Excuse you... but how do you know when I was watching or wasn't? I don't think you knew me back then. I started catching on to it in the early 90's so I miss most of his 80's feats, but I saw a lot of races in the 90's, just wasn't as into it as I am now.
And Dale Sr. started his career a lot later in his life than whiney boy did.
i too started watching in '91 and this guy doesnt have a clue what hes talking about.........the grandstands were selling out way before Gordon was even shaving much less winning in the premier league.
you really need to read my other post about dominating an era.....Petty/Pearson did it Waltrip/Allison did it Earnhardt/Elliott/Wallace did it Earnhardt/Gordon did it now its just six or seven guys doing it.......if you have a weak field, then one or two guys will win more races than all the rest, thats just the numbers, not talent.
as for since Jr. came in, i do believe Gordon and Earnhardt are at about the same win total ...........thats why they are the two most popular drivers.
the grandstands were selling out way before Gordon was even shaving much less winning in the premier league>>>>>>>
Sure the stands were sold out, but tell me when did NASCAR get the TV contract? Nobody watched it on TV before Gordon came around. Gordon did to NASCAR what Tiger Woods did for Golf. He brought in a different type of fan. No offense but before 95-96 NASCAR was thought of a hick/redneck sport. Now its mainstream, mainly because of Jeff Gordon....
Now that's the funniest thing I've heard.... it was Gordon and not Dale Earnhardt that gave them a tv contract??? hahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!
Yes, Jeff Gordon and his pretty boy ways did have some contribution to Nascar. He was a hot young rookie that looked good and people liked him for whatever reason.
But it was Dale Earnhardt winning all those championships that brought the tv audience. Nascar was already on tv before Gordon started winning, and it was because of Earnhardt.
Richard Petty brought the sport from its grassroots start. Dale Earnhardt made it mainstream. Jeff Gordon put a little pretty boy polish on it.
I read a quote from Darrell Waltrip in a news article. Someone asked him why do fans love Dale Earnhardt. Darrell said, look at the grandstands.... there's your answer, Dale is one of them.
Dale Earnhardt was the blue collared good ol' boy who raced his heart out, eventually made millions of dollars and started his own business from nothing. It wasnt' handed to him.
He was the first person to put stock in Action Performance company who started making diecasts. He started the trend of special paint schemes when he drove his silver chevy in the Winston in 95.
He was a tough as nails racer. Remember when he flipped his car , got into the ambulance, saw the car was still drivable and got out and finished the race. That's tough. Jeff Gordon cries when a piece of concrete hits his car.... boohoo.
Jeff Gordon started Nascar with Hendrick Motorsports, an already established team with drivers like Terry Labonte, Ken Schrader, Tim Richmond, Darrell Waltrip, Ricky Rudd and Bobby Hamilton. They were involved with the movie Days of Thunder even. Those drivers had all won races before Jeffy boy came around, so Hendrick had money.
Dale Earnhardt started back in the 70's when Nascar was still a hick sport with no money. He started with a small team owned by Rob Osterlund and eventually Richard Childress. Childress was just starting the owneship business after a short and not very good driving career. He didn't have much money. But Earnhardt winning races built up Childresse's team to what it is today. Can you imagine if Dale started with the money that Gordon had with his team. He could have had much better cars and better engines. His stats would be even more phenomenal than what they are. But he made do with what he had.
When he died, did you ever see more tributes honored to anyone else? No. That goes to show you what Dale Earnhardt meant to the Nascar community. There will never be a statue of Jeff Gordon outside Daytona, the birthplace of speed.
So don't try and tell me it was Jeff Gordon that brought Nascar its success. It was Dale, the man. Always and ever the best racer of all time. nuff said.
If you watched Nascar forever like you say, then you would know the SR was the MOST HATED DRIVER, just like Jeff Gordon. Every person in the stands cared one way or the other what SR and Gordon did. Sr was a great driver but the driver who brought Nascar from ESPN to National TV was Gordon. The fans that Gordon brought in. And when your the most sought after young driver in the history of the sport, chance are you will end up signing with a great team, with money.
<<<Dale Earnhardt was the blue collared good ol' boy who raced his heart out, eventually made millions of dollars and started his own business from nothing. It wasnt' handed to him.>>>
I never said he did have it handed to him, JR did.....
Where was Nascar when Sr was winning championships? Espn? What maybe 1 race a yr was on CBS?
I thought this was a Gordon vs Dale Sr. debate? Dale Jr. had it a little easier than some drivers because of his dad, but he didn't have everything handed to him. he had to work his way up through the ranks, win in the busch series and eventually was offered a contract by Budweiser after winning the Busch championship 2 years in a row.
And if you think Dale Jr. had everything handed to him because he's Dale Sr's son, then take a look at Kerry Earnhardt.
And what does tv broadcasting have to do with the talent of the two drivers? I thought it was their talent and driving styles.
I know Sr. was a hated driver, just like Gordon is. Those that didn't love him hated him. There have always been drivers like that and there always will be. If you win races and championships other people get jealous and start hating you.
And You show me one piece of proof that Nascar is on the big networks now because of Jeff Gordon. And not just because thats your opinion.
look JJR, you root for a good driver even if he is turning Benedict Arnold on us and going to F1, he is one of the greatest ever....true, but he didnt do anything but bring women into Nascar.
Nascar is still considered a hick sport, just a hick sport with lots of rednecks watching with money in there pocket.
since when has ESPN not been considered a national network or TBS for that matter......yeh i remember those days too. bottom line is Nascar had about ten or twelve races a year on the 'Networks' all through the eighties.
Earnhardt has got to be what grew the sport. why? well, go to a race, see how many souvenir trailers are there of him.......just as many as Jr. and Gordon and he's been dead for 3 1/2 years!
like the Prez said, he helped start Action along, he helped start QVC's show along, he brought about special paint schemes, he with Gordon founded Sports Image which has since been renamed Chase Authentics. all the while, he was kicking ass on the track, being booed and cheered at exactly the same time, signing autographs left and right, and making millions everyday!
Re:Your right Daytona only puts statues of drivers who won their race 1 time out or 26
That's the stupidest comeback I ever heard. I guess that means Derrike Cope will be getting a statue soon?
Re: ......And there are a good number of people who believe NAscar orchestrated Sr's 500 win as well as Jrs
Yes all the Gordon fans always think every race that an Earnhardt has won is rigged because they can't face up to the fact that Earnhardt beat Gordon.
Re:
Look at the names of the children, maybe Jr got his handed to him because he is named after daddy dearest
Obviously you know nothing about the history of Dale Jr. Nothing got handed to him, he worked for everything himself. If you want to talk stuff being handed to, look at Jeff Gordon after he joined Hendrick.
<<<<<as for since Jr. came in, i do believe Gordon and Earnhardt are at about the same win total ...........thats why they are the two most popular drivers.>>>>>
This is not even close. Since Jrs debut he has 13 wins while Gordon has almost twice that at 24
I wouldnt go bragging about Gordon winning the Daytona 500. He only won it twice. Jr can tie him very easily next year. And he has 3 Pepsi 400 wins. He's pretty good at Daytona but he doesn't dominate. I see Jr. passing him in only a couple years.
Dale owned Jr's, car and is now owned by Teresa. Jr. doesn't want to go work for someone else because he enjoys working with his family and I cant see anything wrong with that.
Sr. won one Daytona 500, yet he has almost twice as many as his nearest competitor as far as total wins at Daytona. No one, and i mean no one has ever been able to beat Sr. at drafting.......Junior Johnson discovered it, Dale Sr. mastered it.
why do you think Dale Jr. and Gordon are both so good at it? Sr. taught them both how to use it.
Jr. works for DEI still because he can call the shots. Teresa handles the business of it and the PR.
as for Kerry, Dale named June Bug Jr. because at the time of his birth, that was his only son as far as he knew.
Kerry's mom didnt tell Sr. until his late teens early twenties......right about the time that both sons started to race. Both sons were steadily beaten by Kelly. Jr. had more drive.....Kelly and Kerry both wanted to raise families. again, Jr. didnt drive for his dad until Steve Park moved up to Nascar. he earned everything, unlike Jeff's stepfather who made as many backroom deals as he could to get Evernham to look at Gordon.
if youre going to comment on history, you should know it first.
