The rivalry between Dale Earnhardt Sr. and Jeff Gordon was huge back in the day, until the crash that took the seven-time Cup champion’s life. Gordon has now revealed something that he regrets from the time they competed against each other. 

On the Bussin' with the Boys podcast, Gordon said his biggest regret is never being able to ask Earnhardt whether the psychological games and public comments during their famous championship battles were genuine or simply part of a bigger strategy.

“One of the regrets that I had is that I never got in a position to ask him that question. I think about that often. If I had time with him again before we lost him, what would I have said to him? What would I have asked him?

"I definitely would have said, 'Hey, you know, '95 when we were going for the championship, how much of that was just total bull****?’"

Continuing in the same interaction, he added that Earnhardt was a master at using the press to get under his skin, which helped grow the sport and build fan interest. 

Because they lost Earnhardt in 2001, Gordon regrets that he never got the chance to sit down and discuss the true nature of those mind games, which he suspects were often calculated to generate excitement rather than genuine animosity. 

Why Jeff Gordon did not adopt Earnhardt’s aggressive driving style

In the same episode of the Bussin’ With The Boys podcast, Gordon also reflected on what made racing against Earnhardt so different from competing with anyone else in NASCAR. He admitted he struggled to understand Earnhardt's approach early in his career because his own focus was simply on winning races and championships.

Gordon explained that he consciously chose not to adopt Earnhardt's aggressive, high-contact driving style because he aimed to race cleanly. 

He realized that retaliating against Earnhardt would be counterproductive, as Earnhardt was an expert at the ‘Art of War’ on the track and would likely escalate any conflict, potentially jeopardizing Gordon's own championship pursuit. 

Co-host Will Compton joked that Gordon could have simply taken out his frustrations on Dale Jr. after his father's passing. Gordon quickly dismissed the idea, saying the younger Earnhardt's personality made that impossible.

While Dale Sr. often raced aggressively and got under his rivals' skin, Junior earned respect by racing clean and treating fellow competitors fairly.

Written by

Aaradhya Singh

Edited by

Suyashdeep Sason