Overview
- Gordon made the comments Friday on two podcasts and said he still wishes he could have asked Earnhardt directly whether much of their 1995 rivalry was real or played for effect.
- He described Earnhardt’s driving as unusually physical, saying Earnhardt would “bodyslam” rivals into Turn 1 and seem to grin while doing it.
- Gordon said Earnhardt understood the media value of taunts and confrontations and used them because they drove coverage, fan interest and NASCAR’s growth.
- Off the racetrack, Gordon said Earnhardt was supportive and helped him with business and licensing matters, though reports that they were co-investors in Action Performance are noted as less well corroborated.
- The comments revive a long-running narrative about the 1995 championship battle—which Gordon won by a narrow margin—and the broader role the feud played in bringing NASCAR into the mainstream before Earnhardt’s death in 2001.