The 20 Most Entertaining Driver Confrontations In NASCAR History

14. Bristol 2002 – Dale Earnhardt Jr. vs. Robby Gordon

[NOTE: Skip to 16:30 for the altercation]

The Setup:

On one end of the spectrum, there was Robby Gordon with a strong outside-pole effort in qualifying, only to have his day wrecked prematurely by jumping the start at the beginning of the race. On the other, the normally quiet Dale Earnhardt Jr. had a stellar day, leading a race-high 184 laps before finishing fourth. Junior blamed his inability to race for the win on Gordon, and following the race did something about it.

The Fallout:

Junior door-slammed the No. 31 following the race, expressing his frustrations. Gordon returned the favor by tearing his car up – plowing into the No. 8 and turning it around on pit road. After the two got out and had to be restrained by their respective pit crews and some obscenities, with Junior calling Gordon a “moving chicayne” and Gordon crediting Junior’s ability to keep his ride because of his last name. One: Who still has a Cup career all these years later? Two: Junior needs to get angrier more often.

Next: Loudon 2008