Teammate Crashes are Nothing New for NASCAR
Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010fanhouse.com
Filed under: Brian Vickers, Carl Edwards, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Denny Hamlin, Greg Biffle, Jamie McMurray, Jeff Gordon, Juan Pablo Montoya, Ken Schrader, Michael Waltrip, Tony Stewart, NASCAR Videos, Sprint Cup, Scott Speed
As expected, word came from Juan Pablo Montoya’s camp this week that he and teammate Jamie McMurray have settled their differences after McMurray wrecked both out of last Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Montoya said McMurray sent him an apologetic text message and Montoya accepted — coining the situation as one the drivers have to move past, autosport.com reported. Of course, it’s rare, really, that drivers — and especially teammates — fail to openly “make up” over the next week, even if both are still (and likely are) fuming over the dustup.
In the case of the Earnhardt-Ganassi teammates, this isn’t their first run-in involving spinning race cars and bent sheet metal during their NASCAR careers, and for NASCAR as a whole, it certainly wasn’t the first time — and definitely not the last — that on-track action between teammates has ended in a smoking mess.
Here’s a few of the best recent teammate vs. teammate crashes — and one that stretches back to 1995.
Race: 2005 Coca-Cola 600, Charlotte
Team: Dale Earnhardt Inc.
Drivers: Dale Earnhardt Jr. & Michael Waltrip
Scene: With 156 laps to go in NASCAR’s longest race, Waltrip & Earnhardt Jr. run 7th and 8th. Then, Earnhardt Jr. gets a run on Waltrip, clips the No. 15, and around they go.
Waltrip left DEI at the end of 2005.
Race: 2008 AMP Energy 500, Talladega
Team: Roush Fenway Racing
Drivers: Greg Biffle & Carl Edwards
Scene: With each driver trying to supplant Jimmie Johnson as the next Sprint Cup champion, a lot was on the line for a good finish at Talladega. Perhaps that contributed to Carl Edwards doing a little bit of overzealous bump drafting as the laps wound down.
The result? A big crash, and Jimmie Johnson continued to his third-straight title.
Carl Edwards Part II: Intimidation Factor
Race: 2007 Subway 500, Martinsville
Team: Roush-Fenway Racing
Drivers: Carl Edwards & Matt Kenseth
Scene: I realize that tagging someone with the word “intimidating” might have a few black No. 3 fans up in arms, but in this video — the lone video that is more focused on post-race actions than what happened on track — I can’t help but be scared of Carl Edwards and his camouflage shorts.
You can bet Matt Kenseth felt the same way.
Race: 2007 Pepsi 400, Daytona
Team: Joe Gibbs Racing
Drivers: Tony Stewart & Denny Hamlin
Scene: In what remains one of the biggest mysteries of NASCAR, Tony Stewart somehow managed to blame Denny Hamlin for this Daytona incident that wiped out both Joe Gibbs Racing drivers in the early stages of 2007 Pepsi 400.
Hamlin, the leader, get bumped by Stewart in second — sending both into the turn four wall in a crash that collected Dale Earnhardt Jr. The Daytona crowd wasn’t pleased.
Race:1995 DieHard 500, Talladega
Team: Hendrick Motorsports
Drivers: Jeff Gordon & Ken Schrader
Scene: Consider this from the way-back file, as we dig into the days of Richard Petty working as a race commentator. With about 50 to go, the non-champion version of Jeff Gordon (he won his first in 1995) gets into Ken Schrader’s No. 25 Budweiser machine, spinning the Budweiser Chevrolet around before Schrader takes a wild tumble in the backstretch grass. If you’re so inclined, the very same car is still on display at the Hendrick Motorsports museum.
Schrader’s biggest injury from the crash was a nasty black eye that he reveals in the interview at the end of the video — a NASCAR moment worth waiting for.
Race: 2009 Camping World 200, New Hampshire
Team: Team Red Bull
Drivers: Brian Vickers & Scott Speed
Scene: In one of the more unusual teammate disputes, Vickers and Speed showed that a bit of tension simmered under the surface of their Sprint Cup Series team when they had issues during a Nationwide race. Sure, this might be a stretch because they were driving for competing teams during this Nationwide race, but just hours later they were competing under the same Red Bull colors.
Me? I’m just confused as to why Vickers wasn’t mad at himself for getting loose.
Related: Vickers scores first win at teammate’s expense — Talladega 2006