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Who remembers Jeff Gordon's hilarious Saturday Night Live monologue? Not bad for a former NASCAR driver, right? Gordon went live from New York back in 2003, and clearly it was quite the honor for the four-time Cup Series champ. Jeff even said he would take the gig again in a heartbeat, if the opportunity ever presented itself. You hear that, Lorne Michaels?
For the opening bit, Gordon has to deal with some over-the-top NASCAR fans. While Jeff introduces himself, the fans shout out "Tony Stewart sucks!", which gets Gordon's attention. As the camera pans over, we see Chris Parnell and Rachel Dratch, playing the roles of Harvey and Judith Winestock. They essentially play the stereotypical fans, wearing Dupont and Interstate Batteries jackets, but Gordon realizes they are putting on an act rather quickly. Their little back-and-forth was a pretty funny way to open up the show, which also featured musical guest Avril Lavigne.
Later on in the show, Gordon played Ricky Funck, hilariously sporting a wig, mustache, and tequila shirt. You can tell Jeff had a blast playing someone with such a wild personality. Out of all his bits on SNL, this was certainly one of the most memorable.
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On top of that, he was in such skits as "Career Day," "Brian Fellow's Safari Planet," "Star Dates with Gary Busey," and "Fish Tank Repairmen." They were all worthy of a good laugh, and it showed us a new side to Jeff Gordon. I don't think anyone at the time really knew that Gordon had a comedic side to him, so I'd imagine he gained a few fans after his SNL debut.
Jeff Gordon hosting SNL when he did seems like a no-brainer. Especially back in the early 2000s, the NBC sketch comedy show had some huge star power. We're talking folks like Jimmy Fallon, Tina Fey, Seth Meyers, Tracy Morgan, Darrell Hammond, and even Hollywood superstar Will Ferrell.
All that aside, it's always nice when the drivers loosen up and have a little bit of fun outside of racing. As a top executive at Rick Hendrick's racing team, Hendrick Motorsports, and a racing broadcaster, the North Carolina resident has got his hands pretty full. Even still, I'd love to see Jeff Gordon make an SNL comeback.
