Though the racing icons Jeff Gordon and Clint Bowyer are good friends today, things weren’t always this way. The 2010s saw one of its fiercer and longer rivalries between them, with the enmity between these two peaking during the 2012 AdvoCare 500 in Phoenix when a rough turn of events ended in the drivers and their crews throwing fists at each other as the world watched on live TV.
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With neither prepared to mend relations after that race, a cold war ensued. Worsening matters, the feud threatened to boil over once again in 2015 when Bowyer collided with Gordon’s car. The accident occurred during a practice session in the New Hampshire Motor Speedway when Bowyer was cruising by the garages in his #15 Toyota.
When Gordon backed out of his Hendrick Motorsports stall, unaware of Bowyer approaching, the two cars ran into each other. The HMS champion said in the aftermath, “I don’t know if he [Bowyer] kind of glanced away or what, but when he looked back, I was just right there and couldn’t go anywhere.”
Bowyer expressed his regret at the collision saying, “There’s so many people in (the garage). Just a bad deal … the damndest thing I’ve ever seen. It’s a wonder it doesn’t happen more often.” Though Bowyer was able to continue his practice despite the damage to his car, Gordon wasn’t able to do so. The duo, still carrying bad blood during this incident, it is rather fortunate that they did not engage in another tussle.
Jeff Gordon and Clint Bowyer’s 2012 incident led to one of NASCAR’s most memorable feuds
The fight between Gordon and Bowyer wasn’t let go as easily in 2012 as it was in 2015. Several months in the making, things turned ugly in the season’s penultimate race at Phoenix. With 7 laps remaining, Bowyer made contact with Gordon’s Chevrolet clipping his rear. Upset at the move, the 4-time champion waited for his chance and hooked Bowyer back in the pre-final lap of the race. The subsequent crash almost ended Bowyer’s chances at the championship.
The scenes that transpired following this is a tale for the ages. Gordon got bombarded by the #15 crew and the Bowyer himself ran from his demolished car, dodging officials in pursuit of Gordon. Though the two sides would eventually be separated, things had turned too nasty to be ignored by then.
But almost a decade later, the duo has now finally reconciled going as far as working together for Fox Sports. Regardless, they still haven’t settled who was at fault for the final crash that day.
