A rivalry that continues to burn up the tracks

DERBY DAYS - NASCAR Jeff Gordon vs The Earhardts: The rivalry between a young, good-looking pretender and an established legend gave Nascar racing the ideal platform in which to launch its appeal to a wider audience, writes Damian Cullen

WHEN JEFF GORDON began his first full season racing in the top-flight of Nascar in 1993, aged just 21 years, he was entering the world of Dale Earnhardt.

"The Intimidator" was already a Nascar (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing) legend, and would claim that season's championship in the Winston Cup Series - now known as the Sprint Cup Series. It was Earnhardt's sixth career title.

Back in the middle of the field, however, the new kid on the block was quickly gaining attention, and one pole, 11 top-10s and a 14th finish overall in the standings gained Gordon the Rookie of the Year award.

The following Nascar, Winston Cup, season began on Sunday, February 20th, 1994, but the week before witnessed the annual Busch Clash, a shoot-out consisting of two 10-lap races at Daytona International Speedway designed to encourage an all-out driving style, which suited Earnhardt's fiercely aggressive style.

He was hot favourite to retain the shoot-out title. Gordon won, and almost four months later openly cried after claiming his first Winston Cup victory in Nascar's longest (600 miles) and most demanding race of the season - the Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Still, in the battle already being refereed to as one between "the Kid and the Killer", Earnhardt would claim his seventh championship - tying him with the legendary Richard Petty.

The king of stock car racing (the races take place on oval tracks with drivers reaching speeds of over 200 miles per hour) from the home of Nascar had prevailed once again.

Now in his 40s, the no-nonsense, moustached king of the track from North Carolina had a huge following, and Nascar itself was expanding at a phenomenal rate - by the 1998 season annual attendances had topped six million and it was now a multi-billion dollar business.

Almost overnight, the long-time, blue-collar, die-hard fans found themselves sharing the grandstands with fresh-faced, young city professionals. There was a new, visible Mason-Dixon Line, and Gordon and Earnhardt were the perfect embodiments of each side.

Gordon, a slick, stylish, good-looking Californian was a god-send to the Nascar boardroom - who didn't hesitate in promoting the young driver as the outsider seeking to knock a local legend off his pedestal.

Not that Gordon and Earnhardt needed much encouragement.

The North Carolina driver repeatedly dismissed his rival as too young and inexperienced to be regarded as a true challenger, though his mind was changed by the end of the 1995 season, which went down to the final race.

Earnhardt knew only a perfect drive in the Napa 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway could wrest the championship title from Gordon, but despite "The Intimidator's" victory, Gordon finished far enough up the leaderboard to clinch the overall crown.

Pop music had beaten country and western and Nascar was on its way to becoming the second most popular sport on US television (behind only the NFL).

In the eight full seasons that the pair enthralled viewers across the US, Earnhardt won 23 times, with Gordon taking 52 victories - including 10 race wins on his way to his second championship in 1997.

Any contact between the two became front page news, most famously a bump-and-run by Earnhardt at Pocono in 1998 that almost cost Gordon a win.

The rivalry may have been high-profile, but it was not unique. Every Nascar meeting was home to a hundred individual duels, including the perennial war between Ford and Chevy.

While many car-makers have come and gone, only these two have been locked in battle since Nascar's very first season. And no other car has won the prestigious manufacturers championship since the 1970s.

The bitterness is so acute that when fans of one driver wrecks, they immediately switch allegiance to other drivers carrying the same insignia on their vehicles.

The only exception was among Earnhardt and Gordon fans. Both drove Chevys.

Last Sunday, Dale Earnhardt Jr finished 10th after the 250 laps of the Pepsi 500 in California. The 33-year-old North Carolina driver finished four places ahead of local favourite Gordon.

In 2000, after a couple of below-par seasons, Earnhardt Jr's father enjoyed a resurgence, finishing the championship in second spot and, more importantly, showing his old fire - he passed 17 drivers in the final four laps to win at Talladega.

The media began to hype the coming 2001 season as the beginning of a new era between Earnhardt and Gordon. But it wasn't to be.

Near the end of the 2001 Daytona 500, Earnhardt and his son were the front runners, along with Michael Waltrip and Sterling Marlin.

In turn three of the final lap, the back of Earnhardt's #3 car tipped the front of Marlin's car. Earnhardt hit the wall at 150 miles per hour.

A few seconds later, Waltrip took victory, with Earnhardt Jr just behind. His father was dead.

After Earnhardt's untimely death his son took his place as the living symbol of Nascar's roots in North Carolina, and when Gordon took a controversial win over Junior at Talladega in 2004, the second version of Gordon-Earnhardt became as intense as the original.

Gordon won by managing to nose in front of Earnhardt Jr's #8 just before a late-race caution flag, which froze the positions, and allowed Gordon to win. Fans of Earnhardt Jr rained beer cans down on the track.

But while the petrol heads are still divided into the Gordon and Earnhardts camps, the drivers have moved to try to keep a lid on any differences.

Last year in Phoenix, Gordon claimed his 76th career victory - tying with The Intimidator on the all-time win list.

Gordon carried a number three flag on his victory lap, a gesture that moved Earnhardt Jr to go to the Californian and thank him.

This weekend both drivers will line up just outside Richmond in Virginia for the final time this season - one more 300-mile bare-knuckle ride for the drivers, and the still divided spectators.

Jeff Gordon

v

The Earnhardts

Chevy Rock and Roll 400

Richmond International Raceway, Virginia.

Live on Sky Sports 2 on Saturday night (00.30-04.30)