The NHRA Carolina Nationals event wraps up at zMAX Dragway in Charlotte, North Carolina today, and John Force is coming in hot.

Okay, you caught me. That was a lame joke, but I couldn’t ignore the flames. Anyway, with Jeff Gordon retiring after the current NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, what better place is there to race a tribute scheme honoring him than in NASCAR central? There isn’t one, and thus, the weekend has seen Force’s Funny Car dragster don the No. 24 paint scheme so universal to the racing community.

Force wanted to join in on the “Thanks, Jeff” campaign occurring at motorsports events and among fans across the country, and Gordon recently told how he felt about the honor:

“First I want to tell John I only want the flames to be on the paint, because I’ve seen him go up in a big ball of flames before this. So let’s just hope it stays on the body with the paint. ... I am just so appreciative of him doing [driving the paint scheme]. Just seeing it on the track is an honor.”

With the themes of “flaming” and “hot” running through my head for this post, all I can picture is a bag of Cheetos right now. So my advice to you is to grab a snack, and appreciate the beauty that is this paint scheme.

And if you’re busy doing, you know, other important things this weekend, at least take a moment to absorb the gloriousness here:

Contact the author at [email protected]