Jeff Gordon announced prior to the season that 2015 would be his final as a full-time driver. He started the season with a string of poor finishes at Daytona, Atlanta, and Las Vegas. However, he rebounded as the calendar shifted to spring with 6 consecutive top-10 finishes. The #24 struggled to find consistency as Gordon posted just two top-5 finishes through late-July. A 3rd place effort at Pocono in August helped his chances to qualify for the Chase for the Championship for the 10th time in the 11-year history of the Chase. Most pundits didn't give Gordon much of a chance in the Chase. He advanced to the second round and posted several strong efforts, including a 3rd place run at Talladega to advance to the 3rd round of the Chase. That set the stage for one of the most remarkable victories of his career as he took the lead late at Martinsville to score his 93rd career win. Gordon advanced to the championship race at Homestead, but could only muster a 6th place effort while Kyle Busch claimed the race win and his first NASCAR Cup Series championship.