Rivalries in stock car racing are stories of legend. The noble, strong-willed locked in the throes of combat quite often in the early days of the sport, when rules were not strict and fines were less than a week's pay.
Feuds-quick and to the point-are numerous through NASCAR's history, but long-standing rivalries are few. NASCAR just doesn't tolerate this type of behavior.
"I used to think fighting was just a part of the post-race show," the late Bobby Isaac once said. "Then one Monday morning I got a call from Daytona Beach. The man on the other end of the line said, 'Bobby, we believe NASCAR can get along without you. Now, can you get along without NASCAR?' I took the hint. They never had another problem with me."
Buddy Baker says that a lot of would-be rivalries take care of themselves.
"At Martinsville one Sunday afternoon I was so mad at Tiny Lund I didn't know what to do. I wanted to run right over the top of his car," Baker said.
"Finally, the race ended. I was standing down in my pits and I saw him coming, walking toward me. Tiny was 6-7 or more and weighed about 300 pounds. When he walked, dust would puff from under his shoes.
"I looked over there about three feet from me, and there was part of an axle about the length of a ball bat. My first thought was to take the axle and whop him across the head. Then it occurred to me, what if I miss? He might really get mad then. Tiny kept coming straight toward me. He got within about 10 feet, and he burst out laughing. It was one of the sweetest smiles I ever saw.
"That's the thing," Baker said. "Before you get into one of these scraps with another driver, make sure you know who you are fooling with."
Petty Vs. AllisonThe greatest rivalry in stock car racing's history matched the Pettys and Allisons and their crews. Nobody seems certain when it began, but it lasted three or four years.
The feud reached a boiling point on an October afternoon at North Wilkesboro (North Carolina) Speedway in 1972. Richard Petty and Bobby Allison used their race cars as weapons and beat on each other in the frenzied final three laps on the 0.625-mile track, an oval that on this day became stock car racing's Little Big Horn.
The two drivers were like roosters in a pit for most of the race, primed and ready for the fight. They chopped each other off and exchanged paint several times. Then, all hell broke loose on the final three laps.
Petty led on Lap 397 of the 400-lap event. Going into the first turn, Allison drove low to make the pass, but Petty shut him off, using another car to throw the block. Then, the two locked their machines together and crashed into the wall. Allison slipped by Petty and into the lead. Petty came right back, and the two cars went into the first turn side-by-side for the second time. Both slammed straight into the wall.
Allison talked about it in later years. "This time I cut right and held the steering wheel," he said. "I intended to drive him through the wall if necessary. I thought I had parked him. I broke loose and drove away. I was going through the second turn and starting up the backstretch. I heard this car to the inside of me, and it was Richard. I don't know to this day how he got off that wall."
Their cars hit again, and Petty slipped ahead to win by a couple of car lengths. Petty and Allison's cars, smoking from under the fenders and hoods, sputtered to the end like two warships trying to stay afloat with port in sight.