"I didn't love it": Jeff Gordon makes his feelings known about Dale Earnhardt Sr.'s shrimp, vodka, and grapevine juice 'culturing'

Two NASCAR champions, Jeff Gordan and Dale Earnhardt Sr., sitting together at a Japanese steakhouse having grilled shrimp and enjoying vodka would be a sight to behold. The 4X Cup Series champion, Gordan, recalled when he and the legendary Dale Sr. set off on the streets of Japan, in a quest to explore its delicacies just hours after a day of tiresome racing.

While speaking with former NASCAR driver Kevin Harvick, in a recent episode of his Happy Hour podcast, Gordon narrated how the ‘intimidator’ made him eat live grilled shrimp that day, saying that it brought good luck.

“We went to this Japanese steakhouse. I loved Japanese steakhouses, but this one's a little bit different where they brought out shrimp that were still alive and put them on the grill and cook them right in front of you,” Gordon said.

“And then they cut the head off and then they serve it to somebody at the table and of course, he (Dale Earnhardt) picked me. I didn't love it but now it's a story,” he added.

Gordon then revealed that Earnhardt even got him into drinking vodka and grapefruit juice. To Harvick, it seemed like the great Dale Earnhardt was “culturing” Gordon. Gordon, who currently serves as the Vice Chairman of Hendrick Motorsports, agreed.

“It made me look beyond racing and how to enjoy racing, work hard at it but enjoy the fruits of your labor,” Gordon observed.

Gordon and Earnhardt were friends off the track, but the story was quite different when the duo raced each other. They were the fiercest rivals back in the day. According to nascarhall.com,

“In the ’90s, you were a Gordon fan or an Earnhardt fan, but never both. Each driver’s fan base loathed the other, which only stoked the flames. As we say in the south, in racing as in wrestling, hate is great.”

From 1992 until 2001, Dale Earnhardt Sr. and Jeff Gordon ran 258 races together and finished at the top on seven occasions. The rivalry could have led to more thrilling races in the years to come, but unfortunately, Earnhardt Sr. lost his life to a last-lap crash at Daytona International Speedway on 18 February 2001.

Jeff Gordon reflects on the impact of defeating Dale Earnhardt Sr.

Jeff Gordon won his first Cup Series championship title in 1995. He bagged seven victories that year, which included crown jewel events like the Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400. Still, he remembers the rivalry with Dale Earnhardt Sr. as his most impactful experience from that season.

In an interview with journalist Bob Pockrass, Gordon said:

“Winning that first championship in 1995 was just huge because not only were we going up against the greats at that time, but Dale Earnhardt, Sr., one of the best of all time.”

Winning against the legendary Dale Earnhardt Sr. gave Gordon the confidence he needed to deliver three more championship titles in 1997, 1998, and 2001.

“It certainly was a string there for about four or five years that we were one of the top teams and went into every race feeling like we could win it, and every season that we could win the championship because of what we accomplished in ’95.”

Throughout his career, Jeff Gordon recorded 93 Cup Series wins, whereas Earnhardt amassed 76. Both were inducted into the prestigious NASCAR Hall of Fame with Earnhardt Sr. receiving the honor posthumously in 2010. Gordon, on the other hand, was awarded the title (in 2019) years after he retired from full-time racing.