Jeff Gordon ends career a champion, but without another championship

As the final races of the 2015 season went by and with it, the final races of Jeff Gordon’s career, everything seemed to be aligning fortuitously.

Gordon had earned one of four spots in the championship finale of the Chase for the Sprint Cup playoff by winning Nov. 1 at Martinsville Speedway, a personal favorite track. His No. 24 team, which slumped through the regular season, began hitting its stride in recent weeks lending credence that a fifth title wasn’t an improbable dream but perhaps the appropriate ending to a fairytale.

Except this storybook tale didn’t have a Hollywood ending. Gordon’s car wasn’t up to task Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway, unable to consistently keep pace with title contenders Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick, who would finish 1-2, respectively. A sixth-place finish was all he could muster.

Not that the outcome diminished the magnitude of the moment. Although a championship would have been the pinnacle, the zenith, the ultimate way to cap a career, how the day actually transpired was still befitting Gordon’s stature as a certain first-ballot NASCAR Hall of Famer and one of the all-time greats across the spectrum of motorsports.

The day started idyllically when an excited Gordon woke up earlier than expected and looked out his motorhome window to see his mom walking by. He invited her in and over coffee the two shared some quality time.

“She walked in and we started hugging and talking and I just started thanking her over and over and over again for all that they did for me,” Gordon said. “That I saw her at that time because I didn’t know they were coming to the track at that time, it was perfect.”

That only set the tone, as more specialness would continue to unfold.

During the prerace drivers meeting Dale Earnhardt Jr., Danica Patrick, Kyle Larson, Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne and Chad Knaus were all wearing No. 24 hats. That same meeting featured a Gordon video tribute followed by a standing ovation.

Everywhere you looked around Homestead there was Gordon paraphernalia of some kind -- a hat, a t-shirt and in one instance a full-scale back tattoo. The No. 24’s pit stall had messages from fans written on the wall and ground. “Last one! Fast one! We will miss you!” one note read. “Thanks for everything, Jeff!” another note read. “Get a win today,” read a third.

Taking in Gordon’s final race were Mario Andretti and Lewis Hamilton, motorsports royalty -- past and present Formula One World Champions. In the moments before he climbed into his car, they each exchanged small talk with Gordon on the grid.

Having developed a friendship after meeting a few years back at the Super Bowl, Gordon and Hamilton regularly communicate with the popular subject on when Hamilton was going to come to a NASCAR race. That finally occurred Sunday.

“I had to come, I needed to be here,” Hamilton told SB Nation. “This is Jeff’s last race.”

When it was over the regret was minimal. Yeah, a better finish would’ve been preferred and falling just short did bring some modicum of disappointment, but Gordon mainly found solace in the support expressed by friends, family, fans and competitors alike.

“There’s no doubt that just being here a part of this day, wrapping up this amazing career, that it didn’t take the championship for me to come out of here feeling like I’m on top of the world, and I am,” Gordon said. “I just can’t help the competitor in me still is cutting into that slightly right now.

“But I’ll loosen up and I’ll be fine a little bit later.”

One heartfelt moment occurred as Gordon removed himself from the 24 car for the final time with team owner Rick Hendrick waiting to embrace his driver. It was then Gordon presented Hendrick with a gift -- the helmet he specifically designed to commemorate his last race with photos of all 93 of his Cup wins.

“He’s so special to me, more than just a car owner-driver relationship,” Gordon said. “I was so happy to have that moment getting out of the car with him.”

There may have been no championship celebration, but it wasn’t needed. The day encapsulated Gordon’s career superbly, providing a fitting conclusion to an extraordinary career.