Photo – Getty Images archive
Throughout its storied history, NASCAR has always had a driver or two that fans loved to hate. It didn’t matter if it was on or off the track or if there was extra media attention outside of the race. Controversy of any kind will find these boisterous stars were right in the middle of it.
Dale Earnhardt Sr didn’t earn the nickname ‘The Intimidator’ for no reason and Darrel Waltrip in his prime carried the nickname ‘Jaws’ just for his mouth alone. Fans have watched Kevin Harvick sprint and leap on a car then into a crowd to ‘discuss’ a situation with a fellow competitor and Tony Stewart kick a reporter’s recorder under a bus. ‘Bad Brad’ Keselowski has turned a few heads (and race cars) with his aggressive and outspoken personality. Joey Logano and Kyle Busch have each made the highlight reel more than once. Most recently together at Las Vegas which resulted in a mêlée on pit road.
So with the next generation of stars coming up to take over and carry on the sport, who is the one that is going to step out of the corporate model as the villain?
Kyle Larson had his chance at doing the ol’ bump and run on Matt Kenseth at Dover last year going for his first career victory but didn’t want to win that way. Instead he promotes getting back in touch with our ‘grass roots’ fan base and attracting new fans, especially young ones by running up to 25 races per year outside of his NASCAR schedule
“I feel like everybody needs to encourage me and others to go race at your local short track and all that because I feel like we’ve lost touch with our grassroots race fans,” says Larson. “I really think with me going back and going that stuff and Kyle Busch running Late Model races throughout the year, it really kind of gets the local fans back excited about NASCAR. I feel like the last decade or so they’ve kind of lost touch with it.”
Austin Dillon went down to run an XFINITY Series race at Phoenix early this year and made contact with rookie Cole Custer who admittedly made a mistake. Dillon retaliated by pinching Custer up into the outside wall under a caution flag. Austin Dillon, and his brother Ty Dillon have had a couple of scuffles with former Richard Childress Racing (RCR) driver Kevin Harvick, with the veteran calling them out and leaving RCR to drive for Stewart-Haas Racing.
“Exactly the reason why I’m leaving RCR,” said Harvick. “Because you’ve got those kids coming up, and they’ve got no respect for what they do in this sport and they’ve had everything fed to them with a spoon.”
Chase Elliot is the son of NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliot, a 16 time winner of NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver. The younger Elliott has been very humble in his ascension to NASCAR’s premier level while capturing the 2015 XFINITY Series championship – harder on himself than other drivers. He’s been available to the fans by hosting ‘Chase U’ college parties before select events and by those within the industry and fans alike, Elliott is often talked of as possibly the next face of the sport.
Ryan Blaney has shown some aggressiveness while in good cars with top speed and is willing to go door to door with Dale Earnhardt Jr if necessary. They’re friends off the track with Blaney renting on Earnhardt’s property. Blaney isn’t afraid to express his displeasure during interviews after a race, whether it be with another competitor, NASCAR, or his car.
Erik Jones is generally a mellow, well composed driver who flies under radar but performs on the track. He won the 2015 Camping World Trucks Series championship and just missed winning the 2016 XFINITY Series championship, both as a rookie. As the leading 2017 rookie in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup series, Jones continues to learn and do better each week while still racing and dominating in the lower series. Recently he pushed a fellow competitor out-of-the-way to win at Bristol.
Daniel Suarez represents an entire country, becoming the first Mexican born driver to win in NASCAR’s top three series. He captured the 2016 XFINITY Series championship and stepped into a premier Monster Energy NASCAR Cup ride to fill the gap when Carl Edwards suddenly retired. Learning and improving every time he gets on the track, Suarez has never been accused of any wrongdoing on or off the racing surface.
Cole Custer tangled with John Hunter Nemechek during the 2016 Camping World Truck Series race at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, then tackled the driver celebrating the win. Nemechek bumped Custer from behind then drove him off-track and into the wall. Custer, now running in the XFINITY Series is under the tutelage of ‘Smoke’ Tony Stewart who has been known to favor fiery drivers. Custer has found himself involved in back-to-back incidents – one before the Austin Dillon scenario where he ruffed up a slow car in his path.
William Byron has come full circle starting in a Dale Earnhardt Jr owned late-model, then noticed and signed by Kyle Busch Motorsports for the Camping World Truck Series. Setting a new rookie record with six wins, Byron just missed winning the series’ championship. Hand-picked, targeted and signed by Rick Hendrick for a ride with JR Motorsports XFINITY Series car, Byron is heir apparent to a top seat in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series with a reserved, corporate style image on and off the track.
Photo – Sarah Glenn/Getty Images
When the dust settles and the smoke clears, Austin Dillon appears as the one wearing the ‘Black Hat’, ironically often choosing to wear a black cowboy hat. *However, if Cole Custer continues being as rambunctious as he’s been, fans might just end up placing it on his head, so to speak.
*The perspective presented here is solely that of the author and does not represent the view of Fan4Racing Blog and Radio.