Gordon’s 2005 win drew a record 18.7 million viewers ... “He changed the commercial side of the sport more than anything,” three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin said.

NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon won the Daytona 500 twice in his first seven seasons, later adding another victory six years later, in 2005. Surely, he figured, there would be more to come.