Jeff Gordon speeding down the track, cool as Tom Cruise in Top Gun, with a rainbow-colored No. 24 car that became the stuff of legend in the ‘90s and 2000s. What a great sight that’d be! Gordon wasn’t just a driver—he was a Hollywood-style superstar who made NASCAR a household name. This was a time when NASCAR thrived on personalities, and Gordon going against Dale Earnhardt, on and off the track, gave the sport a new direction. NASCAR wasn’t just all about turning left, it had become a part of popular culture.
But Gordon didn’t just win races—he changed the game. Back in the ‘90s, NASCAR was still seen as a regional sport, a Southern pastime that hadn’t quite broken through to the mainstream. Gordon, with his California charm and movie-star looks, flipped that script. He became the sport’s poster boy, landing on magazine covers, hosting Saturday Night Live in 2003, and even popping up on Live with Regis and Kelly.
His rainbow DuPont-sponsored car was everywhere—on T-shirts, hats, and diecast models that flew off shelves. Gordon brought new fans to NASCAR, ones who’d never set foot in a racetrack, and his rivalry with Dale Earnhardt Sr. turned races into must-watch TV, helping the sport explode in popularity during its golden era. Now, at 53, Gordon’s no longer behind the wheel, but as vice chairman of Hendrick Motorsports, he’s on a mission to bring back NASCAR’s lost charm—and he’s got a $2 trillion partner in Amazon to make it happen.
New era of NASCAR storytelling with new partners
Speaking with Dirty Mo Media at the premiere of the Earnhardt docuseries, Jeff Gordon was asked about seeing his old merchandise still making waves decades after his racing heyday. “It’s amazing. The fact that it keeps you relevant in today’s world, I mean, and of course who doesn’t want to be a cool dad. So that definitely gives me a lot of points in that department,” Gordon laughed, reflecting on a moment when his daughter spotted someone wearing one of his iconic jackets. “I was in Dubai last year and walking through a mall in Dubai, and here’s a Pepsi jacket, and I see a Rainbow jacket in a lot of places too,” he added, marveling at how his No. 24 gear has become a global symbol of NASCAR’s golden era.
“It’s amazing what NASCAR has meant over the years to pop culture, and I see it kind of making this revitalization right now—it’s really exciting to be a part of.” That trip to Dubai, a city of billionaires where luxury and excess are the norm, got Gordon thinking about NASCAR’s lost charm. Back in the ‘90s, his rainbow jackets were everywhere—on kids at racetracks, on teens in small towns, even on celebrities who wanted a piece of the NASCAR craze.
His merchandise sales were through the roof, with DuPont-sponsored gear becoming a cultural touchstone, much like Michael Jordan’s Air Jordans were for basketball. Gordon’s 93 wins and four titles made him a household name, but it was his ability to connect with fans beyond the track, through appearances on Regis and Kelly or his 2003 SNL hosting gig, that turned NASCAR into a mainstream phenomenon. Seeing his jackets in Dubai reminded him of what the sport used to be, and now he’s determined to bring that magic back.
Enter Amazon Prime, the $2 trillion streaming giant that’s partnering with NASCAR to launch new projects aimed at reviving the sport’s cultural relevance. Gordon spilt the beans on one of those projects: a docuseries called American Thunder, centered on his own journey. “Yeah, this is exciting. I mean, this is a collaboration between NASCAR, Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports, Goodyear, where we took one of our stock cars and basically converted it into a sports car to go racing 24 hours at Le Mans,” Gordon explained, his excitement palpable.
The project, which hasn’t premiered yet, follows Hendrick Motorsports’ ambitious 2023 Garage 56 entry at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and Jenson Button drove a modified Next Gen Camaro ZL1 to a 39th-place finish, completing 285 laps despite a gearbox issue. “This journey was broad, it was challenging, probably shouldn’t have ever happened, but it did,” Gordon said, hinting at the behind-the-scenes drama that made the effort a story worth telling.
“It’s exciting that we were able to document that journey and tell a story through so many different lenses, and I think people are going to be excited to see how that all came together and how it turned out,” he added. With Amazon Prime’s reach—over 200 million subscribers worldwide—this series could introduce NASCAR to a whole new audience, much like Gordon did in the ‘90s, reigniting the sport’s pop culture status.
Gordon’s not stopping there. He sees American Thunder as just the beginning. Prime hasn’t even aired its first NASCAR race yet, but the buzz is already building, and Gordon’s thrilled to be at the forefront. By partnering with Amazon, he’s betting on storytelling to bring back the days when NASCAR was more than a sport—it was a cultural phenomenon. And if anyone can pull it off, it’s the guy who made rainbow jackets a global icon.
The Earnhardt docuseries is making waves
Gordon shared these insights at the premiere of another Amazon Prime project, the Earnhardt docuseries, which dropped on May 5, 2025, and has fans buzzing about NASCAR’s storied past. The four-part series dives deep into the life of Dale Earnhardt Sr., Gordon’s fiercest rival and a seven-time Cup Series champ whose legacy looms large over the sport.
Packed with rare archival footage, thrilling race highlights, and emotional interviews from Earnhardt’s kids—Dale Jr., Kelley, and Kerry—plus his widow Teresa and rivals like Gordon himself, the series is a love letter to the Intimidator. It aired just ahead of Prime’s first-ever NASCAR Cup Series broadcast, giving fans a double dose of nostalgia and excitement.
The docuseries doesn’t pull punches—it covers Earnhardt’s rise from a Kannapolis mill-worker’s son to a racing icon, his 76 Cup Series wins, and his tragic death at the 2001 Daytona 500. Gordon, who battled Earnhardt for years, shared candid moments in the series, reflecting on their rivalry that defined NASCAR in the ‘90s.
“He taught me especially how to race on the superspeedway, not by him trying to teach me but just watching. He absolutely taught me the business side of it. To me, people like myself, our lives changed because of what Dale Earnhardt did for NASCAR and what he did for racing and bringing fans in,” Gordon said during the premiere, a nod to how Earnhardt’s aggressive style contrasted with his own polished approach, drawing millions of new fans to the sport.
Prime Video might be new to the party, but they’ve struck the right note. Unraveling true stories about the legends of the sport and keeping a close eye on the upcoming superstars like Kyle Larson.
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