I feel like over the years that I've been here, I've earned more respect. But I don't know if I'll ever have the type of respect that Dale had. I think because Dale had that kind of respect, you know, everybody really looked up to him. Whether they enjoyed racing with him or having dinner with him or not, they all respected him tremendously. And he enjoyed I think that side of using his voice and his opinion.
He had great relationships with Bill Jr., and Mike Helton and those guys. The sport is different today than it was then. I just don't know if there is ever going to be one individual in this garage area that feels like they've got the voice.
Q.
Do you miss racing with Dale Earnhardt?
JEFF GORDON:
Well, I mean, it's just different for me personally because I loved racing with him, and I hated racing with him. You know, I mean, he was one of the most competitive guys out there. There were days where he'd push you and shove you right out of the way and frustrate you, then there were other days where you just saw his talent, you know, the passion that he had for it, and you had a blast racing with him. You knew if you beat Dale, especially at a place like
Daytona, Talladega, Bristol or something where he was good, that you really had done something. Took a lot of pride in that.
You know, I think certainly the fans miss the excitement that he brought. I don't think there will ever be anybody to replace Dale. He was definitely a special individual and a special racecar driver, you know, I believe the best racecar driver I've ever raced against. If you look at a whole, you know, of his talents at so many different types of tracks that he went to, the intimidation factor, as well, that he had.
You know, I know the fans have got to miss that a lot. No matter where he was in the field, he was always the story. That's because, you know, of what he generated, the excitement he generated.
Q.
Share one of your Dale Earnhardt racing memories with us
JEFF GORDON:
Well, we were racing at Pocono one year, and I came up on him. Any time you came up on Dale, you know, you knew he wasn't going to be easy to pass. So I came up on him, and I got underneath him, made a clean pass on him. You know, I looked up in my mirror and realised it was too good to be true because he kind of just let me go by. He always used to do that, he'd let you go by, come back underneath you. Instead of coming back underneath me, he was able to on underneath my bumper, push me back down the back straightaway. When it came time to let off the gas and hit the brakes, he was still on my bumper.
![Jeff Gordon addresses the media in Las Vegas. [Pic Credit Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/192824.jpg)
