Rivalries In Cup Series

[Jorge De Guzman]

Is there something to figure out? Is it really not obvious to you guys that I'm mistaken/ remembering Dale's title years wrong?

The error here is that Dale won 4 titles in the 90s, and Jeff won 3. I mistakenly assumed they were all head to head. Obviously incorrectly. Apologies.

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Whew, apologies if you thought I was going after you, I wasn’t. Just thinking out loud was all.

 

[Formerjackman]

Bodine VS Earnhardt was VERY real, but like most rivalries, it was kind of killed off by one guy having vastly more success than the other. For a TRULY great rivalry, you need people that are pretty much on equal footing. As much as people make of Gordon VS Earnhardt, not only was that a fan thing and not really a driver thing, but after 95, Dale really wasn't running well enough to be a consistent threat to Jeff. When Dale bounced back in 2000, it was Jeff that was having a bad year. 2001 MIGHT have been interesting, but we'll never know. I was kind of hoping Gordon VS Stewart would become more of a thing, with their backgrounds so similar and their ties to Indiana, but except for one shouting match at Watkins Glen, it never really materialized. Waltrip VS Allison and Waltrip VS Earnhardt were interesting because at one time Darrell had been quite close to both of them. I think the long standing animosity between Bobby and Junior Johnson is what really fueled the Waltrip-Allison thing. If Bobby and Junior could have gotten along and stayed together, Petty VS Allison might well have become THE rivalry. Darrell VS Dale started at Richmond in 1986, and never really started to heal until Dale hired Darrell to drive the 1 car. The back story to that little deal is that according to Darrell, Dale flat out stole the Pennzoil sponsorship from that car right out from under him, but by the time Dale died, I don't think there were many people more heartbroken than Darrell.