Jeff Gordon recalls origins of relationship with Dale Earnhardt

NASCAR underwent a boom period throughout the 1990s, much in part due to the rivalry between Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt.

The two Hall of Famers won seven combined Cup Series championships during the decade, Earnhardt winning the final four his career and Gordon capturing the first three of his. At that time, fans were either team Gordon or team Earnhardt, but never both. But before their rivalry took the sport to new heights, Earnhardt was simply someone Gordon both looked up to and respected.

Gordon recalled the origins of where their relationship began during a sit-down interview with Kevin Harvick on his “Happy Hour” podcast earlier this week.

“Probably didn’t recognize it at the time but looking back on it, it was huge,” Gordon said. “We used to do these test sessions at Daytona in the wintertime, like three-day test sessions. At least three days and lots of down time. So, when you do that — I know I met him briefly in Xfinity. He would come and race us in the Xfinity Series every once in a while. So, I met him, but I didn’t get to really know him until I got into Cup. I don’t think we got to spend quality time till maybe year two. I think I remember at Daytona, we were testing, and he came over to my car. And he talked to Ray [Evernham] more than he talked to me because he was wanting setup stuff.

“He had a lot of respect for Ray, think he had a lot of respect for Hendrick because he almost was a Hendrick driver, there’s that story too that goes way back. And so, he and I would chat. And I think I would go over to his car asking him about something that was happening probably racing wise. I saw his seat and how he was sitting in the car. And I was just like, ‘What is this?’ That was the first thing was him trying to explain to me why he needed to sit in the car that way and why my way was bad.”

Jeff Gordon opens up about rivalry with Dale Earnhardt during 1990s

When did the rivalry begin to heat up? Well, that takes us to the 1995 season, in which Gordon edged out Earnhardt by 34 points to win his first career Cup Series title. Gordon’s popularity soared, rivaling that of Earnhardt’s.

“After I won the Brickyard [400], he really wanted to win the Brickyard,” Gordon said. “So, even though he was mad, I think it still was sort of this thing that started bringing us a little closer together. My popularity started going up. His popularity was obviously huge. So, the souvenir business was something he was very involved in, very focused on. As he saw my popularity starting to grow, he started talking to me about business. I don’t know why, but I always go back and like, was there something in it for him? There was with action performance when that went public. But I think he genuinely was like rivalries are good for the sport. There needs to be other personalities that rise in the sport and that’s good.

“He thought Rusty Wallace was good. He thought Mark Martin was good, Jeff Gordon and all these other guys. But he wanted to be No. 1 of course. And in 1995, we raced against one another for a championship. And there was a lot of the jabs going back-and-forth in the media. I didn’t like him at that time because this guy went from being my hero and someone I respect so much, to now he’s trying to get in my head and he’s messing with me on the track and off the track. It was a love-hate relationship there for a little while.”

Jeff Gordon explains respect he had for Dale Earnhardt

Gordon and Earnhardt are unquestionably two of the greatest drivers of all-time. They combined to win 11 championships (Earnhardt, seven, Gordon, four) with Gordon winning 93 races to Earnhardt’s 76. They were the best the sport had to offer in the 90s, but as the decade came to a close, Gordon said he grew a newfound appreciation for Earnhardt.

“Then towards the five years after that, we’re owning property together and we were benefitting from business together. We’re talking a lot about the business, even fishing together,” Gordon said. “Where I think he changed for me is he showed me not only the business side, he showed me a different side of the lifestyle. … I looked up to him and respected him. And at the same time we were rivals, but he knew that I wanted to learn from him.”