Jeff Gordon retirement means NASCAR will lose a game-changer

Jeff Gordon, driver of the #24 Axalta Chevrolet, stands in the garage area during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 at Phoenix International Raceway on November 7, 2014 in 

Jeff Gordon, driver of the #24 Axalta Chevrolet, stands in the garage area during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 at Phoenix International Raceway on November 7, 2014 in 

Jeff Gordon will go down as one of the greatest NASCAR drivers of all time, but his importance to the sport can't be measured by just on-track accomplishments.

Jeff Gordon, one of NASCAR's all-time greats, will make 2015 his last full-time season. Making the announcement in a press release, Gordon, 43, said he is not retiring and will likely continue to compete in the Sprint Cup Series on a limited basis, but

If it weren't for "Days of Thunder," Jeff Gordon would be driving the No. 46 car and not the iconic No. 24 Chevrolet.