Courtesy of PavementSprints.com

(May 19, 2013) - Nine-time Pay Less Little 500 champion Eric Gordon recently announced that the 2013 Pay Less Little 500 will be his final race as he will be retiring.

It only seems fitting that Gordon’s last race will be the 65th annual Pay Less Little 500 May 25, 2013 at Anderson Speedway. Gordon made his first Little 500 start in 1992 for long-time friend Bob Parker. Gordon has made 21 Little 500 starts prior to 2013. In addition to his nine Little 500 wins, Gordon has five additional top five finishes and one pole position. Gordon is arguably the most prolific driver in Little 500 history. Gordon also has 12 career USAC National Sprint Car wins and one career USAC Silver Crown victory.

“I called my car owner Mike Bowman and told him this will be it. This year’s Little 500 will be my last race,” explained Gordon. “I called Bob Parker and Rick Dawson and also told them of my plans. You gotta know when to hold ‘em, and know when to fold ‘em. I know the time is right. My son started racing Karts last season and he’s been pretty successful. He wants to race more so I will focus on his career."

Gordon has few regrets as far as his racing career and is proud of his achievements. “I finished second in the USAC point standings five times between the Sprint Car and Silver Crown divisions. I also got a championship with the Premier Racing Association (PRA) Big Cars a few years back. I had the opportunity to run a few NASCAR Nationwide races and Indy Lights races back in the 1990’s. The one thing I wish I could’ve done was to take an Indy Car around the Speedway once."

Gordon realizes he has the opportunity to go out in style by claiming his tenth Little 500 victory. He doesn’t plan on doing anything different in his final start. “I feel like we have a pretty good formula in place that works pretty decent. We’ll stick with it. It’s the script we’ve gotta follow. I’m extremely confident if we follow the same script, good results will follow”.

When asked if there was one driver who made Gordon work harder to earn a Little 500 win, he is quick to point out Dave Steele. ”Dave Steele went one hundred percent all the time. You couldn’t take it easy with Dave around. Dave was smarter technically than a lot of people realize. He was a good chassis man. He was always fast too. You had to judge yourself by how well you did against Dave. If you could beat Dave, you could beat anybody." Dave Steele and Eric Gordon Little 500 battles were epic in the early 2000’s.

Gordon would like to stay involved in the Little 500 long after his retirement. ”I told Anderson Speedway owner Rick Dawson I’d still like to be involved in some capacity. I could be a crew chief or even work on a television broadcast just to still be involved,” concluded Gordon.

One thing is for sure. After 2013, the Little 500 won’t be the same without seeing Gordon’s familiar red and white deuce silently working its way through the field of future Little 500’s.