Harvick vs. Elliott and Earnhardt vs. Gordon: NASCAR's best rivalries between old and young
By Bob Pockrass
FOX Sports NASCAR Writer
When talking to the media about his rift with Chase Elliott, Kevin Harvick casually mentioned how much he interacts with the relatively new crop of young drivers.
"I don’t talk to many of them that are below 40," he said.
Ah, the old versus the young. The young versus the old.
Harvick, 45, probably doesn’t have much in common with the 25-year-old Elliott except that they both love to race cars.
And Harvick and Elliott aren’t the only old-versus-young rift currently happening in the Cup Series. Denny Hamlin, 40, got into an Instagram war of words with 26-year-old Chase Briscoe earlier this week, when he responded to Briscoe on social media rather than picking up the phone. The drivers are all on a text chain, so it’s not like they don’t have one another's numbers.
Briscoe had mocked Hamlin’s experience, referring to Hamlin's comment several years ago that he had competed in "10,000 races" and that Briscoe might never achieve the feat (which it is unlikely Hamlin has achieved either).
"A lot of it, to me, is the mentality that the younger guys have is they can’t pick up the phone and call you," Hamlin said. "They just make immature statements on social media, so I thought I would just go down to that level for a minute."
The younger generation knows that they must win races to get to where they want, and while they would love to have the respect, they also know they have to fight for position.
"Us young guys are just kind of figuring it out right now, and we’re out to race every lap like it’s our last because opportunities are slim pickings, and you have to make the most of the opportunity you have right now," Xfinity Series driver Noah Gragson said.
Gragson has driven for Kyle Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr. and has been able to lean on those drivers at times.
"More drama sells more tickets," he said.
On that note, here are some of the dramatic old-vs.-young driver moments that have sold tickets over the years.
Note: To make this list, participants had to have at least 10 years of age difference. They are listed from closest in age to furthest apart in age.
2014: Jeff Gordon (43 at the time) vs. Brad Keselowski (30)
Although 13 years older, Gordon was in a brawling mood after Keselowski cut his tire at Texas in 2014 in a pivotal playoff race. They both showed some battle scars after one of the biggest fights on pit road following a race.
Gordon and Keselowski have never truly made up, with Keselowski at times being critical of Gordon’s commentary when part of the FOX telecasts.
2010: Kevin Harvick (34) vs. Joey Logano (20)
Their scrap in 2010 at Pocono was legendary for the postrace comment, in which a 20-year-old Logano said about a then-34-year-old Harvick: "It’s probably not his fault. His wife wears the fire suit in the family, tells him what to do."
Harvick had T-shirts made with the saying, which isn’t totally unusual, as evidenced in his recent feud with Elliott.
2013: Kevin Harvick (37) vs. Austin Dillon (23) & Ty Dillon (21)
Harvick, angry about the way Ty Dillon raced him in a 2013 truck race at Martinsville, stopped in Dillon’s pit box to keep him from entering. A Dillon crew member threw a hammer at Harvick’s truck. Harvick, who was already on his way out of Richard Childress Racing and headed to Stewart-Haas Racing, took shots at both of the grandsons of Richard Childress.
"That’s exactly the reason I’m leaving RCR, is because you’ve got those punk-ass kids coming up," he said that day, as well as, "They’ve got no respect for what they do in this sport, and they’ve had everything fed to them with a spoon."
2015: Matt Kenseth (43) vs. Joey Logano (25)
This rivalry has its roots in Kansas, where Logano turned Kenseth in going for the win in 2015. Logano advanced to the next playoff round, and Kenseth had nothing to lose at Martinsville. After Kenseth's contact with Logano teammate Brad Keselowski – with whom Kenseth had also feuded – put him out of contention for the race win, Kenseth then retaliated against Logano.
Several laps down, Kenseth pile-drove into Logano, who was the race leader at the time. Kenseth was suspended for two races.
2003: Ricky Rudd (46) vs. Kevin Harvick (27)
Harvick wasn’t always the old guy feeling wronged by the young guy. There was a time when the shoe was on the other foot. Harvick and Rudd had a skirmish following a 2003 race at Richmond, when Harvick was 27 and Rudd was turning 47 the following week. Rudd wrecked Harvick in retaliation during the race, and tempers boiled over afterward.
"He’s got that little yap-yap mouth," Rudd said of Harvick.
2013: Tony Stewart (41) vs. Joey Logano (22)
In a 2013 race at Auto Club (California) Speedway, Stewart and Logano had a scrap after the race, and Stewart would have decked Logano if they hadn't been pulled apart. Stewart was angry about Logano pinching him toward the grass.
"Dumb little son of a b---- runs us clear down to the infield," Stewart said. "He wants to b---- about everybody else, and he’s the one who drives like a little pr---. I’m going to bust his ass."
2021: Kevin Harvick (45) vs. Chase Elliott (25)
This one doesn’t require much of a refresher course, given that it has all occurred in the past five weeks at Bristol and the Charlotte road course, but know that it included Elliott wishing Harvick and his team "a merry offseason and happy Christmas."
And, yes, there were shirts made with that saying.
NASCAR kiboshed this feud for the rest of the year, but who knows what will happen in 2022.
1995: Dale Earnhardt (44) vs. Jeff Gordon (24)
These drivers actually liked each other and worked extensively together on the business side. But they had their rivalry on the track as they battled for championships throughout the 1990s. Earnhardt once said that if Gordon won the title, he’d have to do the champion’s toast with milk.
When Gordon won his first title in 1995 (at age 24), he indeed toasted Earnhardt with a glass of milk.
1984: David Pearson (50) vs. Tim Richmond (29)
In the Firecracker 400 in 1984, Richmond was angry that Pearson was leaking oil late in the race and inhibited Richmond’s ability to pass. Richmond yelled at Pearson — calling him, according to The AP, a "screwed-up old man" — after the race, and a scuffle ensued. Richmond sported a black eye afterward.
2003: Jimmy Spencer (46) vs. Kurt Busch (25)
Spencer and Busch had a series of incidents on the track, and following a 2003 Cup race at Michigan, Spencer went over to Busch’s car and, with Busch still in it, decked Busch. The punch from a driver more than 21 years his elder left Busch with a bloody nose and a chipped tooth.
NASCAR suspended Spencer for one race.
Honorable mention (2011): Richard Childress (65) vs. Kyle Busch (26)
With the series headed to Kansas, it seems appropriate to include this one. There were 39 years separating them, but that didn’t stop Childress from decking Busch following a truck race in 2011 at Kansas.
The incident happened in the garage well after the event, after Childress was apparently not satisfied with his meeting with NASCAR. He reportedly told his grandson Austin to "hold my watch" before going over to Busch, who had been involved in on-track incidents with Childress drivers. Childress was fined $150,000.
Bob Pockrass has spent decades covering motorsports, including the past 30 Daytona 500s. He joined FOX Sports in 2019 following stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @bobpockrass. Looking for more NASCAR content? Sign up for the FOX Sports NASCAR Newsletter with Bob Pockrass!
Kyle Busch
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
