“Gonna be a lot of pissed off people”: When Jeff Gordon addressed why Dale Jr. fans ‘throwing beer’ became the ‘greatest day’ of his life 

Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. have been prominent faces of NASCAR since its very beginning. However, Hall of Famer Gordon's rise to fame didn't quite gel with the fans of Earnhardt's legacy in his initial stock-car racing days.

During a 2018 Dale Jr. Download podcast, Gordon and Dale Jr. sat down with former co-host Mike Davis to discuss the aftermath of the 2004 Aaron's 499 race at Talladega Superspeedway. Apparently, the race had a controversial finish after a caution flag came out when Dale Jr. and Gordon were battling for the lead. As a result, the field was frozen and the former Hendrick Motorsports driver Gordon was nose ahead of Dale Jr.'s No. 8 Chevrolet.

Recalling the moment when the caution came out in the 2004 spring race, Gordon said:

"I was sitting there going, ‘I think I was ahead! I think I was ahead!’ And when they told me I was, I was like, ‘Yessss!’ And then all of sudden I realized, ‘Uh oh, there’s going to be a lot of pissed off people in the grandstands.'" [0:57]

The four-time NASCAR champion Gordon then acknowledged Dale Jr.'s fan following and having mixed feelings after winning the race.

Furthermore, co-host Davis mentioned fans "throwing beer cans" at the former No. 24 Chevy driver Gordon while he was performing burnout after taking the checkered flag. Keeping this in mind, the Vallejo, California native laughingly deemed this to be the "greatest day" of his life.

Having said that, Gordon reflected on how this moment served a purpose in his life. He added:

"When they started throwing stuff at me, that was almost — I started realizing the boos were like recognition of what I had accomplished. When they started throwing (expletive), I was like, ‘Yes, this is awesome.''

"And not that I encourage people to throw things out on the track, but that is the essence of NASCAR in those days. And you wish you had moments today, that they cared that much for what is happening," Gordon conluded.

Despite having an on-track rivalry with Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon once reminisced about his love-hate relationship with Dale Earnhardt Sr. and visited the legend's bronze statue in Kannapolis, North Carolina.

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"I miss him": Jeff Gordon once paid tribute to Dale Earnhardt

Back in 2019, Jeff Gordon, now vice chairman of Hendrick Motorsports, visited Dale Earnhardt's memorial in Kannapolis, North Carolina.

In the video posted by Fox Sports, Gordon acknowledged his rivalry with Earnhardt Sr. and his respect for the Hall of Famer.

"As much as he messed with me, somehow on the inside I always thought that it was a sign of respect," Gordon said. "He would have not said anything at all if he didn't care. I respected the heck out of this guy. Loved racing with him, hated it at times, but overall my experience with Dale was incredible. I miss him. I know a lot of people do."

After a storied NASCAR career with seven Cup Series championship titles, Dale Earnhardt passed away after a gut-wrenching crash in the 2001 Daytona 500 race.