Jeff Gordon ‘flattered’ by possible talk show interest
Jeff Gordon certainly isn’t ruling out the possibility he could become a talk show host.
Gordon has been mentioned as a candidate to succeed Michael Strahan as Kelly Ripa’s co-host on “Live!” Gordon was asked about the possibility on Saturday at Sonoma and said he was flattered about the interest.
“Well, I’m flattered that my name has been associated with that,” Gordon said. “I’ve always maintained a great friendship with the show and some of the producers and folks within the show. I had a great time co-hosting on that show, and I certainly would welcome it. My priority is Fox and Fox Sports and NASCAR, so I will definitely be back in the booth next year. If there was something that would fit into and around that, great. I don’t know if that’s a reality. It’s been really interesting seeing that unfold, but I really don’t have anything that I can say about it.”
Gordon has served as a substitute co-host for the show multiple times throughout his career. While “Live!” tapes in New York City during the week, there would be likely conflicts with Gordon’s NASCAR schedule, namely on Fridays and maybe even Mondays.
Gordon serves as an analyst for Fox’s coverage of Cup Series practices and qualifying in addition to his race broadcast duties, and many of those sessions are on Fridays. We also know that races can get rain-delayed from time to time (like at Pocono earlier in the month) and if Gordon was to stay until Monday to call a race from February-June when Fox has the Cup Series TV rights, he’d be unavailable to host the show then as well.
We’re sure that if Gordon is a serious candidate to take over for Strahan that “Live!” producers have already gone through the scenarios above. We’re not breaking new ground. And if they deem Gordon to be a strong enough fit, those concerns would likely be outweighed by Gordon’s strengths.
If Gordon gets the gig he would also have a great chance of being known more as a TV personality in the future than for his four championships in NASCAR. Now, many NASCAR fans will always think of Gordon as a driver first and foremost, an expansion of his television duties – similar to the roles Strahan has had in his post-NFL career – would make him more recognizable to the large portion of the population who doesn’t pay attention to racing.
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
