"It was a love-hate relationship" - $200M-worth Jeff Gordon reflects on rivalry with Dale Earnhardt that led to business ventures together

NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon has shared details about his personal and professional relationship with Dale Earnhardt in a conversation on Kevin Harvick's "Happy Hour podcast. The 53-year-old discussed how his rivalry with the NASCAR legend Earnhardt benefitted them from a business standpoint.

The Hendrick Motorsports legend Gordon talked about how his popularity rose when seven-time Cup Series champion Earnhardt was at his peak of the "souvenir" business. This bridged the gap from not being only fierce competitors to talking about the business aspect of the sport. Gordon, who is worth $200 million (according to Celebrity Net Worth), said:

"I didn't like him at that time because I was like, 'Whoa whoa, you know, this guy went from being my hero that I respect so much to now he's trying to get in my head and he's messing with me on the track and off the track.' Yeah, so it was a love-hate relationship there for a little while." [29:46]

"Then towards probably five-six years after that, all of a sudden we're owning property together and we're benefiting from business together and we're talking a lot about the business and shoot, we even went fishing. Like, there was just things that, he would invite me over to his boat, and just what I think where he changed it for me is he showed me not only the business side, he showed me a different side of the lifestyle," Jeff Gordon added.

Both NASCAR legends bought a majority stake and became shareholders of Action Performance Companies, Inc. which made diecast collectibles cars and NASCAR souvenirs. Moreover, they both owned a real estate company called Performance Partners, Inc.

---

When Jeff Gordon visited Dale Earnhardt's statue and reminisced about their love-hate relationship - "I miss him"

Five years ago, Hendrick Motorsports vice chairman Jeff Gordon visited Dale Earnhardt's memorial statue in Kannapolis to honor the NASCAR Hall of Famer.

The bronze statue was built after a tragic last-lap crash during the 2001 Daytona 500 in which the former Richard Childress Racing driver died after getting involved in a three-car wreck. Gordon recalled the fierce rivalry and the respect they both shared with Fox.

"As much as he messed with me, somehow on the inside I always thought that it was a sign of respect. 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," Jeff Gordon said. [01:58]

Earnhardt's name was carried on by his son, NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr., NASCAR's Most Popular driver for 15 consecutive years and Gordon's teammate while competing for Hendrick Motorsports. Despite their full-time retirements in 2016 and 2017 respectively, Gordon and Earnhardt Jr. remain household names for NASCAR fans.