New documentary explores Dale Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon's complicated relationship
Decades after they shared the race track together, Dale Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon remain two of the biggest names in NASCAR with huge fan bases still intrigued by the lives are careers of both driving legends.
A new documentary, UNRIVALED: EARNHARDT VS. GORDON, details the complicated relationship between Earnhardt, the seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion who tragically died at the 2001 Daytona 500, and Gordon, who almost immediately took control of the series after his debut in the mid-1990s.
In Gordon's championship-winning seasons in the 90s - 1995, 1997 and 1998 (he also won in 2001) - he was in his mid-20s and combined to win 30 races those seasons. Earnhardt's combined total those seasons was six after more than a decade of dominance. But Earnhardt was still feared on the race track, even as Gordon was making a name for himself and building his Hall of Fame career.
While recapping their on-track young-versus-old rivalry, the documentary - produced by FOX Sports Films, along with NASCAR Productions and DLP Media Group with Gordon as an executive producer - also details their relationship off the track and how both their lives and careers impacted the sport.
(Courtesy of FOX Sports, Nigel Kinrade)
It features interviews with Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Rick Hendrick, Kyle Busch and Marty Smith, among many others.
"Working on this project brought back so many memorable moments," Gordon said, via FOX Sports. "Dale was such a fierce competitor, and he used his bumper plenty of times to teach me lessons on the track. Off the track - and I don't know exactly why - he took me under his wing to teach me so much about the business side of our sport."
UNRIVALED: EARNHARDT VS. GORDON will premiere Thursday, Feb. 14 at 10 p.m. ET on FS1.
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