NASCAR: The Rebirth of the Bump-and-Run and Spin-to-Win
Written by Hopper, Wednesday January 28 2009
I'll be frank, 2008 was a boring year in NASCAR. Competition was virtually non-existent, as three drivers pretty much spanked the field every week. Though not suprisingly, Goodyear repeatedly failed to bring a decent tire to the track, resulting in single-file snoozefests. And exciting wrecks were few and far between.
That said, 2008 was good for one thing: The rebirth of the infamous "Bump-and-Run", and "Spin-to-Win".
In my early days of watching NASCAR, I lost plenty of respect for anybody who used such maneuvers. I thought it was, to quote Scott Pruett, "Low, no-good, nasty, dirty driving." But then, they suddenly disappeared, never to be seen again. At least, not until last year.
Sure, there was the occasional case of the spin-to-win. We saw it in 2006 at Chicagoland with Jeff Gordon and Matt Kenseth, and the more infamous event at Talladega with Brian Vickers and Jimmie Johnson, who collected Dale Earnhardt Jr. But the art of spin-to-win even disappeared for a time.
Maybe drivers were afraid of the repercussions of an event like that. After the Vickers/Junior Nation saga, Junior Nation kindly showed Vickers their appreciation by showering him with beer cans, a Talladega tradition. Whatever the reason was, drivers were afraid to perform such a maneuver, until a hot-headed Toyota driver grew a backbone, and did the unthinkable.
Kyle Busch displayed something I hadn't seen since, well, ever. Whether it was stupidity, bravery, or just plain boldness, he put his own well-being aside to open the floodgates for what is sure to come over the next several years. At Richmond, May 2008, Kyle Busch wrecked Dale Jr. racing for the lead with 3 laps to go.
Now, there were no immediate repercussions, other than the traditional showering of various beer cans. But, by wrecking perhaps the most popular driver in the modern era of NASCAR, Busch exposed himself to the bump-and-run. He would get his from Carl Edwards at Bristol in August. Edwards bumped Busch out of the way racing for the lead inside 40 laps to go.
After the race, which Edwards won, Busch showed his appreciation for Edwards by ramming into his car during the cool-down laps. Edwards wasn't about to take that, and spun Busch, much to the pleasure of the fans. When asked about the bump-and-run after the race, Edwards said, "I had to ask myself, 'would he bump me?', and he has, so I bumped him."
Thus, a rivalry was born. On top of that, the bump-and-run was reborn. With a safer, more durable car, drivers may be less afraid to perform the bump-and-run, especially since they now know that everyone is vulnerable without consequences from NASCAR.
As for Junior, he got his payback. He had the brilliance to do it at the same location, to the same driver, racing for the same position. However, it was ruled unintentional by the media, and everyone is now on even ground.
As for the bump-and-run and the spin-to-win, I no longer feel that either of them are anything other than just racin'. That's how many drivers, including the Intimidater, did it. Sure, I'd like to see two guys going at it clean to the finish. But, the bump-and-run and spin-to-win are open to anyone who wishes to go that route. And, hey, it's fair game. If a driver wants to race like that, fine by me. They just have to expect the favor to be returned.
The bump-and-run and spin-to-win are back, and could be commonplace in 2009. I just hope they don't go into a deep sleep like that ever again.
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4 comments
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Patterson, I don't know why I used to think it was nasty either. But as I stated, I've since changed my mind. For the sake of excitment, I hope we see more of it in '09. Thanks for reading!
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For as many problems as Goodyear had over the past year (the first Atlanta race last season is a prime example), I feel like the main culprit of the single-file racing is the Car of Today. Meanwhile, why you ever thought that the bump-n-run was nasty driving is beyond me. That's just rubbin' son...and rubbin's racin'.
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No problem Larry. Keep on reading!
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Bump-and-run!!! I love it! Let's get NASCAR back to the good ole days... Thanks for the article...