Jeff Gordon says he’ll be back in the Fox Sports booth next season but the question is if he’ll have other broadcasting work.
The four-time champion said he would “welcome” the opportunity to succeed Michael Strahan as “Live” co-host with Kelly Ripa on the morning talk show. Gordon has co-hosted the show nine times with Ripa. A recent report stated he was on a short list of candidates to replace Strahan, who left the show for a full-time job on “Good Morning America.’’
“I’m flattered that my name has been associated with that,’’ Gordon told reporters Saturday at Sonoma Raceway. “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 mean, 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, but it’s been really interesting kind of seeing that unfold. I really don’t have anything that I can say about it.’’
This weekend marks the final Sprint Cup race broadcast for Fox Sports. NBC Sports takes over the broadcast of Cup and Xfinity races the rest of the year.
Heading into his final race broadcast of the year, how does Gordon rate his rookie season in the booth?
“I feel a lot more confident and comfortable,’’ he said. “I know my colleagues that I’m working with far better. I kind of know what to look for, what to ask for, and where I fit in better than I certainly did then. It’s been a lot of fun.
“I still have a lot of things to work on. Somebody talking in your ear while you’re trying to create a thought … start it and finish it and do it in 20 seconds is not an easy task, certainly not for me, so there’s certainly plenty of things there that I’d like to do better, but I like what I’m seeing out there.’’
