Has NASCAR Outgrown Fighting?

The brawl at the end of the AAA Texas 500 is the second fight within a month. This begs the question does fighting and heated altercations still have a place in NASCAR? Fighting and standing up for your team has a long storied history in NASCAR. Showing passion and displeasure toward another driver or team through a physical altercation put NASCAR on the map and draws attention to the sport. The occasional exchange between drivers after an incident on the track or even a heated argument is great for the sport.

However, if these rumbles on pit road and in the garage area are allowed to happen on a regular basis it will ultimately hurt the sport. Deep down I don’t believe that NASCAR fans want to see their driver hurt in an off-track incident that would hinder their ability to race the next weekend. Does this mean that fighting should be banned? Absolutely not. It does mean that NASCAR needs to take a stance on what is acceptable and what isn’t.

“We reviewed the content that was available to us of the post-race incident along pit road, and identified several crew members who crossed the line with their actions, specifically punching others.” – Robin Pemberton (NASCAR.com)

With the penalties NASCAR handed down on Tuesday afternoon the sanctioning body clearly stated that throwing punches will not be tolerated. Four crew members were fined and suspended in addition to fines and probation for crew chiefs Alan Gustafson (No. 24) and Kenny Francis (No. 5) who are responsible for those team members.

What we saw on Sunday was for the most part initiated by the crew members. They were holding each other back and ready to come to blows well before Gordon and Keselowski were even out of their cars. This particular situation in which a crew member punched Brad Keselowski is unacceptable. However, crew members can’t be kept completely out of the mix. They are part of the team and are trying to protect their driver and stand up for their team.

On the flip-side crew members need to be protected while drivers are still in their cars. At Charlotte, Brad Keselowski and Denny Hamlin chased each other through the garage area with crew members scattering in all directions. This is unacceptable. Trading paint after the race needs to stop once the cars cross the pit road entrance line. There are just too many crewmen who are unprotected in addition to drivers that are unbuckling and getting out of their cars.

So what is the best way to proceed? Let the drivers settle it among themselves. If Gordon wants to talk with Keselowski after the race on Sunday, fine. Don’t hold them back and create an angry mob. A fired up Jeff Gordon rushing up to Keselowski’s car, having a heated conversation, and finally pushing and shoving for a minute until the crew members pull their driver away would have drawn just as much attention from the fans as what we saw after Sunday’s race. When a situation goes bad it’s the responsibility of the crew members to get their driver out of the mob before going after crew members on the other team.

In the end fighting will never go away. Emotions will boil over when drivers and teams are under intense pressure to win races and championships. NASCAR’s decision to hand down penalties to the crew members instead of drivers shows that they don’t mind drivers getting in heated altercations but expect crew members to know their place and keep the closed fist put away.

Aaron Hale is a Staff Writer for BeyondTheFlag.com on the FanSided Network. Follow us on Twitter @Beyond_The_Flag and “Like” us on Facebook.