Following 10 weeks without racing as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, NASCAR made its long-awaited return to competition May 17 with the first of two Cup Series races at Darlington Raceway. After FOX’s coverage of The Real Heroes 400 generated over 6 million viewers worldwide — a 38 percent increase from NASCAR’s most recent Cup race on March 8 — last Wednesday’s Toyota 500 at Darlington introduced a potential carry-over of new fans to one of the sport’s most entertaining elements: on-track rivalries.
The race-deciding caution flew in Wednesday’s rain-shortened event as the result of an on-track incident that occurred between two of the most popular drivers. With eventual race winner Denny Hamlin leading, Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch punted two-time consecutive Most Popular Driver Chase Elliott across the front stretch while unsuccessfully attempting to slide in behind him for the third position.
Elliott’s collision with the inside wall ultimately ended his day just as he was charging to the lead on fresher tires than Hamlin in what ended up being the closing laps of the race. Visibly displeased, Elliott climbed out of his car and made it a point to give Busch the one-finger salute during his next caution lap, igniting the potential of a rivalry with one of the sport’s most divisive personalities.
As exemplified by the ratings bump from its first race back on May 17, NASCAR’s return in the absence of nearly every other major professional league resulted in an abundance of prospective new viewers who likely were tuning in out of necessity, through their starvation for live competition. With NASCAR’s return being the most-watched non-Daytona 500 event since March of 2017, the second race on Wednesday night garnered just over 2 million viewers, making it one of the weeknight’s most-watched events on television according to Sports Media Watch.
In any case, there’s no denying that NASCAR has had the benefit of millions of new eyes since resuming the 2020 season. But while garnering new viewers as a result of the country’s deprivation of live sports is one thing, maintaining this audience in the coming weeks by giving new fans an incentive to continue watching is another task in itself.
On-track action and budding rivalries like we witnessed in NASCAR’s first midweek Cup Series race in 36 years will be instrumental to the sports’ continued growth, especially at such an unprecedented, yet opportunistic period in American sports history.
After Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600, NASCAR will host another Wednesday night race at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 27. Then the circuit will turn to arguably its most exciting venue: Bristol Motor Speedway, which is known for the on-track feuds that spark from the track’s close quarters.
As we look ahead to this pivotal period in NASCAR’s development, here we’ll take a look at some of NASCAR’s top current rivalries.
Some of these rivalries have more long-term or dormant significance than others, but they are ranked in order of immediate relevance to the sport.
5. Matt Kenseth vs. Joey Logano
This may be one of the more under the radar rivalries right now, considering Matt Kenseth did not have a NASCAR Cup Series ride just over a month ago. But five years ago, these two drivers had bad blood with one another due to a series of on-track feuds during the 2015 NASCAR playoffs.
The tension began at NASCAR’s playoff race in Kansas Speedway. Logano took Kenseth out of contention for the win while the two were racing for the lead, resulting in Kenseth’s eventual elimination from the NASCAR playoffs after the next weekend’s race. Logano went on to win the race at Kansas, advancing to the next round of the playoffs.
With Logano unapologetic in the following weeks, this conflict eventually prompted Kenseth to intentionally wreck him at Martinsville two weeks later. Kenseth was several laps off the pace while Logano was leading the race and in position to punch his ticket to NASCAR’s Championship 4. NASCAR ended up suspending Kenseth for two weeks due to the blatant intentions that he displayed on the track.
This feud took place nearly five full years ago, so it’s unlikely that any type of on-track incident would occur between these two drivers at this stage of their careers. But considering the high stakes at the time of this rivalry in 2015, Kenseth and Logano haven’t forgotten about this series of altercations.
While in the long-term, this rivalry may be left in the rearview, there’s no saying what could happen if these two drivers found each other within close quarters while battling upfront in the coming weeks.
4. Joey Logano vs. Denny Hamlin
Throughout his 13 years in the Cup Series, Joey Logano has developed a reputation for being one of the most aggressive drivers in the garage on a weekly basis. As a result, Logano has had his fair share of run-ins with what seems like every driver on the track at one point or another.
Most recently, Logano went at it with Denny Hamlin during the 2019 playoff race at Martinsville. With Logano’s No. 22 car riding to his outside, Hamlin ran him into the wall, which resulted in a very physical brawl on pit road after the race.
In the coming weeks, as NASCAR’s Playoffs progressed, the two continued to exchange jabs verbally, displaying a lack of respect for one another until they eventually both admitted their wrongs.
This rivalry has simmered, but it’s important to keep in mind the reputation that certain on-track incidents can create.
As Denny Hamlin put it after this incident, he’s fully aware of who is racing next to him “at all times,” regardless of the recent history. The same can be said about essentially every driver in the garage.
While on-track rivalries usually tend to be short-lived, reputations can last a lifetime. Joey Logano’s history of feuds is a perfect example of this sentiment. With these two drivers running near the front weekly, it wouldn’t at all be a surprise to see this rivalry renewed soon.
3. Ryan Blaney vs. Chase Elliott
Most rivalries are malevolent; some others are friendly; at the time being, this tandem is definitely the latter. Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney come from near-identical upbringings. As such, they grew up very close friends. Elliott hails from Dawsonville, Georgia, while Blaney claims High Point, North Carolina, as his hometown. Both of their fathers, Bill Elliott and Dave Blaney, had lengthy careers in NASCAR, including racing mutually with one another for 15 years.
As these two began surging through the NASCAR ranks, their friendship has evolved into a cordial rivalry. They each competed for Rookie of the Year honors in 2016, with Elliott taking home the hardware. These two also fit the bill of another timeless NASCAR rivalry: Ford vs. Chevrolet. Blaney drives a Ford Mustang for Team Penske, while Elliott pilots a Chevy Camaro for Hendrick Motorsports.
Competing for two of racings’ most dominant teams, Blaney and Elliott have both been raised in the Cup Series with the opportunity to learn behind some of NASCAR’s recent champions. Elliott has learned behind seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson at Hendrick, while Blaney joined 2012 champion Brad Keselowski and 2018 champion Joey Logano at Team Penske.
On top of all of these overwhelming similarities, with their history, it’s needless to say that these two rising stars have great respect for one another. And it certainly helps that they’re two of the youngest and most recognizable drivers currently in the sport. The lineage, the respect, the talent, the popularity … while it hasn’t yet blossomed on track, a Chase Elliott-Ryan Blaney rivalry has all the makings of one that would become synonymous with NASCAR for years to come.
2. Tyler Reddick vs. Cole Custer
This year’s rookie class is widely regarded as one of the most loaded in recent years, headlined by the “big four” of Christopher Bell, Tyler Reddick, Cole Custer, and John Hunter Nemechek.
With such a competitive rookie class, each one of these young drivers would undoubtedly love to take home the honors of 2020 Rookie of the Year. And with these four drivers rising through the ranks together in NASCAR’s Xfinity Series, it’s no secret that they have a demonstrated history of racing with each other.
Having said that, it’s hard to imagine that any combination of these four rookies has had a more problematic history together than Tyler Reddick and Cole Custer.
Reddick is the two-time defending NASCAR Xfinity Series champion, and Custer has finished second to him each of the last two years. Ironically enough, Custer trails only Reddick in NASCAR’s Cup Series points standings thus far in 2020.
Custer and Reddick have been neck and neck on the track essentially their entire NASCAR careers, and the two of them actually had each other by the neck after an on-track altercation that occurred at Kansas during the 2019 Xfinity Series Playoffs.
The two made contact with each other late in the Kansas Lottery 300, where Custer went on to finish 11th and Reddick second. After the race, Custer approached Reddick on pit road, beginning the brawl by placing his right hand on Reddick’s left shoulder. This gesture spurred one of NASCAR’s most physical altercations in recent memory.
1. Chase Elliott vs. Joe Gibbs Racing
Chase Elliott’s run-in with Kyle Busch during last Wednesday’s race at Charlotte has been well documented, but as history shows, this wasn’t the first time that Elliott has run into trouble with one of Joe Gibbs’ Toyotas while vying for the win.
What was perhaps Elliott’s first signature moment as a Cup Series driver came from an altercation with Denny Hamlin at Martinsville during the NASCAR Playoffs in 2017.
Elliott was leading the First Data 500 with three laps to go, primed for his career Cup win, when Hamlin put a bumper to Elliott’s No. 24 car and spun him into the Turn 3 wall, ending his dramatic bid for career win number one.
On the cool-down laps after the race, Elliott then made forceful and deliberate contact with Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota, and the two of them partook in a heated exchange after exiting their cars.
Two weeks later, at Phoenix Raceway, Elliott squeezed Hamlin’s car up against the outside wall of Turn 4 while making a pass for the lead. This contact led to a left rear tire rub for Hamlin and eventually a blown tire that resulted in his day ending.
Fast-forward to two years later, and Elliott’s altercation with Busch at Charlotte has served as a sequel of sorts to this rivalry with JGR. This time though rather than retaliating on Busch, Elliott took the high road in Sunday’s Coke 600 and displayed a fresh sense of maturity that he has grown into, now five years into his Cup career.
Even after Elliott’s gut-wrenching downfall in Sunday’s race, Busch made a discernible effort to smooth things over.
Elliott had taken over the lead late in the race’s final stage, only to see a caution flag come out while there were only three laps to go in the race. Rather than cruising to the win in one of NASCAR’s crowned jewel events, he came to pit road during the caution, contrary from most of the cars that were behind him. After restarting 11th, Elliott drove through the top-10 and had to settle for an agonizing second-place finish.
When the two drivers exited their cars after the race, Busch was the first driver to console Elliott after this frustrating turn of events.
So while the flames have certainly quelled on this rivalry to an extent, the severely disappointing finishes to Elliott’s last two races have certainly pent up more desperation to return to Victory Lane with each passing day.
However, it would be ignorant to believe that Elliott has left last Wednesday’s incident entirely in the past. After all, in 2017, it did take two races for Elliott’s retaliation on Hamlin at Phoenix.
Honorable Mentions:
Kyle Busch vs. Brad Keselowski
This is one of the longest-standing rivalries currently in the sport. While Keselowski and Busch haven’t had any notable run-ins on the track in recent years, perhaps more battles could be on the way with Keselowski’s return to Victory Lane on Sunday.
Kevin Harvick vs. Kyle Busch
Another rivalry that is a bit dormant at the time being, in terms of recent incidents. Busch and Harvick have been two of the most accomplished drivers throughout the past decade and enter another year where both have been upfront; it feels like a matter of time before these two titans rejuvenate their past conflicts.
Hendrick Motorsports vs. The World
While this conflict isn’t necessarily tangible, it’s gotten to the point where Hendrick Motorsports’ woeful recent luck needs to be acknowledged. There’s no denying the fact that Rick Hendrick and his drivers have not been able to catch a break since NASCAR’s return to racing. If you’re searching for calamity, look no further than the closest Hendrick Chevrolet. All four cars have run up front and have arguably been NASCAR’s most dominant team in terms of speed since the sport’s return. When will Rick Hendrick’s team finally overcome this misfortune that has plagued his four drivers in the month of May?
