Fight Club BOOM! SOCK! BAM!

WHY IS NASCAR THE WORLD'S ONLY MAJOR RACING SERIES THAT ALLOWS REAL FISTICUFFS?

- A.J. BAIME

“AND THERE’S A FIGHT!” As most fans know, those four words helped put NASCAR on the map. CBS commentator Ken Squier was calling the action on the 1979 Daytona 500 television broadcast when Cale Yarborough and the Allison brothers clashed. The brawl played out on live TV for 23 seconds.

“Those 23 seconds changed the course of our history. They absolutely did,” says Ken Martin, NASCAR director of historical content. “Cale, Bobby, and Donnie weren’t the first NASCAR drivers to fight, but they were the first to do it on national TV. That exposed the sport and the passion of the sport to millions of viewers.”

Fighting has been part of NASCAR from the early days up to today. Keselowski vs. Kenseth, Bowyer vs. Gordon, the Wallace vs. Waltrip pit crews. Last May, Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s right hook landed on Kyle Busch’s head in front of cameras—to the delight of fans. When it comes to human nature, there are two rules about fighting: (1) If there’s a fight, it’s hard to look away, and (2) it’s better to be the puncher than the punchee.

Looking at the way these altercations are celebrated online and elsewhere, you have to wonder: Why is NASCAR the only major racing series in the world that allows hockey fights? And who is the toughest bastard ever to roam pit lane? Road & Track sought out some heavy hitters for answers.

“We have cars that race closer than in any other form of motorsport,” 2024 Cup Series champion Joey Logano tells R&T. (Logano’s 2013 fight with Denny Hamlin has more than 2.7 million views on YouTube.) “We have full-contact cars. Where other cars can’t touch each other, we can continue to fight on after we touch a little bit. We have more high-pressure moments. It’s going to make some emotions come out of you when something doesn’t go the way you expected or you feel like you’ve been done wrong.”