PIR to be renamed in honor of Jeff Gordon for fall race

Phoenix International Raceway is about to become Jeff Gordon Raceway.

For one day.

PIR will honor the four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion by formally renaming the 1-mile oval in his name for the Nov. 15 Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500, azcentral sports has learned. Gordon, who has four career PIR wins, says he doesn't plan to drive after this season, which would make Phoenix his penultimate race.

An official announcement is expected Friday.

NASCAR speedways have been paying tribute to Gordon — whose success and personality elevated the sport in the mainstream media and popular culture — in various ways. Gordon's children, Ella and Leo, gave the "start your engines" command at Bristol Motor Speedway. Las Vegas Motor Speedway posted "Speed Limit: 24" signs in recognition of his iconic No. 24 Pepsi Chevrolet.

"We were thinking of it like an athlete getting the keys to the city," PIR President Bryan Sperber said. "It (the idea) took off from there. Starting with the quirky layout of our track, it seems like Phoenix always does things a little different.

"We're the next-to-last race so a lot of good ideas will already have been implemented at other venues. We thought, 'We better step up our game' and do something really cool, that the fans can be a part of, that what we do for Jeff is remembered."

Gordon, 43, said he's grateful for all the tributes, and "Phoenix has taken it to the next level."

"I'm so thankful that people want to honor me in that way and get the fans engaged," Gordon told azcentral sports in a private interview last month at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway before he drove the Indy 500 Corvette pace car. "It's been a very special year but Phoenix is going to be extremely special being called 'Jeff Gordon Raceway.' "

PIR fans voted Gordon's 2007 victory as the most memorable moment of the track's first 50 years. That was his 76th Cup series win, equaling Dale Earnhardt's career total, and he acknowledged the NASCAR legend by parading a flag bearing Earnhardt's number "3". Gordon's 2011 win was the last before the track was repaved.

Gordon also won PIR's inaugural Busch (now Xfinity) Series event in 1999 and the 1991 Copper World Classic USAC Silver Crown race.

He has a track record 23 top-10 Cup finishes, including a ninth-place result in last March's CampingWorld.com 500. He ranks second in starts (33), laps completed (10,137), lead-lap finishes (25), top-5 finishes (12) and pole positions (three).

Some aspects of the renaming will benefit Gordon's Children's Foundation and Phoenix Raceway Charities:

•Gordon will sign limited sets of five trading cards PIR will produce featuring his top moments. They will be auctioned by the NASCAR Foundation. So will a signed car hood with the Jeff Gordon Raceway logo.

•One card will be included in each PIR ticket mailing. Free cards will be distributed at the gates race weekend. There will be trading posts in the Midway where fans can swap cards to try to collect the full set.

•A "24 Moments of Greatness" campaign will ask fans to submit their favorite Gordon memories.

•"24" will be painted on the start/finish line with fans encouraged to write messages to Gordon.

•Jeff Gordon Raceway logo memorabilia will be available for purchase.

"Once the race starts fans are going to root for their favorites," Sperber said. "But that whole day, you can't help but tip your cap and acknowledge the incredible contributions and career that Jeff has had. It's going to cut across all the fan loyalties.

"Jeff's career is bigger than maybe everybody realizes. The impact he's had on the sport, the people he's touched both as a racer and as an ambassador for the sport, the charity work he's done, it's really hard to comprehend. I wanted there to be an opportunity for all the fans to participate, to be able to say, 'I was there.' "

Gordon said such tributes were unthinkable when he was 6 with a goal "just to be a race car driver."

"It's just awesome to be at the level of the Cup series, and win races (92, third most in NASCAR history), and be a part of so many special things," said Gordon, who will be a Fox Sports race analyst next year. "But never in your wildest dreams could you ever think that, if you go do that and if you're successful, people are going to do these types of things for you.

"I'm absolutely blown away. I don't have the vocabulary to really put into perspective the way I feel."