Says Gordon: "There's No Comparison" Between Kyle Busch and Dale Earnhardt

Jeff Gordon was asked Friday how he would compare Dale Earnhardt Sr. and Kyle Busch. His response? "There's no comparison."

But when pressed to explain, Gordon did draw certain distinctions between the two drivers. Namely that Earhardt was always a man in control while Busch is a little more wild and untamed.

“Well I didn’t race against Earnhardt when he was in his early twenties. Maybe they would have been the same then. Kyle is just this incredible talent. He can put a car on the edge like nobody I’ve ever seen. The difference is that up until maybe this year, I really see him maturing so much over the last couple of years. But up until this year, he was a guy that he would put it so far on the edge that he was making mistakes or would take it too far."

And taking it too far, is something Gordon says that Earnhardt would never do. "Earnhardt was rarely on the edge to be honest with you. But he was more of a bully. He’s a guy that you never count him out. He was just tough as nails. He’d be a lap down and come back and be battling for the win at the end of the race and was just a totally different type of racer and how he approached it, than Kyle. As far as results, I guess you could maybe compare results because they both really get the results. But to me, how Kyle goes about getting the results is still a little bit young and like this guy trying to tame a bull, you know. And when he first started, he was riding that bull in a china shop. But now he’s learned how to ride it in a rodeo arena, you know (laughs) and control it, and maybe back off just a little bit when he needs to and get it to the end and have the results."

Although Gordon claims that there's only one man to beat at Martinsville this weekend--teammmate Jimmie Johnson--he does admit to always keeping one eye on Kyle Busch.

“I’m way more nervous about Kyle this year than I ever have been. I think he really needed to go through last year, his first year at Gibbs, and learn some of the pitfalls and learn how to just continue to mature. I think this year, he could be way more of a threat for the championship when this season is all over.”