"Did you buckle that seatbelt for me?" - When Jeff Gordon showed a reporter truth by pranking him as a convict cab driver
Jeff Gordon once pulled a prank on automotive journalist Travis Okulski by playing an ex-convict cab driver. The prank was set up for Okulski after the reporter wrote in a 2013 article that Gordon’s previous prank with Pepsi Max was fake.
For context, Pepsi Max tapped Jeff Gordon for an ad in 2013 where the NASCAR driver pranked a used car salesman. After Gordon told the salesman he was a newbie driver, they went for a test drive in a Chevrolet Camaro. The prank aimed to scare the salesman by driving the sports car like a madman.
The second prank was made to prove to Travis Okulski that the ad wasn’t fake.
The plan was to drive Okulski around in a cab with an ex-convict, played by Jeff Gordon, behind the wheel. The prank team set up a fake police stop where the former Hendrick Motorsports driver would run away, creating a police chase scene.
When the reporter got in the cab, Gordon said:
“Did you buckle that seatbelt for me?”
He added:
“State law, you know.”
After the driver ran away from the police stop, the two entered what appeared to be a closed location where the cab was driven fast and sideways. The driver continued scaring Okulski despite the latter asking him to stop and let him out.
The cab then arrived in a garage where Travis Okulski’s friend, Ray Wert, was waiting for him. Pepsi Max contacted Wert to help set up the prank.
Gordon and Okulski hugged it out in the end, with the reporter saying the prank was ‘for real' before wanting to go for another ride.
Here is the first ad the 93-time NASCAR Cup Series race winner did with Pepsi Max.
Jeff Gordon was once chased by the police on his way to work
Following Jeff Gordon's retirement in 2015, the California native joined FOX as a sports analyst. To mark his broadcasting debut, he filmed an advertisement ahead of the 2016 Daytona 500 where he was chased by the police on his way to work.
The ad showed Gordon weaving through traffic on the Los Angeles freeway in the No. 24 Chevrolet. He was being chased on land and air with a police helicopter. According to the report, the stock car was driving for about 125 miles per hour on the freeway.
When the now 53-year-old driver arrived at FOX studios, he turned to the police and asked:
“What's going on here guys? I'm just on my way to work." [1:16]
In response, the police said:
“Yeah, we know. We just want a selfie."
In 2021, Jeff Gordon left FOX to shift his focus to a new role with Hendrick Motorsports. The following year, Gordon assumed the vice chairman role in the Concord-based outfit where he spent all his Cup Series racing days.
Today, Gordon still holds the role at Hendrick Motorsports, supervising the team and its drivers, including William Byron, Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, and Alex Bowman.