Updated: Jul 10, 2007, 10:30 AM

Vote: Hottest NASCAR rivalries



During his illustrious career, Dale Earnhardt developed many rivalries.
Before ESPN airs its first Nextel Cup race, The Allstate 400 at the Brickyard on July 29th, the network is unveiling a series of "Ultimate NASCAR" programs, which will include a countdown of the hottest rivalries in NASCAR history as decided by a panel of racing experts.

As always, SportsNation, we want your feedback. Which rivalries would you consider the hottest on four wheels? Keep in mind that these rivalries do not always involve two drivers and often go beyond the track.

For example, where would you rank the Goodyear-Firestone rivalry of the 1960s? Of course, many of the rivalries listed below did flourish on the track. Does the Earnhardt-Gordon rivalry, which developed in the 1990s, and still seems to be raging today among fans, deserve a spot in the top five?

Pick your top FIVE rivalries and let the debate begin!

ESPN's "Ultimate NASCAR" SERIES LINEUP:

  • Hottest Rivalries: Thursday, July 12 at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN
  • Biggest Races: Thursday, July 19 at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN

    All voting was done by a special panel of 20 NASCAR experts and historians.

    More Ultimate NASCAR polls: Biggest Races | Greatest Drivers

    • Which are the hottest rivalries in NASCAR history? (VOTE FOR FIVE)

    • Allison Family vs. Cale Yarborough
      The first live flag-to-flag TV coverage of the Daytona 500 in 1979 resulted in a wild finish and a melee afterward. Donnie Allison led Cale Yarborough with a half lap remaining and the nearest competitors way behind. Allison and Yarborough bumped cars multiple times and took each other out of the race, allowing Richard Petty to get the win. After the incident, Bobby Allison joined in, and a fist fight erupted between the Allisons and Yarborough, viewed by a national TV audience.
       
    • Bobby Allison vs. Junior Johnson
      This rivalry reportedly began when the two were working together. It was Johnson the owner vs. Allison the driver. The difference of opinion centered on who knew what was best for the car mechanically. They constantly argued until it got to the point where they wouldn't even speak to one another. Crew chief Herb Nab acted as ''translator'' between the two men. The battle came to a head when Allison wanted a chassis innovation that he'd developed (the front-steer chassis) installed and Johnson refused. Reportedly the climactic moment came when the three men were standing in Junior's shop arguing about the front-steer chassis and Allison said, ''Herb, tell Junior to kiss my ass.''
       
    • Dale Earnhardt vs. Geoff Bodine
      This rivalry remained heated for the better part of a decade and was the metaphor for the differences between the blue-collar southerner and the cocky northerner (Bodine was born in upstate New York). The seeds were planted at the 1986 Daytona 500 when Earnhardt, while leading the race, ran out of gas and opened the door for Bodine's win. Reportedly, the two actually refused to talk to each other for nearly a decade, taking out their frustrations on NASCAR's short tracks in the '80s and '90s.
       
    • Dale Earnhardt vs. Daytona 500
      Although Dale Earnhardt earned more victories at Daytona International Speedway than any other driver, the 500 eluded and tormented him for 20 years. The circumstances surrounding his inability to win the race were often tragic, the most notable of which occurred in 1990, when he ran over a piece of debris on the track and blew a tire while leading comfortably on the final lap. The bad luck finally ended for Dale, as he put it all together in 1998.
       
    • Dale Earnhardt vs. Bill Elliott
      Earnhardt and Elliott got in each other's path most often during Elliott's landmark season of 1985, a year when he won 11 races. As he became the dominant force, Dale didn't hesitate to make contact with him on the track. They also had several close finishes during the following years, the most notable of which occurred at Darlington in March of 1987 when Elliott lost the lead on the last lap of the TranSouth 500 when he ran out of gas, giving Earnhardt an easy win. But the bad feelings between the two really bubbled over during the 1987 Winston. Dale's aggressive driving tactics that day so angered Elliott that he slammed into Earnhardt on the cool-down lap to express his displeasure.
       
    • Dale Earnhardt vs. Jeff Gordon
      Gordon burst onto the scene in the mid-1990s, just as Earnhardt was winning consecutive titles in '93 and '94. In '95, the kid stepped up and beat the veteran by 34 points for the championship, halting Dale's quest for the record-breaking eighth points title. The rivalry was punctuated at that year's awards banquet when Gordon toasted Earnhardt with glass of milk after Dale had joked Jeff was too young to drink champagne with dinner.
       
    • France Family vs. Burton Smith
      This business rivalry first started in 1947 when NASCAR was first being formed and has lived through the generations right to this day. Smith currently controls SMI, the corporation which owns tracks at Charlotte, Atlanta, Las Vegas, Texas, Bristol, Tenn., and Sonoma, Calif. Back in 1947 as a business prodigy, Smith was promoting races and became an obstacle that France steered around in forming NASCAR. Their latest run-in was the massive anti-trust suit filed by SMI stockholder Francis Ferko vs. NASCAR in recent years, which showed signs of Smith's involvement, even though he claimed to have no role.
       
    • Bill France vs. Professional Drivers Association
      In August 1969, 11 drivers formed the Professional Drivers Association to lobby for safer conditions, better driver facilities, and increased prize money. When teams arrived at the inaugural Talladega 500, they voiced concerns that tires were inadequate to handle the speeds of 200 mph. The PDA asked Bill France to postpone the race until better tires could be produced. France refused, and took out a 1969 Ford for a practice run at 175 mph to prove the safety of the tires. Less than 24 hours before the race, most of the drivers pulled out - the first official boycott in NASCAR history.
       
    • Bill France vs. Teamsters Union movement
      In 1961, three NASCAR drivers - Curtis Turner, Fireball Roberts and Tim Flock - tried to unionize the drivers through the Teamsters. The effort was spearheaded by Turner, who was negotiating an $800,000 loan from the Teamsters to finance construction of Charlotte Motor Speedway. The Teamsters were trying to legalize gambling on races at the time. Bill France came down hard on the organizing effort, suspending Turner, Roberts and Flock for life. Roberts soon defected from the union movement, and was re-instated. Turner and Flock held out and remained suspended. Turner was re-instated in 1965 and drove until 1968. Tim Flock never competed in a NASCAR race again.
       
    • Bill France vs. Smokey Yunick
      Yunick, the legendary figure who logged over 50 victories as a crew chief, chief mechanic or engine builder, was also known as one of the great ''rule benders'' of all time. According to Bobby Allison, who rode in several cars that Yunick built, ''Smokey looked and saw where the NASCAR rule book wouldn't define something and he'd make his own improvisations.'' He constantly clashed with France. He was often overheard saying terrible things about Bill and wrote extensively about their relationship in his three-volume autobiography. One of the reasons he reportedly got out of NASCAR was because he personally despised France.
       
    • General Motors vs. Ford vs. Chrysler
      In 1957 the Automobile Manufacturers Association ordered a factory withdrawal from auto racing. Ford and Chrysler adhered to a strict hands-off policy. But GM disguised its involvement by passing it off as an independent effort by automobile dealerships. As a result, Pontiac and Chevy dominated the '62 Grand National season, winning 36 of 53 races. In the summer of '62, Ford announced that it was returning full force to NASCAR. With millions to spend, Ford represented a real threat to GM's dominance. After that season, GM ceded dominance to Ford, which hit its stride in 1963 by capturing the top five finishes at Daytona. Then, in 1964, Chrysler reworked its body design and unveiled the hemispherical combustion engine - better known as the hemi. At Daytona in 1964, the Plymouths and Dodges, with their potent Hemis, grabbed every top honor, including a 1-2-3 sweep of the 500-miler.
       
    • Goodyear vs. Firestone
      The rivalry between these two tire giants, with millions of dollars at stake (racing, marketing and image), had a huge effect on the day-to-day lives of the men on the circuit. It reached its peak in the 1960s and at some point, the one-upsmanship between the two companies created dangerous situations for the drivers. The rivalry fizzled when Firestone finally withdrew from NASCAR in 1969 over the problems caused by their tires at Talladega that year.
       
    • Carl Kiekhaefer vs. NASCAR
      He came into the sport from Wisconsin as an outsider with the first national sponsorship (Mercury outboard motors). He brought big money, organization, precision and discipline into the sport and the results were staggering. His drivers won 52 of 90 races entered over a two-year period and his team took the championship both years. His arrogant, abrasive personality upset the status quo. Fans went into open revolt, at times throwing bottles and cans at his haulers. Ultimately, the corporate magnate left the scene as suddenly and unpredictably as he entered. But his legacy lives, as the procedures and the organization he pioneered still rule today.
       
    • Petty Enterprises vs. Wood Brothers
      Simply put, these were the two dominant race teams over a period of more than 20 years. Both are the shining examples of racing families developing into racing organizations. The rivalry was arguably personified most through the battles of Richard Petty and David Pearson.
       
    • Richard Petty vs. Bobby Allison
      The famous rivalry took off when Allison beat Petty at Islip, NY, after the two bumped late in the race in July 1968. Petty's brother, Maurice, and crew chief Dale Inman had to be restrained when they went after Allison following the race. The rivalry came to a head in 1972 during the Wilkes 400 at North Wilkesboro Speedway as they dueled for the victory. The two repeatedly smashed into each other over the final five laps. Petty was two car-lengths ahead of Allison's smoking machine at the finish.
       
    • Richard Petty vs. David Pearson
      The rivals are the two winningest drivers in NASCAR history, combining for 305 victories. They finished 1-2 in races more than 60 times, most spectacularly in July 1974. Using Daytona's famed draft to his advantage, Pearson slowed on the final lap to let Petty go ahead of him. Pearson then positioned himself behind Petty in perfect position to slingshot his way past Petty to win by a car length at the Firecracker 400. Then, in perhaps the greatest Daytona 500 ever in 1976, the two staged a memorable final lap. With Petty holding a narrow edge entering the final turn, his car got loose and made contact with Pearson and both cars spun out. Pearson managed to coax his car across the finish line for the win, while Petty's car was stuck in the infield.
       
    • Tony Stewart vs. NASCAR
      In a sport where drivers are trained to treat the fans as friends and be wide open to the media, Stewart rejected both premises. He blew off fans, made fun of them to the press, slapped tape recorders out of reporters' hands and generally held his distance from the public and the media. The culmination occurred at Indianapolis, when he angrily slapped a photographer who approached him in the immediate aftermath of his disappointing finish at the Brickyard. He was fined, put on probation and was forced to enter anger management counseling. His conduct earned him the reputation as NASCAR's bad boy, a reputation that softened somewhat during his title winning 2005 season.
       
    • Darrell Waltrip vs. Bobby Allison
      Two of the most legendary figures in the sport were also two of the biggest drivers of their era. Waltrip and Allison locked horns in pursuit of greatness. In the early '80s, both drivers had intense battles to decide championships. They finished 1-2 in the standings in 1981, '82 and '83 and ruled the landscape with the strong personalities. Waltrip won in '81-82, Allison in '83. To this day, Allison reportedly is uneasy being in Waltrip's company.
       
    • Darrell Waltrip vs. Dale Earnhardt
      The Intimidator seemingly feuded with half of NASCAR during his career, but his rivalry with the smooth-talking Waltrip was arguably the most colorful. Waltrip ruled NASCAR in the early '80s and enjoyed denigrating the more rough-hewn Earnhardt, once noting, ''For the first time in racing, they've found a way to put the hood behind the wheel.'' Earnhardt turned the tide in their battle at Richmond in 1986, brazenly running into the back of Waltrip's car as Darrell passed him for the lead. Earnhardt planted his rival nose-first into the guardrail prompting Waltrip to fume afterwards that Earnhardt was trying to kill him. From that point on, Earnhardt won 61 more races to 17 for Waltrip, compared to Waltrip's 52-15 lead heading into Richmond.
       
    • Cale Yarborough vs. Darrell Waltrip
      When Waltrip arrived on the scene in the mid-1970s from Tennessee, he quickly got a reputation for having a mouth that ran faster than his car. His constant chatter with other drivers and the press prompted Yarborough to tag him with the nickname ''Jaws''. Said Cale of why he gave DW that name, ''because his jaws are always flapping.'' Waltrip turned the significance of the name around, reportedly saying that he was like Jaws the shark, always stalking Cale around the track. Waltrip may have had the last laugh in 1981 when he replaced Yarborough as the driver for Junior Johnson's race team.
       

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