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Dale Earnhardt Sr, Jeff Gordon
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Dale Earnhardt Sr, Jeff Gordon
4-time NASCAR Cup champion Jeff Gordon arrived at NASCAR at an interesting time. He watershed onto the scene when the late great Dale Earnhardt was at the zenith of his career. He made his debut at the tail end of the 1992 season for Hendrick Motorsports. His first full-time season was in 1993, and a year later, he snatched his maiden Cup Series win.
Dale Earnhardt congratulates Jeff Gordon after Jeff picked up his first career Winston Cup win. (1994) pic.twitter.com/bxphCJaB28
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Speaking of that first Cup win, Gordon had the honor of having Dale Earnhardt applauding him. The triumph was at the Charlotte Motor Speedway, where Earnhardt could only muster a 9th-place finish. When the season concluded, Gordon snatched a second win at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. With a few more kicks, he was able to finish 8th in the championship that year, as Dale Sr triumphed.
How did the career of Jeff Gordon pan out since then?
Since then, the Hendrick Motorsports star has witnessed his career rise in leaps and bounds. The very next year, he seized his maiden Cup Series championship, and bagged three more in 1997, 1998 and 2001. As for Dale Earnhardt himself, the 1994 Cup Series title would be his final crown in his career. In 1995, he finished 2nd to Gordon, and for the rest of his career, never finished below the Top 10 in the championship.
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Bildnummer: 02649617 Datum: 15.02.2007 Copyright: imago/UPI Photo
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Safe to say, even at the age of 49, Earnhardt was still competitive. In fact, his last ever win in the NASCAR Cup Series was at the 2000 Winston 500 at the Talladega Superspeedway. Had he survived his 2001 crash, who knows what he could have achieved. He could have shattered all records before retiring from the sport gracefully.
As for Jeff Gordon, the lowest he ever finished in the Cup Series was 11th in 2005. Other than that, he too was a consistent Top 10 finisher in the championship until the 2015 season, after which he retired. Admittedly, he did come back on a temporary basis in 2016 after Dale Earnhardt Jr was injured, but that’s a story for a different time.
WATCH THIS STORY: “Jeff Gordon and Dale Jr Were Both at Risk..” Hendrick Motorsports Legends’ Shortcomings Paved the Way for Controversial NASCAR System
