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Motorsport

Sport

Checkers or wreckers: When NASCAR drivers take ‘win or bust’ too far

Martinsville NASCAR Denny Hamlin Joey Logano Cole Custer Kyle Larson Ross Chastain Austin Dillon Brad Keselowski Carl Edwards

NASCAR has a well-earned reputation of being a full-contact sport on the race track with drivers given far more leeway than they are in most other racing series. However, there are still times when a driver crosses some unspoken line, leading to widespread condemnation throughout the garage and even penalties from the sanctioning body.

With the fallout from last weekend’s controversial NASCAR Xfinity finish still ongoing, we thought this would be a great time to review some other questionable moments where drivers pushed the boundary of what is acceptable – even by NASCAR standards – all with the goal of capturing the checkered flag. You won’t see honest mistakes or an aggressive move gone wrong, nor will you see moments where payback of equal force was on full display. No, this list is reserved for some of the most egregious cases where a NASCAR driver decided winning was more important than anything else.

Win at all costs: Dillon vs. Logano and Hamlin at Richmond 2024

Of course, the most notable example from recent history came just last summer at Richmond. Austin Dillon was a few laps away from earning an impressive victory, but a late-race caution and subsequent restart saw the win slip through his fingertips. But Dillon refused to let that stand, driving deep into Turn 3 on the final lap and spinning Joey Logano. But when it got really ugly was at the exit of Turn 4. Logano was already spun out and out of the picture, just as Dillon intended, but Dillon still blew the corner and allowed Denny Hamlin to get alongside him. Without hesitation, Dillon right-hooked Hamlin’s car into the outside wall, securing the victory as his spotter cheered him on. What followed was an unprecedented decision from NASCAR. After a few days of deliberation, they allowed the win to stand but removed Dillon from the 2024 playoff field.

He ain't gonna kill my boy: Edwards and Keselowski at Gateway 2010

Brad Keselowski and Carl Edwards tangle coming to the checkered flag (Photo by: Getty Images)

In 2011, both Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski were competing in an Xfinity race at Gateway. They were also in the middle of a bitter rivalry that was far from settled. On the final lap, Keselowski nudged Edwards out of the way for the race win. Edwards responded at the other end of the track, but it was not with another bump-and-run. No, Edwards turned Keselowski into the outside wall, taking the win by force. Keselowski spun back across the track, also slamming into the inside wall with oncoming traffic violently impacting the side of his car. Brad’s father, the late Bob Keselowski, said after the race: “I'll get my own damn uniform back out and take care of this. He ain't gonna kill my boy."

No love for your teammate: Ty Gibbs and Brandon Jones at Martinsville 2022

What Sammy Smith did wasn’t the first time a young Xfinity Series driver took things too far in the battle for the win at Martinsville. In 2022, Ty Gibbs was about to finish second to his teammate, Brandon Jones, who was looking to win his way into the Championship 4. Gibbs was already locked into the championship race, but he didn’t have much interest in ensuring his fellow JGR driver made it through as well. Gibbs punted Jones, buckling his own hood as he ran him over from behind, spinning Jones out and taking the win for himself. He was showered with boos from the stands as Daytona 500-winning crew chief Steve Letarte – who was part of the broadcast that day – spoke about how unimpressed he was as they reviewed the incident. “It doesn’t take much of a race car driver to run another guy over from behind,” remarked Letarte.

Chaos and carnage: Nemechek and Custer at CTMP 2016

The end of the race where John Hunter Nemechek, NEMCO Motorsports Chevrolet and Cole Custer, JR Motorsports Chevrolet collided (Photo by: NASCAR Media)

Canadian Tire Motorsports Park and the NASCAR Truck Series could have made multiple appearances in this story, as it seems like the race always came down to a crash for the race win. 2016 was no different, but it was perhaps the wildest incident of them all. Due to the angle of entry on approach to the final corner, it looked like John-Hunter Nemechek was going to try and cut under Cole Custer for the final run to the line, but that’s not what happened. He slammed into the back of Custer’s truck instead, throttling forward as he turned him towards the wall. Custer somehow saved it, but with the checkered flag in sight, Nemechek never lifted. The truck slid sideways and he door-slammed Custer, driving him across the grass and into the wall, grinding Custer’s truck along the barrier all the way to the finish line. A post-race brawl followed suit as Custer tackled Nemechek while he was attempting to retrieve the checkered flag.

A feud ends in injury: Logano and Hamlin at Fontana 2013

Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota comes to a rest after crashing on last lap (Photo by: Getty Images)

Everyone knew what was about to happen when Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin were battling for the win at Fontana. The two drivers had recently gotten into it at Bristol and Logano promised retaliation. After a spirited battle, it appeared as if Hamlin had the momentum through the final set of corners to take the win. Logano then drove into the side of Hamlin’s car, the two slamming doors as Kyle Busch passed them both. The win was gone, but the contact was not. Hamlin hooked Logano into the outside wall, spinning out of view as Logano limped to the line. When we saw Hamlin’s car again, it was sitting near the entrance of pit road with the front of the car completely destroyed. He had hit the inside wall, suffering a compression fracture in his lower back as a result.

No give, all take: Chastain and Larson at Darlington 2023

Ross Chastain is one of the most aggressive drivers in NASCAR and at one point, he was getting blamed for wrecks he had nothing to do with (see the #BlameRoss trend). He seemed to become public enemy number one, angering rivals and getting into fights all while leading the regular season standings. But that at all came to a screeching halt at Darlington in 2023. Chastain had a few run-ins with fellow Chevrolet driver Kyle Larson early in the season, and Darlington was no different. On a late-race restart, Larson – who took issue with the way Chastain raced him earlier in the event – nudged him into the wall. However, the move didn’t work as a wreck behind them caused a caution and to Larson’s dismay, Chastain was now scored as the race leader. He ran into the back of Larson under caution and everyone watching was expecting to see payback. On the ensuing restart, Chastain made no attempt to race it out, running Larson directly into the wall. However, Chastain miscalculated and his car got turned across Larson's nose. Both drivers crashed out of the race and an irate Larson shoved Chastain's car sideways down the backstretch in anger. NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott was in the booth and offered his take on the incident as it happened: "Children. Put them into the sandbox together and they can't play.”

Rattling his cage: Earnhardt and Labonte at Bristol 1999

Dale Earnhardt was called the 'The Intimidator' for good reason. Being between him and a race win was a very bad place to be. There were several moments where he took it to the next level, but the most unpopular one likely came in 1999 at Bristol. Earnhardt was battling Terry Labonte for the race win when Labonte found a way around the black No. 3 with just one lap to go. 'Texas Terry' was a clean racer with a fair reputation on track, but that didn't help him here. Earnhardt squared up with the rear of Labonte's car, jacked him up through Turns 1 and 2 and sent him spinning while he took off with the race win. The crowd erupted in boos for Earnhardt as he celebrated. In Victory Lane, the seven-time Cup Series champion said the now-famous words: "I didn't mean to wreck him, I just wanted to rattle his cage a little bit."

There's more where that came from

And these are just some of the moments that brought condemnation from the NASCAR world. The list goes on but in most of these scenarios, no penalties were ever issued and the aggressor got away with the race win more often than not. But now, we want to hear from you! Comment below with your own NASCAR moment where you saw a driver took things too far in the battle for the win, and if you think the sanctioning body should take action against Sammy Smith for this latest incident.