I get it.

Jeff Gordon is a great champion who has represented the sport of NASCAR well for two decades plus.

He was dominant in the late 1990s and into the early 2000s, has four Cup championship trophies as a result, and will desperately be seeking another one in his final full-time year competing for Rick Hendrick in 2015.

He may well win, as he showed in 2014 that he is still fully capable of competing for a championship. If not for some bad luck toward the end of the 2014 Chase, he may well have been there in the end to compete for the title at Homestead.

2015 NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES SCHEDULE

Date Race/Facility Network Race Start Radio

Sat, Feb 14 Sprint Unlimited FOX 8:00 p.m. MRN/SIRIUSXM
Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, FL
Sun, Feb 15 Daytona 500 Qualifying presented by Kroger FOX 1:00 p.m. MRN/SIRIUSXM
Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, FL

Tickets, campsites and travel packages for all Michigan International Speedway events, including both NASCAR Sprint Cup Series weekends, Michigan Wine and Beer Fest presented by Experience Jackson and Faster Horses Festival, are on sale starting Monday, Feb. 2.

Five legendary drivers with distinct styles and contributions to NASCAR were enshrined into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, North Carolina during an Induction Ceremony held in the Crown Ball Room at the Charlotte Convention Center.

JEFF GORDON, DRIVER OF THE NO. 24 CHEVROLET SS IN THE NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES AND HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS TEAM OWNER, RICK HENDRICK, MET WITH MEMBERS OF THE MEDIA THURSDAY TO DISCUSS JEFF GORDON’S ANNOUNCEMENT THAT 2015 WILL BE HIS FINAL FULL SEASON OF NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES COMPETITION.

BELOW IS THE TRANSCRIPT FROM TODAY’S NASCAR TELECONFERENCE WITH JEFF GORDON and TEAM OWNER RICK HENDRICK aftef the announcement that 2015 will be Gordon's last year racing full-time in the Cup series: