stewart's dirt track at Eldora Speedway in Ohio where NASCAR drivers gather each summer for a night of grass-roots camaraderie and racing.
Gordon also figures to get more involved in managing the Hendrick MotorSports team where he's already a part owner.
"If they think I can add something to that," he says, "I'd like to try it."
That Gordon is even considering retiring in his mid-30s reflects the strain of racing combined with a season of poor-handling cars and juggling fatherhood (he and wife Ingrid Vandebosch have a 1-year-old daughter, Ella).
"I've worked harder this year as a driver than I ever have before," he says. "There's the testing. The sport is getting more expensive so we're asking more of our sponsors so, in return, we have to give back more. It doesn't come for nothing. Then the car. Being a dad. All of those things have been overwhelming. You want to find ways to taper back because it wears you down." More at Captain Thunder Racing