NASCAR Lore - Controversial Races

Controversial Races

• Jacksonville Raceway Park (December 1, 1963)

  African American driver Wendell Scott passes Buck Baker with 25 laps to go, and wins the 100-mile Grand National race by two laps. However, Baker is recognized as the winner, and celebrates in victory lane. Racial tensions of the time blamed for the move, but it ultimately becomes a black eye for the sport. Hours after the race, NASCAR officials made scoring corrections and declared Wendell the winner, but long after fans had left the track.

• Bumpergate – 1982 Daytona 500 (February 14, 1982)

  On lap 3, Bobby Allison was tapped slightly by Cale Yarborough, and his rear bumper fell off. The debris caused a crash, and took out three cars. Prior to the race, Allison's DiGard crew, led by Gary Nelson, had apparently discovered that the Buick Regal drove faster and handled better without the bumper assembly. On Saturday, Allison missed the final practice, as the team was supposedly repairing the rear of the car. It was claimed that the crew attached the bumper loosely, hoping it would fall off if he was touched by another car. Allison led 147 laps, and won by over 22 seconds. NASCAR issued no penalty. Allison and the crew deny the allegations.

• 1983 Miller High Life 500 (October 9, 1983)

  Richard Petty won his 198th career Winston Cup race, but fails post-race inspection. The car was found to have illegal tires, and an over-sized engine. Petty was fined $35,000 (the win was worth $40,400) and 104 championship points (out of 180 earned). However, the victory was upheld. The incident created friction at the family's team, and Petty left Petty Enterprises at year's end. He took his STP sponsorship and his famous #43 with him, and drove for Mike Curb for the next two seasons.

• The Tide Slide – 1989 The Winston (May 21, 1989)

  During the final ten-lap sprint of The Winston all-star event, Darrell Waltrip led with young Rusty Wallace all over his rear bumper. Waltrip had the faster car, and held off numerous pass attempts by Wallace. As the two drivers came out of turn four to see the white flag, Wallace tagged Waltrip in the left rear quarter panel, sending Waltrip spinning out and into the grass. Wallace took the lead and ultimately took the $200,000 victory. Fans booed, gestured, and pelted the track with beer cans. In victory lane, when asked if he considered it "good, clean racing," Wallace replied "I consider it The Winston." As Wallace was being wheeled to victory lane, one of Wallace's crew members bumped into and knocked over a crew member from Waltrip's team, and a huge scuffle erupted. At least 25 people were involved in a huge fist-fight. After the race, Waltrip delivered his now-infamous line, "I just hope he chokes on that $200,000." The incident was a turning point in both drivers' careers: the once hated Waltrip turned face, while many fans began to jeer the presence of the previously popular Wallace.

• 1989 Holly Farms 400 (October 15, 1989)

  A restart with three laps to go saw Dale Earnhardt leading Ricky Rudd and Geoff Bodine. Going into the race, Earnhardt was trailing Rusty Wallace by only 35 points in the championship standings, with only three races left in the season. On the final lap, Rudd pulled alongside Earnhardt, and they touched as they took the white flag. Earnhardt went high in turn 1, but the cars came together, and both Rudd and Earnhardt spun out. Geoff Bodine slipped by to steal the victory, and Earnhardt lost more ground in the points standings. In the pits, the pits crews scuffled, but it was quickly broken up. After the race, an angry Earnhardt said that Rudd "knocked the shit out" of him, and that NASCAR "ought to fine that son of a bitch." The incident proved to be the deciding margin for the season, as Earnhardt lost the championship by only 12 points. (NASCAR did not fine obscene language with monetary fines or point penalties until later.)

• 1990 Pontiac Excitement 400 (February 25, 1990)

  In the second race of the 1990 season, Mark Martin wins, but the car was found to have an illegal carburetor spacer. NASCAR found the spacer was 2½ inches tall, a half-inch more than allowed. Martin kept the victory, but was fined $40,000 (at record at the time), and was docked 46 points. At season's end, Martin lost the championship by a mere 26 points to Dale Earnhardt, with the penalty representing the deciding margin. Later, it was admitted that the spacer plate was technically not illegal, and did not enhance the car's performance, but actually fell within a "gray area" of the rulebook. NASCAR competition director Dick Beaty even stated that "We don't know if is an advantage or not."

• 1991 Banquet Frozen Foods 300 (June 9, 1991)

  A wild finish ends in controversy. Road course ringer Tommy Kendall (substituting for the injured Kyle Petty) is leading Mark Martin with 4 laps to go. Going into the turn 7 hairpin, Martin slides by on the outside, but the cars make contact, and Martin spins out. Kendall suffers a cut tire, and limps back to the pits. Davey Allison who had been running third, took the lead. Allison led Ricky Rudd into turn 11 as the cars were anticipating seeing the white flag. Rudd's nose got inside, touched Allison's rear bumper, and Allison spun out with the white flag waving. The next time by, Rudd was displayed the black flag and penalized 5 seconds for dirty driving. Allison, the second car in line, was declared the winner.

• Rattle His Cage – 1999 Goody's Headache Powder 500 (August 28, 1999)

  In the closing laps of the popular Saturday night race at Bristol Motor Speedway, Dale Earnhardt led Terry Labonte and Jimmy Spencer. Labonte pulled alongside Earnhardt in turn four, and the two cars touched at they took the white flag for one lap to go. Going into turn 1, Labonte took the lead. In turn 2, Earnhardt tagged Labonte in the rear bumper, sending Labonte spinning down the backstretch. Earnhardt went on to win, and Spencer slipped by for second. Terry Labonte, however, collected six other cars and wrecked. When Earnhardt climbed out of the car in victory lane, many of the 170,000 fans booed and waved the finger. Defending his action, Earnhardt said in his victory lane interview, "(I) didn't mean really to turn him around, I meant to rattle his cage." Earnhardt was widely criticized for the move, and others criticized NASCAR officials for not penalizing him.

• Racing back to the caution - 2003 Dodge/Save Mart 300. (June 22, 2003)

  On the 71st lap, Kevin Harvick was leading Robby Gordon when a caution came out for a crash at a different part of the track. Gordon kept charging (racing back to the caution), and passed Harvick in the keyhole turn, taking the lead before they crossed the start/finish line. Harvick called it a "chicken move" and Jeff Gordon said "I could not believe it when I saw it" and called his passing under the yellow "unheard of." The controversial pass, however, was entirely legal under NASCAR rules at the time, and Robby Gordon was assessed no penalty. The so-called "unethical breach of racing ethics" proved to be the winning edge, and Robby Gordon went on to win the race. He was subjected to considerable scrutiny and ridicule after the race for not adhering to the unwritten "gentleman's agreement" about not racing back to the yellow during normal parts of the race. However, others considered the complaints hypocrisy or "sour grapes" by the losers. Later in the year, racing back to the caution was banned from competition after a dangerous incident at the Sylvania 300.

• 2005 Sylvania 300 (September 18, 2005)

  The 2005 Chase begins at Loudon, and tempers flared. The tone of the afternoon was set early, as Scott Riggs tangled with Chaser Kurt Busch on lap 3. Busch was sent to the garage for repairs and fell 66 laps down. Busch stormed Riggs' pit box, and had words with crew chief, Rodney Childers. On lap 166, Kyle Busch tangled with Kasey Kahne, who was sent hard into the wall. During the caution, Kahne maneuvered his wrecked car in front of Busch. Kahne was fined $25,000, docked 25 points, and was placed on probation for the remainder of the season. On lap 191, Michael Waltrip and Robby Gordon crashed. The next time by, Gordon attempted ram Waltrip's car with his wrecked machine, then threw his helmet at Waltrip's car. In the subsequent live interview on TNT, Gordon called Waltrip a "piece of shit." Gordon was fined a total of $35,000, docked 50 points, and was also placed on probation for the balance of the season. Waltrip was fined $10,000 and docked 25 points for using an obscene gesture (the fine was later appealed and overturned). Another unrealted penalty saw Brian Vickers fined $15,000 and docked 25 points for failing post-race inspection. The incidents shook up the Chase standings, and NASCAR officials increased the level of scrutiny in subsequent weeks.

• 2008 Brickyard 400 (July 27, 2008)

  The Car of Tomorrow is used for the first time at Indianapolis. The Goodyear tires suffered bad wear patterns, causing blowouts in some cases after only 8-10 laps of green-flag racing. After several blowouts and crashes early in the race, NASCAR mandated lengthy competition cautions at roughly 10-lap intervals for teams to change tires. The longest stretch of green flag racing all day was a mere 12 laps, effectively making the race, according Dale Earnhardt, Jr., a series of heat races with a ten-lap feature at the end. Fans, competitors, and media were highly critical of the event, which was rendered largely uncompetitive. Jimmie Johnson survived the tire problems to win, after only a mild challenge at the end by Carl Edwards.

• On two occasions, a new race on the circuit has experienced problems with traffic jams and/or weather, creating angry fans and media, and significant controversy off the track. The 1997 Interstate Batteries 500 at Texas and the 2011 Quaker State 400 at Kentucky both suffered from first year logistical problems.