"I'm just on my way to work": When Jeff Gordon's drive to his broadcasting debut turned into a police chase with an unexpected twist

In 2016, Jeff Gordon was involved in a high-speed police chase as he was on his way to a broadcasting debut for the inaugural Daytona 500 race of the season. After retiring full-time from Hendrick Motorsports, the former #24 Chevy driver Gordon promoted his Cup Series analyst debut with FOX while speeding on an LA freeway in a one-of-a-kind police-chase advertisement video with an unexpected ending.

As soon as the four-time Cup Series champion reached the studios, he was surrounded by police officers. The NASCAR Hall of Famer asked:

"What's going on here guys? I'm just on my way to work." [1:16]

In response to Gordon, one of the police officers said:

"Yeah, we know. We just want a selfie."

The mock highway chase was an unconventional way to show the 53-year-old legend's speed and popularity as he headed to his broadcasting booth debut with Darrel Waltrip and Mike Joy. Although it was a mock police chase, the 93-time Cup Series race winner was once pulled over by an actual officer on account of speeding whom he also got away from.

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. once saved Jeff Gordon from a police officer - "I may need you"

Despite Jeff Gordon being a household name, the three-time champion's popularity once couldn't help him get away with speeding. However, fortune favored the vice chairman of HMS as the police officer happened to be a Dale Earnhardt Jr. fan who Gordon was talking to on the phone at the time.

During a 2018 Ask Dale Jr. segment, Gordon recalled a 2007 moment when he was on a call with the host, NASCAR Hall of Famer Earnhardt Jr., to congratulate him for joining the Hendrick Motorsports shed while driving to dinner. As a result, Gordon got pulled over.

"All of a sudden, I’ve got blue lights in my rear window," Jeff Gordon said. "I’m like, ‘Uh oh, I’m getting pulled over.’ I wasn’t sure if I should stay on the phone with Dale or not, but I said, ‘No, no. Stay on here, I may need you.’" [7:13]

The officer approached Gordon and pointed out that he was talking on the phone and speeding.

"Then I just said, and I never do this, but I said this is the moment where I got to pull this off. I said, ‘I know, and I’m sorry. You don’t happen to be a Dale Earnhardt Jr. fan, are you?’ He said, ‘Yeah, why? What does that have to do with anything?’ I said, ‘I’ve got him on the phone, I was congratulating him on something.’ He goes, ‘What?’ and I just handed him the phone, and you spoke to him for just two seconds and got me out of it!"

The NASCAR icons were teammates for eight seasons before Jeff Gordon retired full-time in 2015. Earnhardt Jr. competed for Rick Hendrick till 2017 before following Gordon into broadcasting.