During the late 1980s, Bodine and seven-time Winston Cup champion Dale Earnhardt became embroiled in a rivalry. An incident in the 1987 running of The Winston triggered harsh feelings when Earnhardt knocked Bodine and Bill Elliott out of the way to win the $200,000 purse that went to the race winner, to which Bodine responded by intentionally running into Earnhardt's car after the race. NASCAR later fined Bodine $1,000 and put him on probation for three weeks. Six days later, the rivalry intensified when Bodine tagged Earnhardt in a Busch Grand National Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Bodine and team owner Rick Hendrick claimed the wreck was unintentional, but NASCAR disagreed, fining Bodine another $15,000 and extending his probation to the end of 1987. Bodine later appealed and the penalty was revoked.