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David
Pearson leads rival Richard Petty in 1968
Ford |
NASCAR has been around more than
a half a century, and for a majority of that time its
history has been highlighted by driver rivalries. In the
early years, it was drivers like Lee Petty, Fireball
Roberts, Herb Thomas, Buck Baker, Curtis Turner and the
Flock brothers who were the favorites to battle each other
every week for the victory.
As the 1960’s approached and
Daytona Speedway was constructed, new blood came on the
scene. Ned Jarrett, David Pearson and a young Richard Petty
joined the ranks and kept driver and family rivalries alive.
These guys were the rock and roll equivalent of The Beatles
vs. Bob Dylan rivalry, and later, Led Zeppelin vs. The Who.
Those bands split both the musical fan base and record
sales.
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Davey
Allison leads Bobby Allison as he pushed Richard Petty
onto the apron at Daytona in 1992
Ford |
As NASCAR entered the modern era
in the 1970’s, the racetracks were dominated by drivers such
as Richard Petty, Bobby Allison, Benny Parsons, Cale
Yarborough, and later Darrell Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt, who
battled as rivals well into the 1990’s. In the mid-1990’s,
Jeff Gordon burst onto the scene and produced an almost
instant rivalry with Dale Earnhardt. This rivalry split
NASCAR fans almost down the middle, with the established
fans staying with Earnhardt and many new NASCAR fans jumping
on the Gordon bandwagon. Starting with Gordon’s rookie year,
the two drivers combined to win six of the next nine
championships before Earnhardt’s tragic death in 2001.
Who are the modern day rivalries
on the NASCAR scene? I’d be hard pressed to name one. Some
have claimed that Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart are a
rivalry. Certainly they are two of the most dominant drivers
in the last decade. But I wouldn’t put them in the same
category as some of the previously mentioned rivalries. What
some people today claim to be a rivalry is really more of a
feud. Remember Kurt Busch and Jimmy Spencer from a few years
ago? That really doesn’t qualify as a rivalry, since neither
driver was dominant or fighting for a championship. Every
week it seems that one driver punts another driver out of
the way to gain track position. Last week’s incident where
Kurt Busch took out Greg Biffle is a good example. That may
qualify as “rubbin’ is racing”, but it doesn’t mean it is a
rivalry.
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#6 Mark
Martin battles with #3 Dale Earnhardt Jr. and #24 Jeff
Gordon at Daytona in 2001
Chevy |
So why doesn’t NASCAR have the
traditional rivalries of yesteryear? Here are three of the
contributing factors:
Parity - Never before has
there been so many cars on the track each week that have a
legitimate shot at winning the race. Sure, there are still
the haves and have-nots, with about a dozen wankers that
will get easily lapped or drop out of the race. However,
there are probably 20 drivers that have a chance of winning
on any given weekend. That’s probably double the number of
eligible cars from 30 years ago. Rivalries thrive on
domination, and there has been little dominance in NASCAR in
this current decade. Since 1999, Tony Stewart is the only
driver to repeat for the title. It is likely you will never
see another driver come close to the seven championships
that Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty garnered. Based on the
high level of competition, I doubt Jeff Gordon will earn
more than one more title in his career.
Multi-car teams - Long
gone are the days of one-car teams and owner-drivers winning
championships. Being competitive requires the shared
information a multi-car team can generate through testing
and research. If NASCAR didn’t prohibit it, who knows how
many more race cars Jack Roush would have on the track?
Five of the last six champions have come from either the
stable of Joe Gibbs Racing or Roush Racing. How do you
develop a rivalry when many of the drivers who fight each
week for position are on the same team? That’s like several
players on the same NCAA championship football team fighting
for the Heisman Trophy. If anything, the rivalries of today
are between owners, such as Hendrick vs. Roush, or Gibbs vs.
Hendrick. And that just doesn’t generate the same excitement
as Waltrip vs. Earnhardt.
Change – NASCAR has
always been in a state of change. The term ‘silly season’
sums up how drivers, cars and sponsors get shuffled every
year. But the changes from 2005 to 2006 exceeded those that
haven taken place in recent times. Well known drivers that
retired, changed teams, sponsors and/or manufacturers
included Mark Martin, Kurt Busch, Jamie McMurray, Ricky
Rudd, Rusty Wallace, Casey Mears, Kasey Kahne, Bobby
Labonte, Jeff Green, Sterling Marlin and Michael Waltrip.
And late in 2005, the previous year’s champion Kurt Busch
got into trouble with the law and didn’t even finish out the
season! In general, change can be good in the racing
industry. Just look at how Bobby Labonte’s career seems to
have been reborn this year in the famous no. 43 Petty car.
But constant and significant change does not help develop
and nurture rivalries.
Will NASCAR driver rivalries be
rekindled in the coming years? Are driver rivalries
necessary to keep NASCAR growing and prospering? Only time
will tell. There certainly seems to be enough excitement on
the track week in and week out. In the meantime, I’m going
to go reread the book NASCAR Chronicles by Greg Fielden, and
have fond remembrances of the NASCAR driver rivalries of
old.
The author can be contacted nascar@autoracing1.com
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