“That Separated Us At Times”: When Dale Jarrett Revealed How Jeff Gordon Went from Fierce Competitor to Friend Over Racing Career

Dale Jarrett and Jeff Gordon’s relationship as fierce rivals on the track and friends off it did not come easily for the two NASCAR legends. Seen fighting for championships on multiple occasions during the late 1990s, they had a rivalry going on between them. However, it’s how the two drivers remained friends after the dust settled is what is remembered to this day.

Jarrett backed it up when he spoke at length about his relationship with Gordon during an interview from 2013, saying, “It wasn’t a clash as far as wrecking and things like that, but we had a number of run-ins, and I think we developed a mutual respect and a friendship through it.”

Jeff Gordon. Dale Jarrett. Ernie Irvan. (1995) pic.twitter.com/bSZnP5o7qL

— NASCAR Memories (@NASCARMemories) September 25, 2018

“I don’t think we were ever really enemies, but we were certainly fierce competitors. That separated us at times, but we went on to be friends,” he added, looking back at the duo’s time on track.

“I think the heat of the moment kind of got to both of us,” Gordon’s words after his run-in with the three-time Daytona 500 winner at New Hampshire back in 1999 echoed similar sentiments, indicating mutual respect between the drivers right from the start.

What happened between Jarrett and Gordon at New Hampshire International Speedway in 1999?

The battle for the title in 1999 heated up between the two drivers especially after Jarrett lost out to Gordon in 1997 and finished 14 points behind the HMS driver, who was eventually crowned champion that year.

Both drivers were seen trading paint, blocking and bumping each other to their heart’s content during the 1999 Jiffy Lube 300, an on-track scuffle that resulted in a heated exchange after the race was over.

Neither driver was willing to back down as both pointed fingers at each other, Jarrett blaming Gordon for bumping him unnecessarily, while Gordon disliking Jarrett’s aggressive blocking maneuver on the backstretch.

On this day in 1999…. pic.twitter.com/lhbXRUEKET

— Dale Jarrett (@DaleJarrett) November 14, 2023

“He hit me once down in one and two, I blocked him down the backstretch and then he ran into the back of me not once but three times in turns three and four,” recalled the former champion at the time. “He didn’t like the way I made the pass, but I didn’t like the way he ran me down low, either,” fired back Gordon in the heat of the moment.

Despite the argument, things seemingly calmed down between the two. “It was just a little bit of rubbing there, we’ll see each other again. We’ve got a lot of racing to do yet,” concluded Jarrett, who eventually went on to clinch the title that year, leaving his mark in NASCAR for future generations to see.