In every sense, Jeff Gordon challenged the status quo after bursting onto the NASCAR scene in 1993. Gordon won his first Cup Series title in 1995, winning seven races and denying the great Dale Earnhardt his eighth title. This kickstarted perhaps one of the greatest rivalries in NASCAR history, something Gordon spoke about recently in detail with Joe Buck.
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The 4-time Cup Series champion revealed that it was not just how good Earnhardt was on the race track, it was how he played the marketing side of things that really put the focus on their rivalry in an effort to grow the sport.
“What he brought was not just the ability to drive a race car, that was unbelievable. But he had like a marketing mind that he was constantly figuring out how can we push the envelope, make the sport bigger, grow the sport, how can I do something on the track that is going to garner more fans, for me and for the sport. He excelled at it, and he saw an opportunity.”
The Hendrick Motorsports vice chairman admitted that since he was barely 3-4 years into the sport, he never really pursued the marketing and sales aspect of things and just cared about winning races and championships.
Gordon Reveals Earnhardt fans’ response to NASCAR Rivalry
As soon as Gordon began winning races, the seven-time Cup champion started playing the mind games he was famous for, and not just on the track.
“Immediately, he started kind of playing the games that he plays, not just on the track, but within the media. It immediately built this rivalry among our fans, and so his fans were like, ‘Okay, he doesn’t like Gordon, Gordon’s his rival, that’s our rival’,” the HMS legend reveals.
The result? Gordon getting booed during driver introductions before the race, something that didn’t bother him much, but by his own admission, revealed the extent of NASCAR fans who loved Dale Earnhardt. Many fans who once cheered for him when he won began to turn their backs as soon as they saw he was becoming something of a thorn in the Intimidator’s side.
