Here’s Why You Should Never Mess With Jeff Gordon

jeff gordon pepsi max prank journalist

Jeff Gordon is probably one of the most well-known drivers in NASCAR. Heck, he’s probably one of the most well-known drivers on the planet and last year he staged one heck of a prank on an unsuspecting car salesman.

It was all part of a commercial for Pepsi MAX in which Gordon shows up at a dealership for a test drive and takes the unsuspecting car salesman on the ride of his life. Everyone watched the ad and laughed and then a millisecond later, in typical internet style, everyone started questioning its authenticity.

jeff gordon taxi driver nascar

Was it real? Was it fake? Careful analysis of the commercial ensued and many came to the conclusion that it was all fake and the look of terror on the car salesman’s face was just part of a really good act. Auto journalist Travis Okulski of Jalopnik was particularly rough on Gordon.

A plan was hatched.

Former Jalopnik Editor-in-Chief Ray Wert along with Pepsi and Jeff Gordon convinced Okulski to take a little trip down to Charlotte, North Carolina under the guise of getting early time at the wheel of the Chevrolet Corvette Z06. What self-respecting auto journalist would even think twice about that opportunity?

chevy caprice taxi jeff gordon

His ride from the hotel to the ‘Vette involved a taxi, which is where things get interesting. Instead of a random guy, it’s being driven by Gordon who’s been made-up to look every bit the ex-con he claims at the start of the ride.

The local authorities take an interest in the taxi, Ex-Con-Gordon has a fit, and, yeah, you see where this is going to end. Okulski gets the ride of his life all in the name of good fun.

Lesson learned. Don’t mess with Jeff Gordon.

http://youtu.be/dRIgmKGDqFM

And here’s our video of the 2015 Corvette Z06 making its debut at the Detroit Auto Show…

Nicole Wakelin fell in love with cars as a teenager when she got to go for a ride in a Ferrari. It was red and it was fast and that was all that mattered. Game over. She considers things a bit more carefully now, but still has a weakness for fast, beautiful cars. Nicole also writes for NerdApproved and GeekMom.