Photo Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images for Texas Motor Speedway Surprising the motorsport world by announcing the end of his prosperous NASCAR career after 2015, Jeff Gordon was set to leave one of the top rides in the Sprint Cup series vacant ahead as of 2016. With only a week passing since Gordon's breaking retirement news , Hendrick Motorsports quickly defined the replacement pilot for the #24 Chevrolet by making a similar choice as 23 years ago in a youthful rising star. In a predictable move following the retirement announcement of Jeff Gordon, Hendrick Motorsports named reigning champion of the NASCAR Xfinity Series (last year called the Nationwide Series) Chase Elliott as the future driver of the #24 Chevrolet. At 19 years old, Elliott became the youngest champion of the NASCAR ladder series and accumulated three wins in the process during his freshman year of competition with the cars. Also the 2014 Sunoco Rookie of the Yea...