There have been many occasions where NASCAR has provided exciting racing. This was especially prevalent in the 1990s which was an era that fans truly enjoyed. One of the best examples was the 1999 Daytona 500, which Jeff Gordon won, over Dale Earnhardt and Kenny Irwin Jr. However, there were so many more drivers involved in the duel, like Mike Skinner, Rusty Wallace, Michael Waltrip, and more. It all kicked off in the final 10 laps, and the race for the lead turned into a dogfight.
Recently, a video clip of the battle did the rounds on social media, and that caught the attention of fans. Safe to say, the blast from the past delighted many of them. This was because there were so many cars in the leading group, that it was anybody’s game. In the end, once the 10 laps had wrapped up, Gordon had fended off everyone to win his second career Daytona 500.
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How did fans react to the Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt battle?
Some people acknowledged that they enjoyed the quality of racing at the time. However, they also confessed to the rules being 1990s was a time when the rules were slightly relaxed. To be precise, NASCAR did not have the ‘double yellow line’ rule, which penalizes a driver for breaching track limits.
I love this but it also makes me glad the yellow line rule exists now.
— Kiso1994 (@Kiso19941) January 9, 2023
This 500 doesn’t get the love it deserves
— Dustin Ryan Black 🇺🇸♋️🫶🏻 (@Dustola_1985) January 8, 2023
This was Rusty's best opportunity to win the Daytona 500. Still a great race though.
— Joshua Osborne (@JoshuaOsborne87) January 8, 2023
Pure balls-to-the-wall racing.
— PuffyDearlySmith (@PuffySmith) January 8, 2023
On the other end of the scale, while Gordon fans were jubilant, fans of Rusty Wallace were gutted. This was mainly because it was one of his best opportunities to win the Daytona 500. A few people even admired the NASCAR Cup Series cars zooming around the Daytona International Speedway. Others gushed about how the late 90s and early 2000s were one of the best eras, with great racing and fan engagement.
Love that body style on those cars it’s my all time favorite
— Jesse Lee 🍊 (@JesseCLee) January 8, 2023
Man the late '90s-early 00's was peak nascar… the sound, the skill of the drivers, the FANS being as engaged as ever.
— Andrew (@s0viet_afr0) January 9, 2023
Today’s drivers would have wrecked them all going into 1 with that lapper.
— Ridge (@captain_pg) January 8, 2023
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I love this era! Man, it is so much better to watch then what we have seen the past few years. It was like a chess match, not the beating and destroying of now days.
— Mobius 1 (@MichaelLosee1) January 9, 2023
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It didn’t take people long to take cheeky digs at modern NASCAR. According to them, the current crop of drivers could not race this close without wrecking. Few people even believed that races like these were akin to chess matches, with plenty of calculated moves.
WATCH THIS STORY: Jeff Gordon’s Throwback Moment From the 90s