Fansided

Dale Earnhardt Sr. once joked about Jeff Gordon being gay

By Charles Rahrig V

Nov 15, 2015; Avondale, AZ, USA; NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Jeff Gordon (24) during the Quicken Loans Race For Heroes 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 15, 2015; Avondale, AZ, USA; NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Jeff Gordon (24) during the Quicken Loans Race For Heroes 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports /
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When Jeff Gordon was coming up through the ranks, Dale Earnhardt Sr. made a joke about Jeff Gordon’s sexuality, when it was revealed he was dating a model.

When Jeff Gordon busted onto the scene in NASCAR during the early 90’s, fans weren’t as warm to him as they are now. Gordon was breaking through into a sport dominated by tough men who weren’t afraid to fight for their living. It was a sport that was not ready for a kid to come in and dominate.

With Gordon’s success at such an early age, entailed getting the business from the senior members of NASCAR at the time. That meant getting jokes made about him and fans of those veteran drivers to boo and heckle him on a weekly basis.

For NASCAR at this time, belonged to the late great Dale Earnhardt Sr. Earnhardt Sr. dominated the track on a weekly basis and collected championships en route to a great career. He wasn’t afraid to back down from anyone and he certainly had no qualms about messing with a young driver like Jeff Gordon, whose early success gave rise to competition between him and Earnhardt Sr.

That’s why when it was revealed that Jeff Gordon was dating one Miss Winston, Brooke Sealey, Earnhardt Sr. decided to take a jab at Gordon’s dating preferences, which is highlighted in this week’s issue of Sports Illustrated, which has a great feature on Jeff Gordon’s career.

"After the ’93 season ended, Gordon revealed that he had been dating Brooke Sealey. Because of her job as Miss Winston—one of the models in the employ of NASCAR’s top sponsor, whose duties included handing out trophies in Victory Lane—they had to keep the relationship on the down low. When they made it public after the season, Earnhardt quipped, “Some of us were beginning to wonder if you liked girls.” That gave ammo to the Fans Against Gordon army, a not-so-enlightened gang that delighted in bearing signs and stickers with Gordon’s picture and the group’s acronym."

While it was just a subtle jab from the elder statesman of the sport to Gordon, it showed that to earn his spot among the elite in the sport, he would have to pay his dues and earn his place.

Dale Earnhardt Sr. was one of the most beloved drivers in the sport. His racing transcended NASCAR and really helped catapult it into a mainstream affair for sports fans around the globe. While he was giving Gordon a hard time as a youngster, Earnhardt Sr. understood the talent that Gordon had and had respect for his driving abilities.

So while Earnhardt Sr. made a gay joke to Jeff Gordon, at that time for Gordon, it was all part of the process of earning the respect of his fellow drivers.

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