Certain people hate Jeff Gordon because they cannot admit to themselves that their driver cannot hold a candle to Gordon's talent or accomplishments. Jeff Gordon is one of the all-time great drivers. Unless Dale Earnhardt, Jr. wins a bunch more races and several championships, he cannot even be considered an all-time great driver.
Lets take a look at the statistics!
Wins:
Jeff Gordon - 77
Dale, Sr. - 76
Dale, Jr. - 17
Winning Percentage:
Jeff Gordon - 15.98%
Dale, Sr. - 11.2%
Dale, Jr. - 6.44%
Cup Championships:
Jeff Gordon - 4
Dale, Sr. - 7
Dale, Jr. - 0
(Dale, Sr. also has six second place championship finishes)
Most wins in a season years:
Jeff Gordon - 6
Dale, Sr. - 2
Dale, Jr. - 0
All-time poles:
Jeff Gordon- 56
Dale, Sr. - 22
Dale, Jr. - 6
I know some of these statistics are a bit unfair to Jr. He only has 264 career starts compared to Gordon's 482 and Sr.'s 675. The give him something to shoot for, though. But if Jeff Gordon quit tomorrow, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. would have to win 60 times in his next 224 starts to equal Gordon's current accomplishments. That works out to 27% of the races over the course of about six seasons. I like Jr., but I do not think he has that in him.
I will give you the fact that Dale, Jr. is a popular driver, but so is Kasey Kahne (7 wins in 117 starts, 5.98%). Jr. is probably the most popular driver of all-time. Dale, Sr. did not make commercials. He did not even let them put an in-car camera in his car until late in his career. Jeff Gordon has made a few commercials. I think that part of Jr.'s popularity is because his likeness is plastered everywhere from TV to my local convenience store, where I have purchased products that he sells.
Popularity and making commercials do not a winning driver make. When it gets down to winning races, my money was on Dale Earnhardt (before he needed to be called Sr.) and is on Jeff Gordon now.
All of you that hate Jeff Gordon because he is great should give it a rest! Love your driver for what he is--an extremely popular racer, son of a great NASCAR legend, sponsored by one of the greatest brands in the world--and quit throwing beer cans and verbal slurs at Gordon.