Chicago Sun-Times: AUTO RACING 'Spectacular' week off recharges Gordon

MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- Jeff Gordon could have used NASCAR's traditional break for Easter to kick back and get refreshed.

Instead, it was a whirlwind, including a trip to the Bahamas on his boat for some shark diving, a front-row seat to Phil Mickelson's winning putt at the Masters and a job as a judge in the Miss USA pageant.

"I had a busy off week. I'd like somebody to come in and try to top my off week. It was pretty spectacular," Gordon said Saturday, adding that he also took home some house money playing blackjack in the Bahamas.

"My goal in my off week was to have a great, wonderful, relaxing time and not end up in any gossip paper," he said. "I think I did that."

Gordon spent last Sunday at the Masters in the front row around the 18th green, his first experience watching professional golf in person.

"I kept telling myself I can't believe I'm going to go walk around and watch grown men hit little white balls around in the grass and try to put them in a small hole, and I'm going to do that all day long," he said.

The hardest part was watching players on the 18th green and hearing roars from elsewhere on the course, unaware what prompted the cheers.

"The funny thing is, I'd never gotten so excited over watching the scoreboard in my entire life. That's the excitement of it," he said.

"The most exciting part was you hear a roar far away and you're like, 'What happened?' And you don't know. Nobody knows," he said, calling for the addition of televisions to the area around the greens at Augusta.

"It was fun, definitely a different experience, but I personally think NASCAR fans get a much bigger bang for their buck."

The turn as a fan also made him appreciate NASCAR fans more.

"I'm a race fan and always will be, but I'll never understand our fans because I'll never have that kind of dedication to it," he said, noting that his involvement and perspective as a driver are different.

"To sit in the grandstands and possibly have never driven a car, and maybe even never have met that person and yet to be decked out in all their gear ... and just pull for you all day long and take the win and the excitement that you and your team have and experience that themselves. Or the loss and be just as devastated as you are, that I don't know if I'll ever be able to understand.

"But I certainly do appreciate it."