"I wanted to beat him": When Jeff Gordon reflected on rivalry with Tony Stewart while congratulating Hall of Famer

One of the 2020 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductees was former Cup Series driver, Tony Stewart. Stewart's induction was announced in 2019, after which he received a congratulatory message from one of his former competitors, Jeff Gordon. Gordon and Stewart raced each other from 1999 to 2015, until the former retired. Stewart would soon follow, retiring the year later in 2016.

Gordon, who was one of 2019's inductees into the Hall of Fame, spoke warmly about his former rival, discussing how despite their animosity towards each other, they have always had respect for one another. In a New York Times article from May of 2019, the former Hendrick Motorsports driver pointed out how their relationship has developed.

“That just shows you how things evolve. When he first came into the Cup level he looked at me like a fierce competitor, just like I looked at him as a fierce competitor. I wanted to beat him and he wanted to do the same. And we butted heads doing that. But we always had tremendous respect for one another,” Gordon said.

Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon's rivalry came to a head in 2001, when the two battled it out for the Cup Series Championship title. Gordon secured the victory, achieving his fourth series championship and beating Stewart by 349 points. The year after that, Tony Stewart would secure his first title, followed by championship victories in 2005 and 2011, with his third trophy coming with his own team, Stewart-Haas Racing.

Speaking about their identical careers, not just in NASCAR, but before and after as well, Gordon believed it's only right that Stewart be honoured.

“When I was getting out of the USAC ranks, that’s really when his USAC career was taking off. And it wasn’t long after that he was coming to NASCAR and we were competing against each other. Then I retired, he retired. It’s only fitting that he goes into the Hall of Fame also.”

Alongside Tony Stewart, drivers Bobby Labonte, Buddy Baker, engine builder and crew chief Waddell Wilson, as well as team owner Joe Gibbs were all inducted into the 2020 class of the Hall of Fame.

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Tony Stewart talks about how "mad and frustrated" fellow HOF inductee Joe Gibbs was in 2008

Joe Gibbs walks down the pit lane during practice for the Straight Talk Wireless 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. - Source: Imagn

Tony Stewart raced for Joe Gibbs Racing from his debut in the Cup Series in 1999 till 2008. In May of 2019, Stewart reflected on how his former team's owner reacted when he let him know that he would be leaving JGR at the end of the 2008 season. The former driver chose to depart the team with whom he had won two titles so that he could get the opportunity to expand his role in the sport and become a team owner as well, of Stewart-Haas Racing.

While Joe Gibbs admitted that he understood the reason, Tony Stewart spoke about how upset Gibbs was at losing his driver, until the Indiana-native gave him a specific reason. He said (via New York Times):

“I remember how frustrated and mad and upset he was about it. Then I said, ‘This is my opportunity to be like you,’ and that stopped it all with him being mad.

“I think he was still frustrated, but I don’t think he was mad anymore. What do you say when you tell someone you’re trying to be like them? What are they going to tell you, no don’t be like me?”

During Stewart's time as a driver and co-owner, he achieved a single championship title and added 16 race wins to his record - until his eventual retirement from the sport.