Many drivers have been speaking about the lack of respect and etiquette among the current drivers in the Cup Series.
Two-time Cup champion Kyle Busch first started it. Busch called out the current drivers as selfish and said that past drivers such as Mark Martin, Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon held on to race etiquette which he says is lacking in the present time.
Likewise, Kevin Harvick also joined in the conversation and lamented that the current driver code is not the same as in the past. He also spoke of a lack of proper race etiquette among current drivers.
2022 champion Joey Logano defends stage racing amid criticism after COTA
Harvick’s Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Chase Briscoe also spoke about the topic and said that the lack of respect comes down to the lack of enforcement.
“I think it’s just gotten to where there’s no one really enforcing it. If you knew that you got into the guy, you were going to get a black eye, you probably wouldn’t run in there and do it, right? So when you lose guys like Tony Stewart and guys like that that weren’t afraid to come down there and punch you in the mouth, there’s no consequence at that point. I think there’s a lot of guys that definitely know that, and they just go in there and know there’s not going to be a consequence,” Briscoe said.
He then went on to provide a solution to create more respect in the series, by punching someone in the mouth.
“I think there are a few guys in the sport that definitely have a lot of respect. I’ve had my run-ins before but even at Bristol with Reddick, I was fully expecting to get punched in the mouth, and I was willing to accept that because I deserved it. You just don’t really see that anymore. I think if you had that, I think there’d be a lot more respect.”
Interesting as it may sound, Briscoe’s solution might create more troubles than it solves. But he is right that these things have to be enforced to make Cup Series racing better.
Stand your ground or they’ll run all over you. But don”t take off your helmet. Where’s Spencer when you need him.