Last big day of his career? It's not over until it's over.......
It started, though, with coffee with mom, a conversation with mom – the racing legend, who has made his living going 200-miles an hour, inches from concrete walls, a millionaire now many times over, crying with mom.
"She was not prepared for what was about to happen," Gordon said. "She walked in and I just started thanking her over and over and over again for all that [she and his step-father John Bickford] did for me. … There were tears pouring down my face."
She started talking about the old days and the new articles and the social media mentions and all the love. He'd tried to stay in a vacuum this week, tried to focus on winning the race, but the more that came the more he came unglued and the more he appreciated getting it out of the way. He needed it.
The last big day of his career, the end of the longest of journeys and a sixth-place finish aside, what could be better than this?
"Perfect," Gordon said. "Perfect."