Dale Earnhardt Jr. says he pushed Jeff Gordon to the lead several times, and Gordon never returns the favor. Credit: Autostock

Gordon airs displeasure with Junior's bump-draft

Earnhardt calls driving style pushing; Gordon calls it dangerous

TALLADEGA, Ala. -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon apparently have a different definition of bump-drafting.

Gordon said the way Earnhardt pushed several cars around Talladega Superspeedway during Sunday's Nextel Cup race violated the warning that NASCAR president Mike Helton gave during the drivers' meeting.

Winner Brian Vickers said bump-drafting wasn't out of hand on Sunday. Credit: Autostock

UAW-Ford 500 Unofficial Results Pos. Driver Make 1. Brian Vickers Chevy 2. Kasey Kahne Dodge 3. Kurt Busch Dodge 4. Matt Kenseth Ford 5. Martin Truex Jr. Chevy 6. Kevin Harvick Chevy 7. Jeff Green Chevy 8. Mark Martin Ford 9. Carl Edwards Ford 10. Bobby Labonte Dodge • Complete results, click here • Unofficial standings, click here Big wreckThe Big One wrecks over 10 cars in Talladega Gordon goneJeff Gordon is upset after getting caught up in a multi-car wreck Final lapsBrian Vickers rolls to the checkers after some controversy UnluckyDale Jr. tries to figure out what went wrong on the final lap Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

Earnhardt said Gordon's complaint was hypocritical.

"I pushed Jeff Gordon into the lead five freaking times," said Earnhardt, who finished 23rd after being knocked out of the lead on a last-lap crash with Jimmie Johnson and winner Brian Vickers.

"And every time I do that he complains that I'm bump-drafting in the corners. I'm just not going to push him anymore."

NASCAR, despite warning Earnhardt once late, for the most part sided with Earnhardt.

"We didn't see any excessive bump-drafting," said Jim Hunter, NASCAR's vice president for corporate communications. "I know Jeff had some comments about that, but we didn't see anything we needed to react to."

Gordon, who saw his championship hopes become damaged when he was caught up in a 10-car crash on Lap 139 of the 188-lap race, said there was more bump-drafting than he'd seen in a long time.

He said one of the worst offenders was Earnhardt, who put the bumper of his No. 8 Chevrolet under countless cars as he battled from a lap down to take the lead.

He didn't buy Earnhardt's explanation that he was pushing and not bump-drafting, even though Earnhardt was assured by NASCAR several times on his in-car radio that he was staying within the rules.

"If your bumper is touching the rear bumper of the guy in front of you it's bump-drafting," said Gordon, who slipped a spot in the point standings to seventh.

"Whoever is making that call for NASCAR, I'll put a passenger seat in and make him ride with me and tell me what he thinks. ... It's just a tremendous amount of bump-drafting going on out there. I don't understand why nothing's been done about it."

Helton issued a warning before the race, telling drivers to be more patient than normal because the new surface provides more grip and gives them more confidence on "a couple of levels."

"With the grip in the turns, it may leave you to feel very confident about bump-drafting, but I want to remind you guys that that's a no-no," he said. "There's a certain amount of it we will tolerate, particularly on the backstretch.

"But we still don't think that in a 500-mile race with 43 of you out there that's a good thing. I just wanted to stress that. Be patient."

Mark Martin, who finished eighth, had no complaints.

"I thought it was great," he said. "I was so proud of the drivers. I knew we would wreck at the end just because it was getting near the end. But the guys didn't do it early like they usually do. Everybody really used their head."

That wasn't to suggest everybody was clean, even though Earnhardt got the only warning.

	Jeff Gordon was vocal about his displeasure of Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s bump-drafting style. Credit: Autostock
	Chase for the Nextel Cup After Talladaga (4th of 10 races) Pos. +/- Driver Behind 1. -- Jeff Burton Leader 2. +2 Matt Kenseth -6 3. -- Mark Martin -10 4. +1 Kevin Harvick -33 5. -3 Denny Hamlin -51 6. +1 D. Earnhardt Jr. -106 7. -1 Jeff Gordon -147 8. -- Jimmie Johnson -156 9. +1 Kasey Kahne -185 10. -1 Kyle Busch -185 • Complete standings, click here

"There's a couple of guys that really like to do that," Martin said of bump-drafting. "Some of us only do it when it's really necessary. The ones that do it all the time make some of the ones that don't like doing it all the time uncomfortable. That's basically what we've got there."

Vickers, whose unintentional bump of Hendrick Motorsports teammate Johnson knocked out Johnson and Earnhardt, also had no complaints.

"That one big crash it got pretty aggressive up there," he said. "That was probably a little too aggressive. Other than that, I felt like it was pretty calm. I've definitely seen a lot worse."

Earnhardt argued he could have pushed Vickers around the entire track if he could have gotten away with it when he was trying to make up a lap he lost with a flat tire.

"What were we, 20 cars ahead?" he said. "If I wouldn't have stopped ain't no telling how far ahead we would have gotten.

"But if I pushed him away he would come back to me and I would come back to the rest of the field. If I held it, which I could have but I was nervous they were going to black-flag me, we could have drove away from the field."

Earnhardt seemed offended by Gordon's comments, saying he tried to help Gordon out by drafting him on a day when few would.

"Every time I help him out he never gives it back in the turn," Earnhardt said. "That's why he don't have too many friends out there. I was trying to be his only friend besides his teammate to draft with him.

"When it comes to drafting, there ain't anybody that does it any better. Everybody wants to be in front of that 8 car when it's time to go."

Earnhardt said his warning, which came shortly after Gordon made his comments on television, was a result of bumping in the turn. He backed off from then on even though he never felt anybody was in danger.

"There's so much grip my mom could drive these cars," he said. "There wasn't no way I was going to spin nobody out. I guess it made Jeff Gordon a little nervous."