The best battles in NASCAR happen on the track, but there’s no denying that we’ve seen some pretty good action off the track as well in the Cup Series.
While all-out fist fights aren’t as common as they might have once been, tensions can run high on pit road, and drivers who get a bit too aggressive on the track can be subject to a post-race lecture, shove, or just some brutal side-eye.
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Sometimes issues simply need to be worked through off the track, and NASCAR CEO Steve O’Donnell says that for the most part, he gets it — as long as the confrontations are between drivers and not their entire pit crews.
“I’m okay with it. I think that’s fair,” O’Donnell said while appearing as a guest on the Racin’ With the Boys podcast. “We went through an era where there were too many fines. Fining everybody. What happened was, if you go up and down pit road right now, a lot of guys look like you — big dudes, right? And some of our drivers aren’t that big. So guys were getting in fights and the crew guys were piling on. It got a little dangerous. Where we’re at is, if the drivers want to handle their business, great. When the crew guys start piling on, that’s when we’ve got a challenge. I don’t disagree with you.”
Asked about Carson Hocevar, who has quickly become a popular driver for fans and less popular driver for the rest of the Cup Series between his aggressive driving and confidence on the track, O’Donnell had nothing but praise for the No. 77 team.
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“With Hocevar, to me, he’s doing everything we would want from a driver getting out there. On track, great. He’s going to make his moves and drivers will handle what they need to handle out on the track. That’s on him to do that. But in terms of how he races, what he may or may not experience because of how he races on the track, that’s one thing. Off the track, fantastic.”
O’Donnell’s point is a simple one: characters and drama can only help grow interest in the sport.
“Our drivers, some of them get that, some of them don’t want to be that guy, and that’s okay. But we need rivalries, we need villains, any sport — you need personalities. You need a reason to care.”
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NASCAR doesn’t need punches to be thrown to sell the drama of racing, but when your audience knows that two drivers have had it with each other both on and off the track, it can make for quite a compelling story.
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