In NASCAR The Line Between ‘Boys Have At It’ And Dirty Driving Has Become Unclear

There was a time, perhaps a decade or a decade-and-a-half ago, when NASCAR’s idea of speedway justice was, ‘boys, have at it.” That was the famous – infamous? – advice that Cup Series director Robin Pemberton gave during a 2010 pre-season media gathering in Charlotte. In effect, he was telling his teams to police themselves.

Somewhere along the way “boys, have it” morphed into some version of “boys, mind your manners; we’re watching you.”

Today, the line separating “spirited, aggressive, entertaining racing” and “dirty driving” seems to be a murky and moveable one. After virtually a hands-off policy since its debut in 1949, NASCAR suspended Matt Kenseth for two races for dirty driving in 2015. Bubba Wallace missed one race last year for dirty driving and Chase Elliott lost one race this year for the same thing.

With victories almost a requirement to make the Playoffs – plus stage points and Playoff points on the line – drivers are more willing to walk the tight-rope that line between “spirited, aggressive racing” and “dirty driving.”

“I think it (crossing the line) has become more accepted,” 50-race winner Denny Hamlin said Saturday at Richmond Raceway, where he qualified third for Sunday afternoon’s Cook Out 400. “Within reason, as long as it’s not something crazy, it’s become more (accepting) from a media standpoint and from a fan standpoint. It changes depending on how severe (it is). Normal racing, hard racing at the end for wins, that’s kind of been the mantra the last 10 years or so. It’s definitely different. For sure, there’s a win-at-all-costs mantra.”

Credit (blame?) much of that to the pressure of making the Playoffs and the Next Gen car, now into its second Cup season. It is unmistakably tougher and more durable than previous models. Drivers are more likely to use and abuse its bumpers and fenders, confident their car can take it and keep going. The risk-vs-reward of a dicey move in 2023 isn’t quite as one-sided as it was back in 2020.

“With the other car, the guy on the outside would use the air to make the guy on the inside loose,” Hamlin explained. “In (today’s) Cup car, it’s the other way around. The power for the position is actually on the bottom, not the top. It certainly is a lot different now. The cars are closer together and passing is more difficult. Even (retired Hall of Fame driver) Mark Martin would have to adjust his style because the days of the gentleman letting the guys go and you’ll go get them later – it’s just a different game these days. You have to adapt to where you are.”

In Hamlin’s view, the tipping point to the “boys, have at it” era came at Martinsville Speedway in November of 2015. After crashing with Joey Logano in the final laps at Kansas two weeks earlier, the lapped car of Matt Kenseth slowed and waited for front-runner Logano late in the Martinsville race. He turned right and drove Logano hard into the Turn 1 wall, out of the race. He was immediately parked and suspended from the next two races.

“I think it was the Kenseth incident with Logano. That was the point when they stepped in and for the first time in a long time someone got suspended for something on-track,” Hamlin said. “From that point, they deemed it (suspension) as anything super-egregious that puts someone in danger. The suspensions we have seen recently have been egregious and have put people in danger.”

Hamlin has a long history of well-publicized on-track run-ins. His most recent was eight days ago at Pocono, where he appeared to put fellow front-runner Kyle Larson into the wall on a late restart. Earlier this year, Hamlin clearly put Larson – leading at the time – against the backstretch wall at Kansas on the last lap. Hamlin defended his Pocono move by saying it was a split-second decision to take a spot he thought was available.

“It’s hard to say I would have done anything differently,” he explained. “It’s so split-second and the win meant so much to me at that time. So many different records we could accomplish with that one win – with the track (seven victories), with Toyota (its 600th NASCAR victory), with myself personally (his 50th career victory). It’s hard to say in that moment I would do anything differently.

“Certainly, I didn’t like the outcome for (Larson). I wish he could have finished second, but it was just one of those things where we flat ran out of room and I made a split-second decision to try to clear him instantly, and you can see from my on-board that I don’t see him. I see him go up the track, and I don’t know where he’s at when I start to throttle up and I’m saying ‘alright, I’m going to clear him.’ But when I didn’t, I knew we were going to be in a bad spot.”

Strange as it may seem, it was two-time champion Kyle Busch who (sort of) came to Hamlin’s defense over the Pocono incident. “If you’re Kyle in that situation, do you just lift out of the gas once Denny gets alongside of you?” he said. “No. You have to put trust and faith into the guy; that he’s going to run you as you would expect to be run and not have to lift. If Larson lifts and brushes the wall, he loses eight spots on that straightaway. So really, you’re in a no-win situation when you’re that guy on the outside like that.”

Despite the criticism – he was roundly booed by the Pocono fans – the 42-year-old Hamlin doesn’t plan to change anything in his final few years as a driver. His resume is solidly Hall of Fame-worthy, with three Daytona 500 among his 50 victories. “This is how I’m going to be, that’s for sure,” he said. “I’m not going to back down. I’m having to adapt my style to this and it’s not the same as it was 10 years ago. Certainly, the game has changed, and I think the fans should like that two people were willing to put any personal friendship aside when they go and compete on the racetrack.

“That’s when the fans win. They don’t want to see someone go (easily). That’s less entertaining, and we’re in an entertainment business. I think the fans win in that instance. Racing for the win is certainly a lot different than it has been in the past. If you have one person willing to be aggressive and one person not, aggressive will win every time. It’s just the facts of it. Usually, you aren’t going to find two guys who are (still) the nice guys at the end of these races.”