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NASCAR Drivers in a Pit Row
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Last month at Richmond International Raceway, Busch riled legions of Earnhardt Jr. fans by wrecking the sport's most popular driver in the waning laps, saying it was an accident.
Busch was roundly booed during driver introductions the following week at Darlington, where he flashed a middle finger at Hendrick Motorsports crewmen as he exited pit road.
He did the same to four-time series champion Jeff Gordon during the Coca-Cola 600 weeks later, angry that Gordon, whose car wasn't as fast, challenged him for position late in the race rather than letting him zoom past.
"Some of his cockiness shows up from time to time," two-time champion Jimmie Johnson said. "[But] what's sport without trash-talking? What's sport without these little rivalries?"
Still, veteran crew chief Robbie Loomis thinks there's a right way and a wrong way for drivers to vent their frustrations. His boss, seven-time champion Richard Petty, set the standard decades ago, airing his grievances in private rather than lashing out on the track. In his view, drivers such as Gordon and Johnson have followed suit, behaving like "class acts"; others, less so.
"The thing I hate the most is seeing the loss of that level of respect in the garage," Loomis said.
Said Martin, who has mixed feelings about NASCAR's new brashness: "This is a new day and age, and young people don't necessarily conduct themselves quite like the last generation did. I don't see Bobby Labonte or Jeff Burton showing his backside. But kids will be kids."
ยท NATIONWIDE SERIES: Hamlin made it nine victories for Joe Gibbs Racing this season, leading all but 69 laps to win the Heluva Good 200 at Dover. Rookie phenom and Gibbs teammate Joey Logano, 18, finished sixth in his NASCAR national-level debut.
