Race Weekend Central

Jeff Gordon Honored with Tour Bus in New York City

New York City is known for its bright lights and tourism industry. On Tuesday afternoon, a special Gray Line tour bus glowed with images of a NASCAR champion.

Positioned just two blocks from the infamous Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum on the West Side Highway by the Hudson River, a red carpet was rolled out for another step in Jeff Gordon‘s retirement tour. After making an early morning stop at CBS This Morning to release a throwback rainbow paint scheme, the Hendrick Motorsports driver was honored by the Ride of Fame – a program created to glorify public figure’s impact on the world, showcasing their accomplishments amidst New York City.

“My kids were born in New York City,” Gordon said prior to unveiling the tour bus. “I met my wife in New York City. We spend a lot of time here and love the city. We have seen many double-decker buses driving around, and I know how much people that travel from all around the world enjoy these rides. I hope they enjoy this one just a little bit more.”

With a gold-plated scissor, Gordon cut the ribbon to release to the world a bus with his No. 24 Chevrolet on the face of it. As his son, Leo, along with daughter, Ella Sofia, ran around the bus, he called it a “play pen for my kids.”

Dedicated in the 92-time Cup Series winner’s honor, the bus has two special seats with his name on it, along with a special message for those that will have the pleasure of sitting there.

“I prefer not to have my face on there,” he joked. “Typically, I like my racecar or my number and my name, but this is a true honor. I got a chance to write a little message to the riders. I told them that ‘I know it’s not 200 mph, but enjoy the ride.’ I just hope people enjoy riding it.”

“It’s just so cool,” Gordon said. “I’ve lived here part-time. I’ve seen these Gray Line buses all around the city, and to have my face, name and racecar on the front of this bus and a couple of special seats with that same thing is so cool for me.”

Gordon, who is retiring from full-time competition at the completion of the 2015 season, will be joining the NASCAR on FOX booth beginning in 2016 as a race analyst. This season, he has two top fives and eight top 10s after 16 events.

About the author

Joseph started with Fronstretch in Aug. 2014 and worked his way up to become an editor in less than a year. A native of Whitestone, New York, Joseph writes for NASCAR Pole Position magazine as a weekly contributor, along with being a former intern at Newsday and the Times Beacon Record Newspapers, each on Long Island. With a focus on NASCAR, he runs our social media pages and writes the NASCAR Mailbox column, along with other features for the site.

Sign up for the Frontstretch Newsletter

A daily email update (Monday through Friday) providing racing news, commentary, features, and information from Frontstretch.com
We hate spam. Your email address will not be sold or shared with anyone else.

Share via