Who would’ve imagined that two of the fiercest rivals in the entirety of NASCAR history were secretly working together in harmony at times? But this is what the crew chiefs of Dale Earnhardt Sr. and Jeff Gordon recently confessed to. And just as it did for most NASCAR fans, this revelation took even Gordon by surprise.
The 4x Cup champion recently talked about this subject in an interview, saying, “This is why when somebody comes out with a book 30 years later, you realize that the things you thought were going were not going on and you read a book and you realize maybe things were a lot different than that.”
“And I wish that Andy Petree, whoever Ray (Evernham) was working with then, had told Dale Earnhardt Sr. that we were doing those kinds of things because I promise you, on the racetrack, he didn’t treat me like we were harmonious and working together.”
Gordon emphasized that he has always respected Earnhardt “so much on and off the racetrack”, that there were times when Earnhardt took the young Gordon under his wing and helped him navigate through various aspects of NASCAR. But being the competitor that Earnhardt was, all of this went out the window on the racetrack.
“So if we were helping them … Andy and Ray, I think they got along really well, Dale and I not so much, not on the racetrack,” Jeff Gordon added.
@RayEvernham recently revealed that the No. 3 and No. 24 cars worked together behind the scenes.@JeffGordonWeb wishes he and the late Dale Earnhardt got that memo.
️ “Andy (Petree) and Ray […] got along really well. Dale and I not so much.” pic.twitter.com/NnJHhXoQox
— SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90) (@SiriusXMNASCAR) February 23, 2024
Dale Earnhardt once showed crew chief of Jeff Gordon why he was nicknamed ‘The Intimidator’
During a recent appearance on the Dale Jr. Download, Ray Evernham, the legendary crew chief of Jeff Gordon, recalled the only time he and Dale Earnhardt Sr. had a confrontation. “We only had one little run-in. He threatened to whip my a** one time after Bristol and we had a good talk in the hauler,” Evernham recalled.
This was after Bristol, when Gordon and Earnhardt tangled and it left Evernham red-faced, prompting him to run up to the #3 car truck and yell at Earnhardt’s crew chief. Next week at Darlington, Earnhardt told Evernham, “I want to see you after practice.”
After practice, it was Richard Childress who reminded Evernham that Earnhardt wanted to see him. Evernham claims he knew what this was about. He continued, “I walk in there and I had two shocks in my hands, and he walks in and he goes, ‘Gonna hit me with them shocks?'”
So how did Evernham reply?
He told Earnhardt he would hit him with the shocks if he had to.
