#clint bowyer wrecked

[wisconsinprelawland-blog]

Sports Violence And Criminal Law

By Alex Pagel, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Class of 2021

July 25, 2020

In professional sports, it has become common to witness acts of unnecessary violence. Whether it be a football player punching an opposing player after the whistle, a racecar driver intentionally swerving into the vehicle of his competitor, or a bench clearing brawl between basketball teams, these vicious altercations are prevalent amongst professional athletes. However, despite these events being both violent and frequent, it is rare that professional athletes are legally punished for these actions. While they certainly would amount to criminal charges for the average citizen, athletes complete these actions typically without legal repercussions.  

The issue of excessive violence in sports first entered the spotlight of scrutiny in 1901. That year, 6 American football players died in university games, prompting the presidents of those universities to consider ending competitive collegiate sports contests at their respective schools. In 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt, who had previously been a competitive boxer at Harvard University, threatened to end the playing of all collegiate football if new safety measures were not taken1. Fearful of this, novel measures were adopted, and competitive college football continued to be played. However, excessive violence in sports was not limited to football and has continued to occur to this day. In 1969, NHL player Wayne Maki infamously struck an opponent over the head with his stick, fracturing his skull and causing a brain injury2. In 1973, Cincinnati Bengal player Charles Clark punched a Denver Bronco player in the back of his head when he wasn’t looking. In 1993, Texas Rangers’ pitcher Nolan Ryan placed a Chicago White Sox player in a headlock and hit him over the head repeatedly after the player stormed the mound following Ryan hitting him with a pitch3. As happened in this last occasion, violence between individual players often inspires brawls between entire teams where the physical violence increases and more players get injured. The aforementioned occurrences are only a few of many, but demonstrate the presence of excessive violence across multiple sports which takes place in a variety of different ways. 

In light of these vicious happenings, more proposals were made to make excessively violent actions in sports a violation of criminal law. The Sports Violence Act of 1980 sought to amend federal law to establish a penalty of up to a year in prison and/or a $5,000 fine for any professional sports player who knowingly used excessive physical force and caused a risk of significant bodily injury to another athlete4. A second proposal, the Sports Violence Arbitration Act of 1983, would’ve required each professional sports league to create an arbitration system for the arbitration of situations involving excessively violent conduct which would also permit grievances to be handled in U.S. District Courts5. Unfortunately, neither bill was passed into law, leaving the power to punish athletes for their excessively violent actions unremoved from the professional leagues themselves.  

Perhaps the largest reason why these bills did not pass and why it is difficult to charge athletes for excessively violent actions in sport is that professional athletes are assumed to consent to physical contact that may take place in their sport. The idea of assumed consent was well explained by a California court which stated that the “boxer who steps into the ring consents to his opponent’s jabs; the football player … consents to [the] hard tackle; the hockey goalie … consents to face his opponent’s slapshots; and … the baseball player … consents to the possibility the opposing pitcher may throw near or at him”6. This assumed consent makes charging an athlete with battery for their excessively violent actions very difficult. While the definitions of battery vary in many jurisdictions, it's common for these different definitions to require the victim of battery to have been subject to harmful or offensive touching by another without consent7. As it is understood that athlete's automatically consent to physical altercation in playing sports, it is very difficult to bring such charges upon them.  

In addition to the difficulties of charging athletes with battery, there are numerous other hurdles in convicting these professionals. Defendants can make the argument, as was made by Charles Clark’s defense in Hackbart v. Cincinnati Bengals, that there is an assumption of risk made by all players that they may be subject to injury from the inherent risks of their game. Defendants have also claimed that their vicious actions are a result of an involuntary reflex, which would thus not meet the intention of wrongdoing required by mens rea, a standard which must be met by many criminal charges. This defense is supported by the idea that the heat of the game and the actions that result from it are sometimes uncontrolled by athletes and happen entirely out of spite. A last difficulty in charging these athletes is proving they did not act violently out of self-defense. Many courts have ruled that a person who is assaulted may respond to that assault with force if it will protect a victim from injury and the apparent danger is still present8. While each of these defense claims alone can make charging athletes difficult, when used together, a conviction may be even more strenuous to produce.

As a result of these difficulties to convict and the distribution of punishment by individual leagues rather than criminal law, many athletes have been handed small fines and suspensions in lieu of incarceration sentences. After hitting an opposing player in the head with his helmet, Cleveland Browns player Myles Garret was suspended for just the remainder of the season (6 games), which was the longest punishment in NFL history for an in-game penalty9. After intentionally hitting Clint Bowyer’s car with his own and causing a multiple car wreck in a 2012 NASCAR race, Jeff Gordon was handed just a $100,000 fine and was placed on league probation until the end of the year10. In a 2018 FIBA World Cup qualifier between the Philippines and Australia, which involved a bench-clearing brawl between the teams, 13 players and 2 coaches received suspensions from play for unsportsmanlike behavior. Despite this, and some fines being given to both teams, the longest suspension given to any player was a brief 6 games11. Had the violent, life threatening actions of these teams and individuals been conducted by non-athlete citizens outside of a sporting event, it’s hard to imagine they wouldn’t have resulted in criminal charges with lengthy incarceration sentences.  

Although professional sports have made significant progress since the early 1900’s in recognizing the violence they entail, the punishments for many of the excessively violent actions they give birth to still do not receive adequate punishment. The failure of congress to pass legislation making excessive violence in sport illegal, combined with the difficulties that assumed consent, assumption of risk, involuntary reflex and self-defense create in charging athletes for their actions, has made it very burdensome for prosecutors to convict excessively violent players with battery and other legal infractions. Followed by the generally minor fines and suspensions given to players by professional sports leagues following these instances, a discrepancy has been created between how pro athletes and average citizens are punished for what would be equally criminal actions. While hitting others in the head with heavy objects, getting into fist fights, and intentionally crashing one’s vehicle into another’s would place most people in a jail cell, these actions are followed by much weaker punishments for professional athletes.  

________________________________________________________________

[1] US Legal, Inc. (n.d.). Sports Violence . Retrieved June 7, 2020, from https://sportslaw.uslegal.com/sports-violence/ 

[2] The Hockey History Blog. (2013, January 14). Wayne Maki And The Terrible Stick Swinging Incident. Retrieved from http://www.greatesthockeylegends.com/2013/01/wayne-maki-and-terrible-stick-swinging.html 

[3] Cucchiara, D. A. (2013, May 12). The 10 Most Vicious Brawls in Major League Baseball History. Retrieved from https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1644916-the-10-most-vicious-brawls-in-major-league-baseball-history 

[4] Congress.gov. (n.d.). H.R.7903 - 96th Congress (1979-1980): Sports Violence Act of 1980. Retrieved June 7, 2020, from https://www.congress.gov/bill/96th-congress/house-bill/7903?s=1&r=4 

[5] Congress.gov. (n.d.). H.R.4495 - 98th Congress (1983-1984): Sports Violence Arbitration Act of 1983. Retrieved June 7, 2020, from https://www.congress.gov/bill/98th-congress/house-bill/4495 

[6] NBC News. (2018, October 22). Why athletes generally don’t face criminal charges for on-court fights. Retrieved from https://www.nbcnews.com/news/sports/why-athletes-generally-don-t-face-criminal-charges-court-fights-n922866 

[7] FindLaw. (2019, June 25). Assault and Battery Overview. Retrieved from https://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-charges/assault-and-battery-overview.html#:~:text=Although%20the%20statutes%20defining%20battery,intentional%20touching%3B&text=no%20consent%20from%20the%20victim. 

[8] Horrow, R. (1982). Violence in Professional Sports: Is It Part of the Game. Journal of Legislation, 9(1), 1–16. Retrieved from https://scholarship.law.nd.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1506&context=jleg 

[9] Eltringham, M. (2019, November 30). The Most Severe NFL Punishment Before Myles Garrett. Retrieved from https://www.sportscasting.com/the-most-severe-nfl-punishment-before-myles-garrett/ 

[10] Montedonico, B. (2012, November 12). Jeff Gordon Hit with Weak Penalty After Run-in with Clint Bowyer at Phoenix. Retrieved from https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1406701-jeff-gordon-hit-with-weak-penalty-after-run-in-with-clint-bowyer-at-phoenix 

[11] ABC/APP News. (2018, July 19). Three Boomers suspended for Philippines “basket-brawl”, Basketball Australia fined. Retrieved from https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-07-19/fiba-decision-on-boomers-basketbrawl-with-philippines/10008246 

Photo Credit: SteelCityHobbies

[mystlnewsonline]

AVONDALE, Ariz. | The Latest: Bowyer and Busch have problems at Phoenix

AVONDALE, Ariz. | The Latest: Bowyer and Busch have problems at Phoenix

AVONDALE, Ariz.  — The Latest on NASCAR’s elimination race at ISM Raceway outside of Phoenix (all times local): 1:55 p.m.

Stewart-Haas Racing had a disastrous sequence that cost two of its drivers a shot at the championship. Clint Bowyer wrecked during the second stage of Sunday’s race at ISM Raceway. During the caution period for Bowyer’s accident, leader Kurt Busch passed the pace car and was…

[whipplefilter]

My Top 15 Fave Moments from the 2018 NASCAR Cup Season

Ricky Rampage at Daytona and Talladega and everywhere in between

Harvick wrecking himself against KL at Fontana lol

that one time Denny Hamlin sped on pit row, and then immediately sped during his PASS THROUGH PENALTY

Kyle Larson running out a 6-second lead at Bristol MULTIPLE times over the course of two days, only to continually lose it to cautions and rain delays

Kyle Larson diving across Ryan Newman’s nose for no intelligent reason, spinning himself out, sliding over the start-finish line backwards, NEVER LIFTING, SAVING IT, and running back up to the front at Bristol

Kyle Larson losing Bristol to Kyle Busch after a late-race bump-and-run

Clint Bowyer ending his 100-something race losing streak with his win at Martinsville

Furniture Row’s GIANT SAW

Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson duking it out in the closing laps of Chicagoland, and Kyle Larson losing the race to Kyle Busch after yet another late-race bump-and-run

Chase Elliott’s first career Cup win at Watkins Glen

Kyle Busch’s garbage fire white M&Ms car and its wild Richmond actually I dunno what race this was comeback

that absurd Vegas playoffs race where every driver in the Round of 16 died except for Brad, the black magic forest druid cursing them all

Almirola’s first win at SHR and “BACON FOR LIFE!!!!!!”

MTJ and Jimmie Johnson duking it out in the last 300 yards of the Roval

Kyle Larson’s Clover car and limping its crumpled body into the Round of 12 past a stalled Jeff Earnhardt

What are yours, fam??? :D

[darkvitas]

“Watch out, big wreck - big wreck, big wreck, big wre-” “AAAAH!” “You alright?” “NOOOOO!” “Hey, are you-” “NOT CLINT BOWYER!” “Are you caught up in it?!” “I DON’T KNOW!” “... Keep going! You’re fine!” “Agh, geez! Demolition derby!” “There’s a chance you could’ve got in that wreck, and you’re worried about Bowyer?!” “I LIKE BOWYER, OKAY?!” “You’re not even on the same team!”

[purrrcedes]

☕️ matt kenseth deserved his suspension for martinsville

hdfhdsfdsf not to be a weenie with weak stances on my opinions but I only disagree to an extent

I’m probably going to feel conflicted about that incident for the rest of my life. I won’t pretend that I don’t wholeheartedly enjoy the drama for the drama (come at me for that if u want, I HAVE NO SHAME) but purposefully putting anyone in the wall like Matt did is kinda fucked up regardless of the reason.

HOWEVER the two race suspension was a questionable call. Danica took someone out on purpose during THE EXACT SAME RACE and I believe she only got parked for it. A few weeks before Martinsville, Kevin Harvick decided to casually take out half the field to keep himself in the Chase–no suspension or penalty at all (everyone forgot it even happened after the Kenseth/Logano thing happened. THE 2015 CHASE WAS A MESS). Jeff Gordon drove Clint Bowyer into the wall at Phoenix in 2012–fined but no suspension. Carl Edwards ran through Brad K at Atlanta and flipped him in 2010–no suspension. NASCAR was all about the “have at it boys!” mentality and then Matt and Joey happened and all of a sudden it was like “hmmmm wait!!! not like that!!” The two race suspension was unprecedented and I don’t really understand why NASCAR chose that specific altercation to drop the hammer all of a sudden but they’ve always been inconsistent like that so what can u do!

So anyway to sum it up, a weak disagree but only bc nobody else had ever faced such a punishment for doing similar things before. If a 2 race suspension had been the norm for intentionally wrecking ppl, I would agree. But also…….I guess someone had to be the example. So now the bar has been set and it should be upheld and If they don’t suspend the next guy to do the same thing, I’ll be peeved lol

[305tuser]

Jeff Gordon Was Viciously Attacked by Clint Bowyer’s Pit Crew After the ‘Rainbow Warrior’ Purposely Wrecked His ‘NASCAR on Fox’ Broadcast Partner

[jeffreyhweiss]

Fox Sports Taps iRacing To Fill NASCAR Void; Real-World Drivers To Face Off in Virtual World

Fox Sports, NASCAR, and iRacing are giving NASCAR icon Dale Earnhardt Jr. a chance to race once again on FS1 (as well as the Fox Sports app). Earnhardt and a number of other legends will jump into virtual cars to race on a virtual version of the Homestead-Miami Speedway. And the competition will help feed the real hunger of sports fans longing for live competition on TV in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

For iRacing President Steve Myers, a company that has been around for 16 years has an opportunity to deploy its PC racing-simulation software to make a difference, beginning at 1:30 p.m. ET on Sunday.

“We’ve been working really hard to be in this position,” he says, “so that we can step in and provide not only NASCAR fans but also drivers a sense of normalcy.”

The deal came about after Fox Sports NASCAR analyst Jeff Gordon called Earnhardt, who has been a great friend to iRacing over the year, to try to connect Myers with Fox Sports CEO/Executive Producer Eric Shanks to discuss the possibility of getting iRacing onto big-time TV.

“We sketched out an idea, and they loved it right away,” says Myers. “Dale has been a big advocate, and I can go on and on about how he has helped us. And now the entire industry has bought into this: we actually had to change the format to have two heats because we had too many drivers and we wanted only 35 cars on the track.”

iRacing is well-versed in production of a broadcast-quality virtual show, having streamed Tuesday night racing for 11 years. In such competitions as the NASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series, 40 of the best simulation racers compete for $300,000 over 20 races, including $100,000 for the season points winner. The Tuesday-night race this year averaged 280,000 live views this week vs. 248,000 last year.

The iRacing headquarters facility in Chelmsford, MA, features a new $200,000 control room built in November and houses all the racing computers, a production switcher, and other gear.

“We hired people from the broadcast world like producers and have others [serve as] camera [operators] and spotters,” says Myers. “We can connect and do everything remotely, but we host all of the stuff ourselves, create the website and software, and have our own servers and database.”

On Sunday, all the drivers will compete from their homes, and all that is required is a typical videogame racing system that can be picked up at Best Buy (although some pros do have full racing cockpits with wraparound screens; others wear VR goggles). iRacing has laser-scanned all the racetracks to make sure all the bumps are accounted for (as well as light poles and other features).

The most unusual aspect of the race on Sunday is that it will feature real drivers competing in a simulation that can make use of some of their skills but not all of them.

“Some are going to be doing this for the first time this week,” Myers notes. “Those guys will be fun to watch as they will realize there is a reason guys in the esports series get $100,000: it’s a hard skill to master. And the first-timers will struggle at first because they have to get used to racing without all of their senses. But, if they treat it with the same patience they do racing in the real world, they will be fine.”

Fox NASCAR broadcasters Jeff Gordon, Mike Joy, and Larry McReynolds will call the action from the iRacing virtual Homestead-Miami Speedway. Clint Bowyer, who expanded his role with Fox Sports earlier this year, will serve as in-car analyst, competing in an iRacing simulator in the Fox NASCAR Charlotte, NC, studio.

“The race production is done at our headquarters,” Myers explains, “and then the signal is sent to Fox in the same way a signal leaves from a production truck at a regular event. Fox will add in the talent while we do all the cameras and graphics.”

The race is expected to last around 90 minutes, depending on things like crashes and wrecks. Race control will determine how wrecks that occur at the back of the pack affect race stoppages.

Myers says that, regardless of whether or not iRacing is on TV, he and the team will be offering NASCAR racing every Sunday until real-world racing returns.

Says Brad Zager, executive producer/EVP/head of production and operations, Fox Sports, “This is a unique opportunity to offer competitive and entertaining racing to our viewers as we all work through these challenging times together.”

Adds Myers, “We are establishing a trustworthy relationship with Fox Sports, and, if we do a good job, there are some opportunities down the road.”

Of course, it wouldn’t be a sports event this weekend without some extra precautions. It has taken the world about a week to understand the importance of following CDC guidelines.

Zager says the well-being of all involved is paramount: “We are following CDC guidelines to maintain a safe work environment, as the well-being of all those involved is paramount. We value our relationships across the NASCAR community and appreciate all of the effort that it took in bringing this project to life.”

Myers notes that the iRacing office is down to essential personnel only and that cleanliness guidelines are being followed. The only wrinkle in plans for the rest of the season would be if the government prevents essential personnel from getting to the office.

Besides Earnhardt and Bowyer, who is 2008 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion, the competitors will include NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Bobby Labonte, two-time and defending NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch, 2012 NASCAR Cup Series champion Brad Keselowski, 2018 NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano, three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin, 2016 NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year Chase Elliott, 2014 NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year Kyle Larson, and 2017 NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series champion Christopher Bell.

#nascar #racing #daytona #nascarracing #nascardiecast #racecar #f #motorsport #ford #diecast #motorsports #cars #nascarcupseries #chevy #monsterenergy #nascarplayoffs #chaseelliott #nascarheat #indycar #nascaronnbc #toyota #nascarfan #kylebusch #race #iracing #stockcar #nascardriver #lionelracing #nascarauthentics #bhfyp #iraceing #foxsports #$100,000 #esports #gaming #Esportscircus #theringmaster #cutybuilder #towerdefence #gaming #overwatch #activision #blizzard #gamedev #gameindustry #videogames #gameindustry #callofduty #arcade #mobilegames #indiegames #indiedev #indiegamedev #madewithunity

[perksofwifi]

NASCAR Driver Rage Quits Virtual Race, Real Sponsor Tosses Him for Quitting

With sports at a standstill along with the rest of the world, NASCAR has found a way to keep the action going through this essentially canceled season by pitting its field of drivers against one another digitally, in iRacing, and broadcasting the virtual races. Drivers, from rigs set up in their homes, duke it out every week just like they would have absent a pandemic, albeit virtually. Still, it’s tough and very competitive racing, almost enough so to convince you it’s real (NASCAR even has its normal announcers calling the races!). But driver Bubba Wallace reminded us all that isn’t the case this past weekend.

After sparring with Clint Bowyer around a digitized Bristol circuit, Wallace (who in real life wheels the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Camaro) tried taking a high line up near the wall—just as Bowyer’s car was moving for essentially the same position. The drivers’ digital rides clipped, sending Wallace’s lightly into the wall. Bowyer’s car spins, resulting in an impact with another car that then sends Bowyer back into Wallace’s ride, harder, and crashing him out.

Bubba wasn’t having any of it, and proceeded to behave much like any of us have surely behaved when seemingly wronged in a video game: With an angry tantrum. After yelling, “C’mon, Clint! God!” he calmed down and said, “Y’all have a good one” and began packing up his rig. (It should be mentioned that it seems the crash was Bowyer’s fault—and intentional—just watch the clip above.) By the time Bubba’s race car rematerialized on pit lane—something, we should remind you, that doesn’t happen in real life after a big wreck—Wallace declared, “That’s it, that’s why I don’t take this shit serious” and promptly quit the game with a loud “peace!”

We’ve all been there. Controllers have been thrown or blamed outright for in-game performance issues. Faces redden. And sometimes, well, you gotta storm out of the room to cool your head. Trouble for Wallace is, while this was a digital race, he was being sponsored in a very real way by Blue-Emu, “America’s Number One Emu Oil Formula,” and the company didn’t take kindly to his cop out. After Wallace responded, well, poorly to social-media criticism of his “rage-quitting” the race, Blue-Emu tweeted at him that it would drop his sponsorship.

GTK where you stand. Bye bye Bubba. We're interested in drivers, not quitters.

— Blue-Emu (@BlueEmu1) April 5, 2020

We can’t say we’ve ever lost financial backing for chucking a video-game controller across the room, but then again, this entire episode goes to show just how realistic NASCAR’s clever iRacing digital racing setup is. With the crew chiefs in their drivers’ ears, Jeff Gordon and Mike Joy on the headsets calling the races, and very real sponsorships all part of the experience, all that’s missing are the racetracks’ grandstands and throngs of heartland Americans guzzling cheap beer. Well, viewers can still do that last bit at home while watching NASCAR’s live broadcasts of the virtual races or their favorite drivers’ Twitch streams.

And if you’re hungry for more NASCAR action, tune into the show NASCAR All In: Battle for Daytona via the MotorTrend On Demand app (which is currently being offered for the low, low price of $1 a month!) and look back at what actual NASCAR racing was like.

The post NASCAR Driver Rage Quits Virtual Race, Real Sponsor Tosses Him for Quitting appeared first on MotorTrend.

https://www.motortrend.com/news/bubba-wallace-nascar-rage-quit-iracing-bristol/ visto antes em https://www.motortrend.com

[junker-town]

Bubba Wallace rage-quit a virtual NASCAR race, then his sponsor dropped him

Turns out virtual wrecks infuriate NASCAR drivers just as much as real-life wrecks.

NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace rage quit a virtual race on Sunday, offering a hearty “PEACE OUUUUUUUUUUUT” upon his exit from the server.

Bubba had enough “peace out” @BubbaWallace pic.twitter.com/XFKuwy4n4r

— Belly Up Racing (@bellyupracing) April 5, 2020

But Wallace wasn’t just having some fun on Twitch. He was competing in a serious race, and might have cost himself a little money by exiting early.

Most sports leagues have been limited to making content out of old games during the Covid-19 pandemic, but NASCAR has been able to take things a step further with iRacing. Some current and former drivers with home simulator setups are competing in the eNASCAR Pro Invitational series, with races airing on FOX Sports and the network’s NASCAR commentators calling races.

Sunday’s race on the virtual version of Bristol Motor Speedway featured as much aggressive, contact-filled driving as the real thing. And from the broadcast camera angles, the wreck that caused Wallace to log off looked very much to be Clint Bowyer’s fault.

"C'MON, @BubbaWallace!"- @ClintBowyer pic.twitter.com/Zqne4HIPa5

— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) April 5, 2020

One of Wallace’s sponsors doesn’t seem to care, though. Notice the “BLUE-EMU” overlay on Wallace’s screen? It’s a company that makes pain relief products, and it told Wallace that it was terminating his sponsorship over Twitter.

GTK where you stand. Bye bye Bubba. We're interested in drivers, not quitters.

— Blue-Emu (@BlueEmu1) April 5, 2020

BLUE-EMU sponsored Wallace’s team in actual NASCAR as well, but is going to be dropping its sponsorship of his team altogether, in both physical and virtual racing. Apparently it’s not just a video game!

FOX is airing the eNASCAR Pro Invitational every week until regular NASCAR returns, so you can see this rivalry continue in the iRacing server for the foreseeable future ... assuming Wallace logs back on.

[mrnewsfeed]

Justin Haley yes, Justin Haley wins rain-edited Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona

Well, this was a bizarre NASCAR finish. Justin Haley was 27th subsequent to Austin Dillon and Clint Bowyer spurred a 17-car wreck though government 1-2 during the rain-delayed Coke Zero Sugar 400 upon Sunday. And thanks to some lightning and some thunderstorms, Haley wound going on as the winner of the race despite no more green flag laps getting manage after the wreck. Justin Haley was 27th when Clint Bowyer spurred a 17-car crash while running 1-2 during the rain-delayed Coke Zero Sugar 400 on Sunday. And thanks to some Kurt Busch was in first after the crash. When NASCAR said the race would go green in one more lap after the caution for the crash, Busch and others behind him in the running order pitted to make sure they could make it to the end of the race in 34 laps as rain was near Daytona International Speedway." type="text"> Read the full article

[motorsporthq]

Bowyer angry with Jones block: “I should have just wrecked him” Coming to the white flag, Clint Bowyer had a strong run on the outside but found his way blocked by Erik Jones.

[ultrasportsmedia]

Clint Bowyer leads final Cup practice, Kyle Busch wrecks Bowyer, who was fastest in Friday’s practice and was fastest in two of three rounds of qualifying, led the way Saturday with an average lap speed of 179.104 mph.

[cats-cradle56]

Thanks! I’m reminded about the squabble berween Jeff Gordon and Clint Bowyer back in 2012 (Phoenix). Gordon wrecked Bowyer, but also took out two other racers, including Logano, as collateral damage. As you mentioned above, Logano was probably too low in the pecking order to confront Gordon, but he did use Twitter to complain about the incident.

l’ve been watching NASCAR on Youtube and have noticed how the tempers flare when there is “contact” between cars, especially if a crash results. What would happen if Storm, while focused on Ramirez, caused a multi-car wreck? Cruz escapes without a scratch. Would the damaged racers or their teams like to have a little “chat” with Jackson afterwards? XD. Thanks!

I think they surely would! Though there’s something of a pecking order in the Piston Cup, as in NASCAR no one is above a little good old post-race heat. How the teams involved react, however, largely depends on their read of the incident, their personal ethos, and their relationship with Storm.

Some teams don’t see Storm as being at fault; hard racing is hard racing. And if you noticed two racers getting into it and didn’t adjust your flight path–well. That’s your fault, isn’t it? And wrecking is racing. These teams don’t really approach Storm directly but they might passive-aggressively weigh in on Twitter, low-key in Storm’s favor. Not because of their relationship with Storm or Cruz or anything but because of what they believe the sport to be, and what they believe hard racing means. Some of them will probably see other racers who are more upset about the incident as whiners.

Some racers will yell about it over their team radio–something to the effect of Storm acting like the track his his personal playground and his dumb pettinesses getting in the way of real racing–but won’t actually approach Storm or really expect and direct contact from Storm. They know they don’t rank.

Still others would expect Storm to come and apologize about the wreck, or at least explain what went down and how it snowballed into chaos.

And you know what? Storm does actually text some of them after the race and everyone’s on their way home to Charlotte. But he doesn’t text everyone. That’s how you know who Storm thinks is worth it. XP

[worldnewsalert]

Bubba Wallace was wrecked out of the qualifying race for NASCAR’s annual All-Star event, ruining his shot of racing for the $1 million prize. One driver advanced into the All-Star race through a fan vote and Wallace had been leading when results were last updated by NASCAR a week ago. Clint Bowyer was named winner of the fan vote and NASCAR said he received the most votes even with Wallace eliminated.

from Nascar Racing News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos https://ift.tt/391P26i

[junker-town]

Denny Hamlin wins Daytona 500 after 3 major crashes in final laps

The ending of the Daytona 500 was a wild one, with a massive 18-car crash at the front of the pack setting up a sprint at the end,

The NASCAR Cup Series is officially underway, and the first big victory of the season goes to Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing, who managed first place in the Daytona 500 on Sunday.

The race was thrown for a loop when a massive 18-car wreck happened with nine laps to go, drawing a red flag and prompting a sprint to the finish wish a severely weakened field. That massive wreck was followed by a smaller wreck shortly after the race resumed with 7 remaining laps.

That made it, essentially, a 2-lap sprint. And once they got going again ... they crashed again, sending it into a 2-lap overtime. There were two Toyotas, two Fords and two Chevrolets in that order when the final restart happened. Hamlin managed to get past Kyle Busch right away, and then Joey Logano shot up past Busch as well, into second behind Hamlin. Hamlin would go on to hold on to the lead.

William Byron had pole position for the race, his first at the Daytona 500. His Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Alex Bowman, qualified in second. Between them, there were just there Daytona 500 starts, but in the rows behind, well-known veterans like Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., and Clint Bowyer loomed.

Before the race, as the drivers were taking a formation lap around the track, Byron told the FOX broadcast team over the radio that he wasn’t worried about what anybody behind him thinks. After the first round of pit stops, he’d fallen down to around fifth on the grid, but was holding his own.

The first caution came when LaJoie lost some bodywork after cutting his right-front tire. The second came when Kurt Busch and Bubba Wallace were involved in a crash jut out of Turn 2.

After the first stage, Kyle Busch held the lead, ahead of Bowman and Logano on the outside. Byron was down to 13th after the first 60 laps. Logano got the lead at the start of stage two, and was battling back and forth with Daniel Suarez after Busch dropped back.

Throughout the race, the Toyota and Chevy cars were generally faster than the Fords. Byron made his way back up to fourth, with Bowman in third behind Kyle Busch Matt DiBenedetto halfway through the second stage. The third caution came out when Casey Mears and Parker Kligerman connected with 13 laps to go in Stage 2.

After some more pit stops, the second stage ended with Ryan Blaney on top, but the usual suspects around him. Byron had the lead back at the start of the third stage, and the 80-lap race was on. Byron was immediately scrapping with Jimmie Johnson, Stenhouse and Kevin Harvick.

Another caution occurred when Cody Ware and BJ McLeod wrecked going into the pit lane, and that collected some others, including Tyler Reddick, Johnson and Stenhouse. It was a messy, messy incident and it also caused the pit lane to be closed.

That is not ideal for Jimmie Johnson. pic.twitter.com/9nzmFUvF46

— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 17, 2019

After that dustup, Denny Hamlin had the lead, followed by Bowman and Kyle Bush. Bowman had been hovering around the 13 range for much of the race, but he picked his moments well. At that time, Byron was running in sixth. Another caution followed as Kyle Larson made contact with the outside wall, prompting Byron and others to pit with 18 laps to go.

With 15 to go the top was Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Bowyer, DiBenedetto and McDowell. The ninth caution of the day came when the veteran, Brad Keselowski, spun out and seemed to suffer a mechanical failure. And shortly after that, we had a massive wreck!

A total of 18 cars were involved, including all of Austin Dillon, Ryan Newman, Daniel Hemric, Chase Elliott, Aric Almirola, Ryan Blaney, Ty Dillon, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Martin Treux Jr., Erik Jones, Paul Menard, Tyler Reddick, Matt Tifft, Chris Buescher, David Ragan, Daniel Suarez, Kyle Larson, Jimmie Johnson, and Matt DiBenedetto.

The Big One strikes in the closing laps at @DISupdates.#DAYTONA500 pic.twitter.com/wBHo7EH6Ok

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) February 17, 2019

The red flag came out, and the top five was Kyle Busch, Hamlin, Bowyer, McDowell and Harvick. Those guys just missed the wreck, which began at the start of the pack on the outside wall. When they got going again, there was another wreck almost immediately. Larson, Stenhouse, Harvick, Elliott, Bowman, Keselowski and Ty Dillon were all involved in it.

[generoussheepblaze]

Wallace quit the race in a huff after an early wreck with Clint Bowyer from CBSSports.com Headlines https://ift.tt/3bWBwRs https://ift.tt/eA8V8J