One of the revelations from NASCAR’s competition meeting on Saturday at Phoenix Raceway was NASCAR president Steve Phelps encouraging drivers to “lean into the rivalries.”
With the tight fields in the Cup Series right now, that’s not a tall order.
And as the tour rolls into Bristol Motor Speedway, affectionately known as the Last Great Coliseum, there’s not a better stage for a 36-car brawl.
“It’s very true that rivalries do breed a lot of interest,” said Sunday’s Phoenix winner Christopher Bell. “And even inside of the sport, right? If you see someone having a feud, you pay attention to it.
“I’m glad that they’re embracing it, and I think it’s a positive for the sport.”
Given the wave the sport is riding following the success of the Netflix series “NASCAR: Full Speed,” there’s no reason not to retain the spotlight. While Bell wasn’t introduced as a main player in the Playoff documentary, he quickly became one after his victory at Homestead-Miami speedway vaulted him into the Championship 4 for a second consecutive season.
Bell hasn’t had the typical run-ins that many of his peers have encountered since he graduated to the Cup Series in 2020. Yet with the continued success the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing team has enjoyed of late, his name is certainly going to be in the mix.
Does Bell have any animosity towards the competition?
“Not yet,” Bell said. “But pay attention on Sunday and we’ll see what happens.”
Even a relative newcomer like second-generation racer Harrison Burton appreciates the necessity of conflict in sports. The 23-year-old racer, who drives the iconic No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford, saw his share of discord coming up through the ranks.
“I just race the way I race,” Burton said. “I think Steve (Phelps) does a really good job of putting our sport in really good positions to grow. I think our rivalries is what makes our sport great—and they happen naturally anyway.
“You put a bunch of guys like the way we’re wired in the same race track it will spark a rivalry, that’s for sure.”
Most feuds occur organically on the race track—and with the long memories of racers, they’re not quick to forget. After three seasons of attempting to establish himself in the Cup Series, Ross Chastain landed with Trackhouse Racing.
While he didn’t create bad blood on his ascent up the NASCAR ladder, once he found a ride in competitive equipment the 31-year-old watermelon-farmer-turned-racer attracted more adversaries than expected.
Initially, the friction between Chastain and Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson or Noah Gragson didn’t seem to phase the affable driver.
“I get out (of the car) and tell y’all what I feel,” Chastain said. “I’m human. I don’t want people to not like me. But it’s not personal. It’s just racing.
“I love to talk about racing. I love to race. I really, really like to race—like in the true art of it. That might make some of my other competitors mad, and I don’t mind it.”
When Chastain held off Ryan Blaney at Phoenix last November en route to the Team Penske driver’s first title, it certainly got under the champion’s skin. Not only was Blaney hot on the radio when he couldn’t pass Chastain, he let his anger be known after the race—and subsequently by making his bumper wider than normal when the No. 1 Trackhouse Chevy is in his mirror.
Blaney’s reaction led to Chastain’s post-Las Vegas Motor Speedway response: “It was pretty cool to see his evolution with the air blocking. I was proud of him.”
Chastain isn’t the only up-and-comer to be in Hamlin’s firing line. The veteran has taken shots at Cup champion Joey Logano as well as all four of the Team Hendrick stable including Alex Bowman. Following an altercation at Martinsville Speedway in 2021, where Bowman spun the No. 11 Toyota out of the lead, Hamlin labeled him a “hack.”
For Bowman, who prefers to be non-confrontational, being in any fellow competitors crosshairs is not an ideal situation.
“I keep to myself, for sure,” Bowman said. “That’s not my most comfortable zone, I guess, like the whole talking (crap) about people thing.
“But it is important for our sport. You have the guys that are really vocal about it. There are natural rivalries that do show up considering that we do race the same people every week. It is definitely interesting to listen to.”
And although weekly hostility between drivers can be a distraction, the enterprising Bowman found a way to make his rivalry with Hamlin pay off—via merchandise. Through Alex Bowman Racing, the driver of the No. 48 Ally Chevy had “HACK” T-shirts printed the following week, further promoting the feud while funneling money to local animal shelters. Ultimately, the rivalry helped Bowman’s bottom line.
“For sure,” he said with a laugh. “But I’m not making another shirt until we win. You’ve got to win races to do stuff like that.”
Follow Lee Spencer on Twitter @CandiceSpencer or email her at: [email protected].
