A nostalgic message from Zac Brown, Jeff Gordon’s former race engineer, drew a reaction from Rajah Caruth, a NASCAR Truck Series driver associated with Bubba Wallace. Brown’s reminiscing was sparked by a fan’s throwback video highlighting Gordon’s performance at the 2015 Kentucky Speedway race.
The video showcased the 2015 Aero package, which featured adjustments like a shorter rear spoiler designed to reduce downforce. Gordon seemed to thrive in these conditions, making bold moves while his competitors struggled with turbulent air.
Witnessing this display of dominance by the Hendrick Motorsports legend clearly affected Brown.
“First race of my career seems like yesterday,” Brown posted on X.
Rajah Caruth, a rising star in the Truck Series and the third African-American driver to win a NASCAR National Series race, responded to Brown’s post with a simple: “Sick!!!!” Caruth’s victory came last season in Las Vegas, with backing from Hendrick Cars.
While Gordon didn’t win the Kentucky race, finishing seventh, he had previously expressed a unique desire to conquer that particular track.
Jeff Gordon’s Aspiration to Win in Kentucky
Jeff Gordon, a NASCAR icon with 93 Cup Series wins, has achieved numerous significant milestones. These include three Daytona 500 victories, three Coca-Cola 600 wins, and six Southern 500 wins, demonstrating his mastery of NASCAR’s toughest tracks.
Leading up to the 2015 race, Kentucky was the only track where Gordon hadn’t secured a win. He articulated his strong desire to finally achieve a victory there. He admitted that while not winning wouldn’t be a major disappointment, finishing second would sting.
“It wouldn’t mean so much to me if I hadn’t won on all the other ones. It’s the newest track that has been added on the schedule, so we haven’t been able to come here for a long time. It would just mean a lot to win it,” Gordon said, according to NASCAR.
He further explained, “It’s not if we don’t win that I’m going to be super disappointed. I’m going to be disappointed if we finish second. To come that close, yeah, that would be a little disappointing as far as the stats go. But I would like to have a good, strong finish here and just have a shot at it.”
Ultimately, Gordon’s hopes at Kentucky Speedway were dashed. The #24 Chevrolet struggled with Goodyear tires that didn’t quite match the track surface, and a lack of tire degradation further compounded the issue. As a result, Gordon, despite starting third, finished seventh after 267 grueling laps.
