Did NASCAR legend Jeff Gordon drive for Bill Davis Racing?

NASCAR legend Jeff Gordon has a long affiliation with Hendrick Motorsports as he spent his entire Cup Series career with the team. However, before Rick Hendrick struck a deal with Gordon, the latter had other plans for a Cup Series ride.

Jeff Gordon made his full-time Busch Series debut in 1991 driving the Ford Thunderbirds for Bill Davis Racing.

In his first year, he won the Rookie of the Year and followed it up with a sensational sophomore season in 1992. In his second year, he scored 3 race wins and 11 poles driving the #1 Ford.

Jeff Gordon in the #1 Ford (credit: autoweek.com)

Rick Hendrick was watching Jeff Gordon's exploits in the Busch Series as he offered him a Cup Series ride for 1993. Gordon accepted the deal as his contract with Bill Davis and Ford ran out at the end of 1992. He was initially hesitant to tell Davis that he had accepted Hendricks' offer.

Gordon didn't inform Davis until May 1992. The NASCAR Hall of Famer has voiced his thoughts as he admits he should have handled the situation differently.

He said in an interview with Autosport:

"It was very difficult to tell Bill that I had signed with Rick. There are a handful of things in life I’ve gone through—really tough choices, tough decisions—that I didn’t handle the way I wish I had. There are things I would have done differently if I could, and certainly that was one of them."

He also added about Davis' ambitious goals of competing in the Cup Series and why he dropped out of the plan:

"I loved Bill and [Bill’s wife] Gail and their amazing team, but I also knew their dream to go Cup racing was just a dream. I didn’t think it was a reality, certainly not at the level of Hendrick or Penske or Childress or Roush. It was clear to me where I wanted to go, and that was Hendrick."

Speaking about Gordon's departure, team owner Davis stated on Dale Jr. Download podcast:

"We were hurt. We really liked Jeff."

Rick Hendrick stealing the generational talent from Ford was a pivotal point for both the team and the driver as they etched their names in history winning four championships.

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Jeff Gordon explains why he left Bill Davis Racing

Jeff Gordon, vice chairman of HMS

After spending two seasons with Bill Davis Racing in the Busch Series, Jeff Gordon had clearly made up his decision to join Hendrick Motorsports.

While Gordon supported his former team owner's ambitious goals of making it to the Cup Series, he knew it wasn't practical.

The four-time Cup Series champion explained:

"The tough part was that Bill was fighting for sponsorship to make (Cup) happen for his team. Even though I knew I wouldn’t be there, I wanted to help him."

Gordon accompanied Davis to a meeting with their potential sponsor Target, despite having signed the deal with HMS. It was after this meeting that he revealed to Davis that he had already signed a contract.