It has been said, figures don't lie but liars figure, or to put it another way, a person can make the numbers look anyway they want with percentages. The problem in trying to make the percentages slant in the favor of anyone doesn't seem to work here and we are assuming the numbers provided are correct.
The total number of races for both drivers, 256.
Earnhardt won 8.9 % of those races.
Gordon won 20.3 % of the same races.
Earnhardt finished in the top five 39 % of the time,
Gordon finished in the top five, 50.3 % of the time.
Earnhardt finsihed in the top ten 44 % of the time,
Gordon had a top ten finish in 64.8 % in the same races.
Total winnings for the ten year time frame has
Earnhardt with a total of $22,203,132.
Gordon with a total of $33,277,708.
Average dollar amout of winnings per race,
Earnhardt with $86,703.98
Gordon with $132,139.48
One other interesting fact, the first year and part of the second year Gordon raced, he was not eligible for the Winners Circle and bonus money until he won his first race, which, had he been eligible, would have made his dollar amount of total winnings higher.
Since age and memory loss go hand in hand, the number of poles won by Earnhardt is not recalled, but the numbers posted by Gordon during that time frame indicate, Jeff won 33 poles, winning the pole once in every 7.7 attempts.
Show these figures to someone who has never been to a NASCAR Winston Cup race, has absolutely no interest in automobile racing and has never heard of either Jeff Gordon or Dale Earnhardt, and ask them the same question.
What do you think thier answer might be??? Earnhardt ?? Or Gordon ??
Not trying to create an argument, but as Jack Webb used to say, "just the facts, Ma'm".
Jeff Gordon diserves all of the credit he has.
