NASCAR: Has ‘short track racing’ gone too far?

“Short track racing” is synonymous with the top three NASCAR series, but has this style of competition gone too far in recent years?

Throughout the 2021 NASCAR season, there have been a handful of classic “short track racing” moments spread out between all three national series. Regardless of which vehicles are put on a short track, this type of racing has produced multiple incidents.

In the spring, the race weekends at Richmond Raceway and Martinsville Speedway remained rather calm, though the dirt race at Bristol Motor Speedway may have planted the seeds of a rivalry in the Cup Series. But this event was the first Cup Series dirt race since 1970, so that wasn’t completely unexpected.

The fall race weekends at these tracks, however, tell a completely different story.

While Richmond Raceway’s races saw relatively clean racing, Bristol Motor Speedway and Martinsville Speedway didn’t follow suit. Rivalries were started, tempers flared all around, and more importantly, the essence of short track racing became apparent.

This essence was apparent in all three series throughout the fall races at these tracks.

Bristol Motor Speedway saw a Truck Series finish between Kyle Busch Motorsport teammates John Hunter Nemechek and Chandler Smith that led to accusations of Nemechek letting Smith win for playoff purposes, leaving Nemechek none too pleased.

In the Xfinity Series, Team Penske’s Austin Cindric and Kaulig Racing’s A.J. Allmendinger wrecked across the finish line for the regular season championship, with Allmendinger securing it by crossing the line first, winning the race in doing so.

Lastly, in the Cup Series, the feud between Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick and Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott began. Feuds and incidents similar to this one only picked up at Martinsville Speedway.

There were spinouts throughout all three series at “the paperclip”, and the intensity picked up during the Cup Series race when Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin interfered with Hendrick Motorsports’ Alex Bowman during his victory celebration. Bowman had unintentionally wrecked Hamlin for the lead with seven laps left.

It was a moment that didn’t reside too well with fans.

But with tempers consistently flaring and many vehicles wrecked, has short track racing gone too far?

While it’s hard to justify spinning someone out, that is the tried and true contact sport essence with which NASCAR — short track racing, in particular — has become synonymous.

Drivers are making conscious decisions every lap, and they are more than aware of the potential repercussions of each incident.

Driver etiquette isn’t universal and each driver is going to race another competitor differently. Different drivers feel that they have different priorities on the line. While some drivers are racing for points, some are racing to win — and this goes for playoff drivers and non-playoff drivers alike.

Additionally, short tracks are really the only venues where the contact aspect of NASCAR racing can be felt. While road courses may be an exception, there is a huge safety aspect involved when it comes to wrecking someone on a 1.5-mile track or a superspeedway. Short track racing may not be the cleanest, but it fuels the entertainment factor and competition that makes the sport what it is.