NASCAR fans upset after getting exactly what they wanted?

NASCAR fans always seem to complain about the lack of personalities in the modern era. But their tune changes when those personalities actually arrive.

Sometimes, NASCAR just can’t win with a certain percentage of its fanbase.

A common complaint in recent years is that drivers simply don’t have the personalities they once did. They have become too corporate and unwilling to do or say anything that could even slightly risk their off-track relationships with their partners and sponsors, and because of it, they have effectively become “boring”.

While this has been proven false with a number of drivers time and time again, there is still certainly a case to be made that things aren’t quite the way they used to be, and fans are quick to point that out.

However, why then do fans complain when personalities actually emerge?

This was the case last Friday night at Martinsville Speedway, when Ty Gibbs, who has quickly emerged as one of the sport’s most disliked drivers, got into a brawl in the pits with Sam Mayer following late-race contact.

Gibbs, the grandson of team owner Joe Gibbs who is known for driving everyone else the exact same way Mayer drove him, was ironically upset with Mayer for the way he raced him coming to the checkered flag as the two battled for the $100,000 Dash 4 Cash prize.

Drama ensued, and it got the fans talking.

It’s exactly the kind of thing that fans say they want, and it doesn’t happen without strong personalities.

Gibbs damaged his own #54 Toyota by slamming into the back of Mayer’s #1 Chevrolet on the cooldown lap, and he made further contact with Mayer’s car in the tight pit lane. He got out of his car and confronted Mayer, shoving him before making the move to walk away.

Mayer, who had already taken his helmet off, went to confront Gibbs to continue the discussion, and Gibbs started swinging at his head, leaving Mayer with a bloody cut on his lip as well as a bloody cut above his left eye.

The idea of taking sides is something that delivers fans the drama they crave, and that is inevitable any time there is an incident. But why are so many upset about it? Is it because of who is involved?

This certainly isn’t the first time that fans have suddenly changed their tune once this kind of drama actually unfolds right in front of their eyes — despite having only just said that the lack of personalities is damaging the sport.

Drama such as this historically has a way of putting fans in the seats and boosting ratings. While fighting obviously may not be the best way to create controversy, especially with one of the two individuals leaving his helmet on, NASCAR ultimately proved that they are going to let the drivers handle their on-track disagreements in whatever way they see fit, and if it was really a bigger issue like Twitter would have you believe, we’d have heard something about it.

So from a fan’s perspective, the best thing to do is let it run its course, let it get people talking, let it get news outlets that usually don’t talk about NASCAR talking, and see what happens.

After all, it’s better than drivers supposedly having “no personalities”, which we hear complaints about any other week, right? Isn’t this what we want?

Yes, both drivers were called to the officials’ hauler after the race for a 10-minute meeting (more than likely a formality), but the only official penalty handed out was a $15,000 fine for Gibbs.

But he wasn’t given the fine for the reason you might expect. The fine was for the contact he made with Mayer’s car in the tight pit lane. And it makes sense, considering the danger of pit lane contact when so many other individuals were standing around waiting for all the cars to come in.

So again, if it were a bigger issue, we’d have heard about it. In the meantime, fans should appreciate the fact that they’ve finally gotten what they’ve asked for instead of resenting it just because of who is involved.