@nascarcasm Power Rankings: Spring beef at Bristol

In a way, the spring race at Bristol Motor Speedway is much like the season of spring itself. Just as the warming temperatures and sunshine allows trees and flowers to bloom, the high banks and tight quarters of Bristol Motor Speedway do the same for beefs between drivers.

Here are 10 notable ones.

GEOFF BODINE VS. JIMMY SPENCER, 1997: SPOILER ALERT, you’ll see both of these names more than once in this ranking. TL;DR – Jimmy got into Geoff and Geoff’s comments did not disappoint. There were a couple of instances of the word “stupid” as well as some language he’d apologize for. Jimmy Spencer and Bristol incidents seem to go together like peas and carrots.

MIKE DILLON VS. MICHAEL WALTRIP, 1998, XFINITY SERIES: Years later, Michael Waltrip would recount this incident. Apparently he shoved Dillon and Dillon didn’t move an inch. We’ve all been there. You try to give someone a push and it’s like trying to shove a redwood tree and you realize that your chances of meeting God in the next minute just skyrocketed.

GEOFF BODINE VS. THE WORLD, 1987: I’ll be honest – I’m not sure if there was one specific target for Bodine’s rage. All I know is that he was big mad about being caught up in an early crash and proceeded to cut a wrestling promo using an indoor voice, vowing to take everyone out. He even referred to himself in the third person at one point. GEOFF VS. EVERYONE. 

JOEY LOGANO VS. CHASE ELLIOTT, 2020: Was it a huge brawl? No, not even close. But it was 2020, and seeing drivers yelling at each other after the race was something we had missed and this moment made things start to feel slightly normal again, even if it was merely a discussion and we couldn’t even lip-read what they were saying.

STERLING MARLIN VS. RICKY RUDD, 1990: Sterling Marlin is a national treasure for many reasons, including this confrontation. Sterling was a tad bit upset at Ricky Rudd, but rather than charging at him, Sterling merely sauntered all the way to Rudd’s hauler and jusssssst let himself on in to discuss the matter. A true gentlemen – probably politely pardoned himself as he made his way thorugh the crowd. “’Scuse me ma’am, headin’ off ta yell at Rooster.”

DALE EARNHARDT JR. VS. ROBBY GORDON, 2002: Nowadays it’s hard to envision a scenario where Dale Earnhardt Jr. has to be restrained for something other than being outbid on eBay. But in 2002, it happened. On-track fireworks took place between he and Robby Gordon and after the race, Dale had some pretty choice words for the then-adversary but later-podcast-guest. Again, Dale’s peaceful now and knows what makes good content.

JOEY LOGANO VS. DENNY HAMLIN, 2013: This is where their friendship began. Unhappy with some contact from Hamlin, Logano went to confront Hamlin in his car after the race. By the looks of it he could just be a Chick-Fil-A drive-thru worker taking Denny’s order, but we assure you that harsh words were exchanged. Crews broke it up. It did not reach the level of Denny doing an impression of Joey. That would be years later.

JIMMY SPENCER VS. JACK SPRAGUE, XFINITY SERIES, 2002: This is an underappreciated deep track. Spencer made a desperation move near the end of the race that wound up taking out Jack Sprague. What followed after the race was Sprague sprinting all the way down the Bristol straightaway, UP on the wall to confront Spencer. While no physical confrontation took place, we feel Sprague should be recognized for his commitment to fitness here. He didn’t throw a punch, but he definitely closed an exercise ring.

JEFF GORDON VS. MATT KENSETH, 2006: In the closing laps of the 2006 spring race, Jeff Gordon gave Matt Kenseth a bump-and-run for position. Kenseth gave Gordon a bump-and-whoops-oh-no back. Matt went to speak to Jeff after the race but got an uncharacteristic shove from a still-helmeted Gordon. Kenseth did not shove him back, as he was still in that era where we thought he was this docile fellow that avoided physical confrontation (AKA before he met Brad Keselowski).

KEVIN HARVICK VS. GREG BIFFLE, XFINITY SERIES, 2002: Any great battle throughout history has three elements – a wreck, an unexpected aerial entrance and screaming at people two inches from their face. Kevin Harvick accomplished all three here. He was clearly miffed that Greg Biffle dumped him, and waited for him after the race. After Biffle exited his car, Harvick descended from the sky like Batman confronting a pair of seedy Gotham City hooligans and got in Greg’s FACE. Screaming ensued. This skirmish had it all, including parkour.