“He ain't too smart" - When Dale Earnhardt playfully jabbed at Jeff Gordon's rain strategy

Dale Earnhardt Sr. and Jeff Gordon
Dale Earnhardt Sr. once said Jeff Gordon wasn't too smart for qualifying in the rain - Source: Getty (L) and Imagn (R)

Jeff Gordon once crashed during qualifying after clocking a lap time on a rainy track in 1995. During Gordon’s qualifying run, Dale Earnhardt Sr. commented on his strategy, saying he wasn’t too smart going out on the track in the rain.

Dale Earnhardt Sr. and Jeff Gordon are NASCAR Hall of Famers who raced each other for championships in the 90s. The former secured seven Cup Series championship titles under his belt, while the latter got four.

Earnhardt Sr. told an interviewer at the 1995 GM Goodwrench Dealer 400 at Michigan that Gordon should’ve just stayed in the pits as the rain was coming down.

“Stay on pit road,” Earnhardt Sr. said when asked to give Gordon advice (0:23).
“See the raindrops hitting on the top here? That shows that tracks can be a little bit loose,” the seven-time Cup champ stated (0:29). “It’s not a good time to fall but I bet he [Jeff Gordon] comes on pit road matter of fact," he added.

Dale Earnhardt Sr. then playfully jabbed at Jeff Gordon, saying:

“He ain’t too smart.”

After Earnhardt Sr. got off the interview, Gordon got loose and hit the wall in turn three. The driver walked out of the car and held his hands up in frustration.

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Following wrecking his car in a rainy qualifying session, Jeff Gordon was out of the first round of qualifying for the top 20 drivers. In the second round of qualifying, the driver secured the 21st position in his backup #24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.

Jeff Gordon drove his way to the front of the field and led for 68 laps - the most in the race. However, Bobby Labonte took the top step of the podium, with Gordon finishing in 3rd. Dale Earnhardt Sr., meanwhile, fell down to 35th after starting from 8th.

To this day, NASCAR still doesn’t allow racing in the rain for safety reasons. When a track couldn’t dry on time, the race would normally resume the following day. Although, the league allows racing in the rain on short tracks using wet-weather Goodyear tires, which debuted last year.


Jeff Gordon offered Dale Earnhardt Sr. a toast with a glass of milk

Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Sr. shared another moment in 1995 after the former won his first of four Cup Series championships.

During the 1995 NASCAR Awards Ceremony, Gordon offered Earnhardt Sr. a toast with a glass of milk. The friendly banter was a response to The Intimidator telling Gordon to celebrate the championship with a glass of milk considering he was only 23 years old at that time.

The HMS driver commended his rival for competing to get his eighth Cup championship.

“Before I go any further, I’d like to recognize a man who never let up on his efforts to win his eighth championship, Dale Earnhardt is a true competitor and a great champion, and, at this time, I would like to offer a toast to the man,” Gordon said.

Gordon retired from full-time competition after the 2015 season, garnering 93 wins, 325 top-5s, and 475 top-10s in his two-decade-long Cup career. He is currently working as the vice chairman of Hendrick Motorsports.

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Edited by Neelabhra Roy
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