If you watched today's Rockingham Truck Series race, you saw Ron Hornaday, Jr. use an old fashioned Dale Earnhardt hook on young Bubba Wallace's truck "after" the caution had flown for a different incident.
Bubba had driven Ron high earlier trying to prevent a pass. Postrace Hornaday declared what he'd done stupid.
Ironically, he was driving the #54 Kyle Busch owned truck. It was Kyle who pulled pretty much the same stunt on Hornaday a couple of years back at Texas earning a NASCAR suspension.
Any speculation on how NASCAR will handle today's incident?
Congrats to young Kyle Larson for his win. What a great restart to hold off Logano at the end.
I'm sure our members who made it to the Rock in person saw a great event if what I saw on television was a good sample.
-- "Any Day is Good for Stock Car Racing" updated by @dave-fulton: 12/05/16 04:04:08PM
I am just a little lost in the "Bubba" Wallace matter. Is he not the same guy who was Darrell Wallace, Jr. at all the previous races and is now "Bubba" Wallace? What did I miss here? Was he being tagged as "D.W., Jr." and didn't like that or is he trying for "good old boy" status? I'm serious. Just don't know how I missed all that.
On the race, it was a really good race. That Larson kid is the real deal for sure. I do have a question in how he won the 11th NASCAR race he was in, and almost won the Bristol Nationwide race over Kyle Busch, yet a certain driver in NASCAR gets such accolades for a 12th place finish at Martinsville. Why is that? No one has to answer, I know the answer and that is just a part of what I consider so unfair in that situation. I hope Kyle Larson gets the marketing folks behind him like the other driver and then he'll be getting more coverage. After all, he WINS races.
-- What a change! It's been awhile since I've checked in and I'm quite surprised. It may take me awhile to figure it our but first look it's really great.
A couple of my Schaefer Hall of Fame brethren made a commitment in the off season to attend - and they did. They extended the offer to me too. But for only a truck race, I couldn't burn the marital capital here in Tennessee for a multi-day trip.
They texted to say they had a great time. They also crossed paths with Andy Hillenberg who shook their hands and genuinely thanked them for attending. Here are a few photos they sent me.
and a special treat was seeing the restored #72 L.G. DeWitt Chevy driven by Benny Parsons back in 1973.
It looked a whole lot better than it did when Benny pulled a rabbit out a hat and somehow held on to win the championship in '73 driving THIS.
Bubba was a class act in the post-race interview after getting deliberately taken out by Hornaday. He raced Ron hard and took him up a lane. But he didn't fence him. Hornaday didn't like being raced that way and punted Wallace under the caution.
Twitter went crazy saying Ron should be parked like NASCAR did Kyle Busch at Texas a couple of years ago. But with the wreck happening only 2-3 laps from the end, NASCAR chose to put Hornaday at the end of the longest line vs. parking him.
I get why folks say NASCAR was inconsistent. But hey, this just in. IT AIN'T THE FIRST TIME - AND IT WON'T BE THE LAST.
Hornaday was clearly in the wrong. But his post-race interview cracked me up anyway. Wallace's interview was smooth and even included a plug for Coke and a swig. Ron played the doofus saying he felt like an idiot for taking him out. But then he blamed Wallace for perhaps brake checking in an unemotional yet direct way. Was completely a veteran interview. He did what he wanted to do on the track and left it there. Gave nothing to Speed pit reporter - and didn't "battle" it out on Twitter. He was wrong - but his interview was so right and old school.
Darrell Wallace, Jr. has been "Bubba" right along, including last year when he won at Greenville-Pickens. I first became aware of him last April (2012) watching how well he handled himself at the 2 Thursday night Richmond races - first in the K&N Pro Series and later the same night in the Denny Hamlin Short Track Shootout.
So far, everything I have seen about Bubba Wallace exudes "class."
He's a great addition to such racing Bubbbas as Bubba Markham, Bubba Tatum, and Bubba Nissen.
Might be a fun exercise to see how many racing Bubbas, both past and present, we might name.
No doubt Kyle Larson is quite a driving talent. He rubbed a lot of folks the wrong way, though, when he took out C.E. Falk at Daytona with a much scrutinized bump on the last lap of the Short Track Championship.
2012 Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet 150
NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race number 2 of 14 March 31, 2012 at Greenville-Pickens Speedway, Greenville, SC 150 laps on a .500 mile paved track (75.0 miles)
Fin St # Driver Sponsor / Owner Car Laps Money Status Led 1 1 18 Darrell Wallace, Jr . Coca-Cola / Toyota (J.D. Gibbs) Toyota 150 running 149 2 9 07 Corey LaJoie Richard Petty Driving Exp. / Sims Metal Mgmt. (Randy LaJoie) Ford 150 running 0 3 16 46 Brandon Gdovic Aquis Communications / ComServe (Rick Gdovic) Toyota 150 running 0 4 21 11 Brett Moffitt Kobe Toyopet (Shigeaki Hattori) Toyota 150 running 1 5 8 71 Eddie MacDonald Grimm Construction (Rob Grimm) Chevrolet 150 running 0 6 10 9 Chase Elliott Aaron's / HendrickCars.com (Bill Elliott) Chevrolet 150 running 0 7 29 20 Dylan Kwasniewski Rockstar / Royal Purple (Steve DeSouza) Toyota 150 running 0 8 25 26 Dylan Presnell American Mountain Rentals / Amtrol (Joe Coulter) Chevrolet 150 running 0 9 14 96 Ben Kennedy MAC Tools (Robert Johnson) Chevrolet 150 running 0 10 5 14 Daniel Suarez Telcel / Finsa / Roca Acero (Geraldo Rodrigues) Toyota 150 running 0 11 7 4 Bryan Ortiz Toyota Racing Development (Max Siegel) Toyota 150 running 0 12 12 37 Chad Finchum Texas Roadhouse / Spraker Racing (Jeff Spraker) Toyota 150 running 0 13 11 2 Ryan Gifford Universal Technical Institute / NTI (Max Siegel) Toyota 149 running 0 14 20 22 Sam Hunt Oakley / Bruster's Ice Cream (Rick Gdovic) Dodge 149 running 0 15 26 39 C.J. Faison Generation Rescue (Ronald Faison) Chevrolet 149 running 0 16 28 50 Jacob Wallace El Toro Loco (Tracy Wallace) Chevrolet 149 running 0 17 2 6 Kyle Larson Rev Racing (Max Siegel) Toyota 148 running 0 18 24 49 Scott Saunders Inox Supreme Lube / Standout Wraps (Jennifer McDonald) Dodge 148 running 0 19 4 15 Carlos Iaconelli Bienvenidos a NASCAR / Mayor Cars (Geraldo Rodrigues) Toyota 148 running 0 20 3 99 Travis Pastrana Nitro Circus The Movie 3D (Michael Waltrip) Toyota 148 running 0 21 19 32 Dale Quarterley Van Dyk Baler (Dale Quarterley) Chevrolet 147 running 0 22 23 31 Jimmy Weller Integrated Metal Products (Jim Weller, Jr.) Toyota 147 running 0 23 27 80 Blake Jones Teddy Jones Racing (Teddy Jones) Chevrolet 146 running 0 24 13 62 Andrew Smith Octane / SavannahPawn.com (Edwin Smith) Chevrolet 146 running 0 25 15 8 Jorge Arteaga Rev Racing (Max Siegel) Toyota 145 running 0 26 17 98 Chad Boat Curb Records / Celebrity Fight Night (Mike Curb) Chevrolet 141 running 0 27 6 16 Duarte Ferreira LS Sports / Sonangol (Geraldo Rodrigues) Toyota 127 running 0 28 18 47 Cale Conley PMC / Health Bridge Imaging (Yale Conley) Toyota 48 electrical 0 29 22 1 Sergio Pena JMS / Goodyear (Shigeaki Hattori) Toyota 3 engine 0
Here's a Dover Nationwide shot of Bubba Wallace:
DOVER, DE - SEPTEMBER 29: Darrell Wallace Jr. , driver of the #20 Freightliner Trucks Toyota, and Justin Allgaier, driver of the #31 Brandt Chevrolet, lead the field to the start/finish line to start the NASCAR Nationwide Series OneMain Financial 200 at Dover International Speedway on September 29, 2012 in Dover, Delaware. Credit: Tom Pennington/Getty Images
The day Benny's sheet metal was peeled off at Rockingham in 1973 was my wife, Joyce's first Cup race. I tried to explain to her what was going on when the other crews pitched in to help put Benny's car back together.
Ron Hornaday Jr. faces suspension Updated: April 15, 2013, 6:56 PM ET By David Newton | ESPN.com
CHARLOTTE, N.C . -- Four-time Truck Series champion Ron Hornaday Jr. faces possible suspension for wrecking Darrell Wallace Jr. under caution during Sunday's race at Rockingham Speedway.
But the series' all-time wins leader with 51 titles insists his run-in with Wallace should be treated differently than the one he had with Sprint Cup regular Kyle Busch in a 2011 Truck race at Texas Motor Speedway.
Busch was suspended for the Nationwide Series and Cup races at Texas, then fined $50,000 and placed on probation for the rest of the season after he basically took Hornaday out of contention for the Truck title.
"I don't have a reputation for doing it," Hornaday told ESPN.com on Monday when explaining the difference in the two incidents. "I've never been sat down or suspended or been watched in NASCAR. I've never been the bad boy of anything, so I don't know if it's the same or not the same.
"We're sitting there with higher speeds at Texas than [Rockingham]. I really slowed down. I downshifted. I just went up to rub him, just like anybody else does under yellow when they need to door slam somebody to let them know they're mad at them."
Hornaday, 54, wound up sliding across the rear bumper of Wallace's car, turning the 19-year-old driver head on into the wall just as Busch did him two years ago.
"I don't know if I was too far up or he slowed or whatever," Hornaday said. "It just happened so quick. I felt like an idiot about it."
At Texas, Busch was parked immediately. Hornaday was allowed to complete Sunday's race, but was summoned to the NASCAR hauler afterward to discuss that happened.
He said race director Chad Little gave no indication of what the potential penalty might be this week. But he has heard the outcry on social media for him to be suspended just as Busch was.
"I put them in a box," Hornaday said of NASCAR. "We shouldn't even be talking about it today. I guess you take whatever they give you. I hope it's not too harsh.
"People can say that they want to say, but nobody feels worse than I do. I praised myself for 34 years of driving to have respect and be the hard racer, the guy you have to beat when you go to the track. Now I feel like I'm the dirty driver, the bad driver, the whole deal."
But again, Hornaday insisted this was different than what happened with Busch even though the result was the same. He noted that Busch had a whole straightaway to think about what he was going to do and didn't let off the rear bumper of his car until he was in the fence.
He also reminded that he and Busch and then-team owner Kevin Harvick had a history that may have played a role in the Texas incident even though NASCAR president said history didn't play a role in the suspension.
Hornaday said he didn't have issues with Wallace before Sunday.
"The kid has never done anything wrong to me," Hornaday said. "We raced hard together that day. Were we upset with each other? Yeah. I was just letting him know I didn't accept that he tried to drive me into the fence the lap before that.
"But I still turned him into the fence. It's uncalled for. ... Even your worst enemy you wouldn't turn toward the fence."
I did not see Ron dump Bubba but he has got no reason to complain about racing hard. I watched him run everyone hard all day long that passed him. Cutting them off, crowding them, making his truck really wide. Hard racing, yes, I watched Burton, Elliott and Dillon work many laps making passes on Ron all day long and all were very careful to stay off him. All 3 had gotten around Ron as the laps ran down, when Wallace got to him the laps were about gone, he did not have time to play nice. He raced just as hard as Ron had all day. I know the young guys have to earn the respect of the veterans but the veterans also need to be worthy of that respect. The young guys are there to race to, they don't have to just let the veterans go.
I was at that race also. If my memory serves me correctly, and I cant swear to this but it seems that it was Bobby Mausgrovers car that was the donor......They cut the right side door bars out and put them in Benny's car..If my memory does not serve me correctly then I also would like toknow who'scar it was. I do remember a very young Phil Parsons in the pits that day also.
Indeed it was Mausgrovers car William. I did not remember it, Mike Powell told me who it was. Those who made the races on Saturday got a chance to see the car up close and meet some of the crew. Tex Powell and Les Barzs were there talking to the fans, they were on Benny's crew in '73. Tex, Les and Richie Barzs were also the ones who restored the Chevelle. Original car restored by the original crew 40 years later. Hows that for racing history.
I guess I haven't followed Wallace close enough to know he is known as Bubba. I've watched every race this year and just haven't heard him called that until the Rockingham event. Dave, thanks for pointing that out to me. From hence forth, he shall be known as Bubba here in the Lair. I like that better than Darrell, as you could guess. Oh, and I agree with your assessment of both his talent and his class. He gives a great interview.
-- What a change! It's been awhile since I've checked in and I'm quite surprised. It may take me awhile to figure it our but first look it's really great.
Sorry Hornaday fans, but Ron has NO defense here. The in-car CLEARLY shows he retaliated NOT once, NOT twice...but THREE times. He clearly rubbed Wallace in the fence in turn 2. He then hit him in the left rear at the end of the backstretch, then finally crashed him out with the hook in the right rear. All that talk about speed and time to react is nonsense. You do the crime, you pay the punishment. Make him sit out however long Kyle was forced to sit out. Do I expect that? Of course not. To quote Bobby Allison years ago in the drivers meeting, where NASCAR announced all of these new rules changes: "Depending on who you are."
William & Dennis.... I would never in a gazillion years have remembered as you guys did whose car was sacrificed to get Benny through that American 500 and the 1973 Championship.
I did find a reprint in the February 2009 issue of Stock Car Racing Magazine of an earlier interview with Benny. Here's an excerpt from that Benny Scrapbook interview:
Miraculous!
People who were in the garage at Rockingham for the October 21, 1973 race, when I miraculously won my first and only Winston Cup championship, still tell me they experienced one of the most dramatic hours in racing. It certainly was an anxious moment for me. I had a 194.35-point lead (under the old points system) over Richard Petty going into the season finale.
I qualified the L.G. DeWitt Racing Chevrolet fifth, and the race started perfectly. The first four or five cars pulled about a half-straight ahead of me and the next group was a half-straight behind, leaving me where I wanted to be--by myself. At that time we had two-way radios, but no spotters. On the 13th lap (of 492), I came off Turn 2 and saw a car that had spun sitting in the track between me and the leaders. I tried to turn under it but caught the front end right behind my right-front tire.
There was a big collision, but my car didn't spin. I got the engine fired, but the car wouldn't roll. The right side was gone, I don't mean sheetmetal, the rollbars were gone. My greatest fear, a wreck, was reality. My heart sank because we had everything there to fix the car except rollbars. I was just sick. I knew I was going to lose the championship. We neglected to put a wrecker on standby, so we lost four or five valuable minutes getting the car to the garage. We looked at the damage and said, it's over.
Somebody suggested cutting the rollbars out of another car. Ralph Moody, whose engine shop furnished power for our team after he left Holman-Moody, came (to the race) with another team and driver Bobby Mausgrover. The car was parked in the garage and was the only one there that hadn't made the field. Moody said to cut the bars out of the car, he'd explain and settle up later. While the bars were being welded in place, members of my team and numerous volunteers from other teams replaced the rear-end housing, the trailing arms, steering linkage, and made other repairs. One hour and 15 minutes later, at the 136-lap mark, I got back on the racetrack.
As I drove my air-conditioned modified down the backstretch, people stood in the grandstand in a wave effect as I approached, and the wave preceded me all the way to the far end of the front grandstand. Watching that wave was incredible. We made 308 laps and finished 28th, enough to save the championship and beat Cale Yarborough, who finished third in the race, by 67.15 points.
