With the introductions out of the way, winning consistently for years to come is all that’s left. And every time Dale Jr. heads into a debrief, he looks across and sees Gordon, a good choice to base his goals off of.
“I know for a long time fans had an unpopular opinion about him, but I always knew who he really was,” Earnhardt said. “I like to outrun the hell out of him because he’s really, really good. And him and my dad even had a rivalry, even though they worked together off the racetrack with some business deals. When you outrun Jeff—remember, he’s gonna go down probably as one of the top-three drivers who came into the sport—so when you go out on the track and you can beat him, you feel good.”
He’s thinking a lot about beating him right now. As the Chase begins, allegiances start to wane.
He’s won a lot of championships, and I haven’t won any,” Junior said about Gordon’s on-track struggles. “So I don’t feel too much sympathy.”
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