Dale Earnhardt Jr Seemingly Seconds “Bullc*ap” Hot Take On NASCAR Decision That Benefited Hendrick Motorsports Legend Jeff Gordon

Dale Earnhardt Jr left full-time racing in the Cup Series in 2017. Since then, the legend has been one of the most successful podcasters when it comes to NASCAR. His Dale Jr Download and Door Bumper Clear podcasts are substantial sources for fans of the sport. Jeff Gordon became the bone of contention in this episode.

As the season wrapped up, the Door Bumper Clear team came up with their top 10 podcasts of the season. Among them was the episode they did with NASCAR veteran, Jeff ‘The Mayor’ Burton. The former Richard Childress Racing man launched a deadly salvo against a NASCAR decision from almost a decade back when NASCAR decided to give Jeff Gordon a place in the playoffs.

Burton said, “One of the worst calls in the history of this sport, in the history of the damn sport, was when they put Jeff Gordon in the damn playoffs because of what happened at Richmond with the MWR car.” 

He elaborated on the reason for his anger, “That was one of the dumbest things that ever happened in the history of the sport and I will tell you, when they made that call it made me wonder if I even want to be in this sport. It was so horrendous.”

“To put a guy in the sport because of what MIGHT have happened… BULLC*AP! You don’t know what would’ve happened. You can’t make a call on what might have happened,” he added.

Seemingly, Dale Earnhardt Jr. agreed with Burton’s assessment as he posted the clip on his Instagram stories.

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He alluded to an incident that is often touted to be the biggest reason behind Michael Waltrip Racing’s downfall in NASCAR.

Which incident led to Jeff Gordon benefiting?

That night at Richmond was one of the most controversial races in NASCAR in recent history. What started out as a cunning ploy to help out the team in gaining a spot in the 12-man Chase possibly led the team to its downfall.

In 2013, Clint Bowyer (racing for MWR) spun out at Richmond International Raceway – the issue was it was quite clearly an intentional move. Why? The benefits of such a move were also clear. Bowyer’s spin allowed his teammate, Brian Vickers, to come down the pit road as the race was being restarted. This, in turn, helped their teammate Martin Truex Jr. get up the field and into the Chase.

Also, it also put Jeff Gordon out of contention. But nothing slipped past NASCAR; two days after the race, NASCAR docked all three MWR drivers 50 pre-Chase points and also fined the team a record $300,000 in fine. The points penalty meant Truex was out of the Chase field.

Other implications of the move were NASCAR’s introduction of the “100 percent rule” that required all drivers to attempt to finish all races with their best effort – basically, they explicitly disallowed ‘throwing’ a race.

NASCAR placed restrictions on the number of spotters. They also banned digital radios that were used by spotters to speak with their crew chiefs. This forced all communications to take place under NASCAR supervision.

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But most importantly, it also meant the departure of Truex from MWR. It marked the beginning of the end for the team.