Top 10 Nascar Feuds

[racerx]

When Kevin Harvick put his No. 29 Chevy into the rear of Jimmie Johnson's car Thursday at Daytona to start a multi-car crash, he helped remind us what makes NASCAR the fastest-growing major sport: a nasty feud. Sure enough, Johnson angrily told reporters afterward that Harvick should not only be fined, but also fired. With Sunday's Daytona 500 looming, here are some of the other great feuds, brawls and scuffles in NASCAR history.

 

1. Cale Yarborough vs. the Allison brothers

The 1979 Daytona 500 helped put the formerly regional sport on the mainstream map thanks to "The Fight." It was the first full NASCAR race shown nationwide on network TV, and a blizzard in the Northeast gave CBS a captive audience. They saw Yarborough try to slingshot past Donnie Allison for the lead on the final lap, with both cars smashing into the wall on Turn 3. Richard Petty swooped by for the win, but what most people remember is Bobby Allison pulling alongside a squabbling Donnie and Yarborough. Yarborough promptly smacked Bobby in the face with his helmet, prompting Allison to get out of his car and rain haymakers. Here's Bobby's version: "He went to beating on my fist with his nose. That's my story and I'm sticking to it."

 

2. Jimmy Spencer vs. Kurt Busch

Spencer isn't the only driver who thinks the brash 25-year-old Busch, the reigning NASCAR champ, needs to learn some manners. But the man known as Mr. Excitement is the only one to make the point with his fist. The drivers knocked heads and fenders in both 2001 and 2002, and Busch called Spencer a "decrepit old has-been" with the "brain of a peanut." At Michigan in 2003, Busch rammed Spencer from behind and was caught on his crew's radio saying that he had intentionally tried to "flatten the fender." After the race, Spencer tracked down Busch and popped him in the nose while Busch still sat in his car.

 

3. Dale Earnhardt vs. Darrell Waltrip

The Intimidator seemingly feuded with half of NASCAR during his career, notably with Geoff Bodine, but his rivalry with the smooth-talking Waltrip was the most colorful. Waltrip ruled NASCAR in the early '80s and enjoyed denigrating the more rough-hewn Earnhardt, once noting that "for the first time in racing they've found a way to put the hood behind the wheel." Earnhardt turned the tide in their battle at Richmond in 1986, brazenly turning into Waltrip's car as Waltrip passed him for the lead and planting his rival headfirst into the guardrail. From that point on, Earnhardt won 61 more races to 17 for Waltrip, compared to DW's 52-15 lead heading into Richmond.

 

4. Richard Petty vs. Bobby Allison

The longtime drivers feuded for much of their careers and even beyond. In the late '90s, Petty was ticketed for rear-ending a slowpoke in the left lane on Interstate 85 near Charlotte after the other driver had purposefully slammed on the brakes. Allison, who knew the tactic well from his paint-trading days with the King, couldn't resist needling Petty at the next race. "Hey, Richard," Allison said, "that guy on I-85 must have looked like me." Responded Petty, "Naw, he was just acting like you."

 

5. Geoff Bodine vs. Brett Bodine

The battle of the brothers was the story of the 1994 Brickyard 400, the first NASCAR race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Late in the race, Brett bumped Geoff, older by 10 years, while passing for the lead and Geoff ended up in the wall coming out of Turn 4. Geoff quickly aired the family's dirty laundry on national TV, saying, "We've been having some personal family problems and he just took it out on me on the racetrack." The underlying beef involved Brett's belief that big brother was skimming some money from their joint merchandising efforts. Hopefully the brothers squared things away in time for the Bodine family reunion, long planned for the following weekend.

 

6. Tiny Lund vs. Lee Petty

This Tiny was 6-foot-5 and 280 pounds, and he needed all of it in 1957 when his dispute with Petty ended up involving the Petty family tree. At the time, Lund was driving a car owned by Petty and the two fought over how much Lund should be paid. Lee's sons Richard and Maurice joined in the scuffle. The brawl was ended by Lee's wife, Elizabeth, who clobbered Lund over the head with her purse. Lund insisted until his death in a wreck at Talladega in 1975 that Mrs. Petty had a brick in her purse at the time. "I don't mind fighting a Petty," Lund said, "but not all the Pettys at the same time."

 

7. Randy Lajoie vs. Buckshot Jones

The two Busch series drivers carried on a fierce battle during the 1997 season. Jones contended that Lajoie twice wrecked him from behind, but he seemed most upset that Lajoie insisted on calling Jones by his given name, Roy. Most drivers and fans sided with Lajoie, especially after a Jones attempt at retaliation ended in embarrassment. Jones felt that Lajoie intentionally wrecked him at Bristol, and he tried to hit Lajoie's car as it went by under caution on the next lap. But Jones missed Lajoie and instead hit the wall again, spurring NASCAR officials to order him off the track.

 

8. Kevin Harvick vs. Ricky Rudd

Harvick took over Earnhardt's ride after the Intimidator's death at the 2001 Daytona 500, and he seems to have inherited his ornery temperament. Harvick has had run-ins with Matt Kenneth, Greg Biffle and former teammate Robby Gordon, among others, before Thursday's incident with Johnson. But his most photogenic outburst came with Rudd at Richmond in 2003. Harvick was running second with nine laps left when Rudd bumped him into a corner, spinning him out and dropping him to an eventual 16th-place finish. After the race, Harvick broke away from his crew trying to restrain him, threw his head-and-neck restraint at Rudd and climbed atop Rudd's car -- with Rudd still in it.

 

9. Bobby Isaac vs. the world

The 1970 Winston Cup champ was known around the garage as "The King of Street Fighters." The talk was that Isaac drove primarily to pay for the fines he received for brawling. He once quipped, "I used to think fighting was just part of the post-race show." One week at Bristol, Isaac clearly had the fastest car during qualifying. But David Pearson, who had clocked the best time to that point, hopped out of some bushes and instructed Isaac to slow down, which Isaac did because he thought Pearson was a NASCAR official. Isaac went looking for Pearson with a tire iron when he discovered the ruse, though Pearson hid under a truck until Isaac simmered down. The two later became close friends.

 

10. Ryan Newman vs. Rusty Wallace

The drivers are Penske Racing teammates but that has done little to mitigate their mutual dislike. Last fall at Martinsville, Newman pushed Wallace up the track on a restart and then refused to let him slip back in line, a customary courtesy -- especially among teammates. After the race, Wallace ran his car into Newman's on pit road. "There is no communication problem," Wallace said this week of their relationship. "We don't communicate at all." Spoken in true NASCAR fashion.

[racerpete2]

In the spirit of Daytona, what about David Pearson and Richard Petty? I don't think they talk to this day.