NASCAR’s Earnhardt, Gordon put Bristol wreck behind them

Dale Earnhardt Jr. said Friday that he spoke with teammate Jeff Gordon about their contact at Bristol Motor Speedway last weekend and “we should have no problem going forward.”

The Hendrick Motorsports drivers were side by side at the half-mile track in Tennessee when Earnhardt’s exhaust pipe sliced Gordon’s tire, sending Gordon’s No. 24 Chevrolet into the wall. Earnhardt finished 15th, Gordon was 35th.

Earnhardt later “reached out to me,” Gordon said before practice for Sunday’s Sprint Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana. “We’ve talked and I’ve got respect for Dale and I know he has that for me as well.”

Gordon said he was more concerned about how the tailpipe on Earnhardt’s No. 88 Chevy was able to damage Gordon’s the way it did.

“I don’t understand why the tailpipes are even capable of getting to the left rear tire,” said Gordon, a four-time Cup champion. “I’d like to see that addressed.

“If it happens at a big, fast speedway then that’s a much bigger incident.”

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NASCAR’s Earnhardt, Gordon put Bristol wreck behind them