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Racing

Best rivalry moments of the NASCAR season... so far

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The 2024 season is just over 20 races in, but the drivers have provided plenty of fireworks and rivalry moments for the fans to embrace.

NASCAR fans love a good rivalry. Just look at Dale Earnhart vs. Geoff Bodine, Jimmy Spencer vs. Kurt Busch, or Brad Keselowski vs. Carl Edwards. The drivers had issues with each other, which they showed on the track.

This trend has continued as the years have progressed and new generations of drivers have taken over the cars in the the national series.

Some drivers are friends away from the track but rivals on it. Others have a long history of run-ins, which included examples this season. Some have ignited a rivalry while racing each other for the first time.

Here are some of the best rivalry moments from this season... so far.

Rivalry Moment No. 1: The Punch

The top rivalry moment of the season so far unfolded during and after the All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway. It began quietly enough as Ricky Stenhouse Jr. went in the middle of a three-wide battle early in the exhibition race. Kyle Busch was on the outside and he hit the wall.

The next step in the incident involved Busch driving up behind Stenhouse and intentionally turning him into the outside wall. This wrecked Stenhouse's car and ended his race after only two laps.

If this was a normal race at any other track, Stenhouse would have left. Instead, he remained stuck in the infield at North Wilkesboro Speedway, a track without tunnels. Stenhouse told media members while waiting that he would "handle it" after the race.

Stenhouse waited for the race to end, and then he confronted Busch at the No. 8 hauler. The two drivers exchanged words and then Stenhouse threw a punch. This sparked a brawl that involved multiple crew members and Stenhouse's father.

"That's old school, that's old school NASCAR," Busch said during an appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show" in Indianapolis. "NASCAR, that's how it was born. Essentially, it was born in 1979.

"Daytona 500, there was a wreck on the backstretch. Two guys racing for the win, and they crashed each other. Afterwards, they started fighting."

Fighting continued to be a part of NASCAR, whether it was Clint Bowyer chasing down Jeff Gordon or Busch punching Joey Logano on pit road. The incident involving Stenhouse and Busch was just the latest, high-profile example.

The moment went viral, for obvious reasons, and it led to some punishment. Stenhouse received a $75,000 fine. His father received an indefinite suspension. Busch did not receive any penalty for his intentional wreck.

Rivalry Moment No. 2: COTA Chaos

Shane van Gisbergen made his move to the United States this season so that he could pursue a full-time NASCAR career. He has made limited starts in Cup while racing full-time in Xfinity, and he has already taken part in some old-school NASCAR beating and banging.

The New Zealand native has had multiple run-ins with Richard Childress Racing's Austin Hill, the most notable of which occurred at Circuit of the Americas.

The two drivers exchanged the lead multiple times, but it was van Gisbergen who was the control car for the final restart of the race. He led the way into the hairpin Turn 1, but Hill moved him out of the way to take the lead.

The race was not over. Van Gisbergen spent more than one lap chasing Hill back down and then he made a move of his own. He hit the No. 21 from behind and sent it wide in Turn 15. This opened up the opportunity for Kyle Larson to jump to the lead from third.

Larson went on to win while van Gisbergen and Hill continued making aggressive contact with each other as they headed to the start-finish line.

Van Gisbergen crossed the line second but received a 30-second penalty for cutting the corner. Hill was credited with a runner-up finish.

"That last restart, he just drove through me at (Turn) 1. I guess that's how it is here," van Gisbergen said during his post-race interview.

"I just stood up for myself. But it was some pretty awesome racing with AJ (Allmendinger), Kyle, and at the end, it just turned into a mess. But that's how it is. Really fun but wish we could've got the lead, but Kyle just snuck in there."

Rivalry Moment No. 3: Byron vs. Blaney

William Byron and Ryan Blaney have raced each other cleanly throughout their Cup careers while battling for wins at NASCAR's toughest tracks. There have been very few incidents between the two drivers, but the most notable occurred this season at Darlington Raceway.

The rivalry moment occurred on Lap 129 of the Goodyear 400. Byron dove to the bottom of the track after getting a run, and he put the field three-wide with Martin Truex Jr. in the middle and Blaney on the outside.

As they came out of Turn 3, Byron made contact with Truex and sent the No. 19 into Blaney's No. 12. Blaney hit the outside wall, broke a toe link, and ended the day with a 36th-place finish.

Blaney made one more trip back out onto the track to show his displeasure. He drove up to Byron as the field completed laps under caution, and he nearly slammed into the No. 24. Though Blaney pulled back down onto the apron.

The reigning champion later said that he was saving payback for a different time.

"One, don't shove it three-wide at a place you can't run three-wide," Blaney said about the incident to NBC Sports. "If (Byron) wants to do that, fine, but your responsibility is to leave room. You have to leave room for the top two cars. You shoved the bottom of three (wide), you have to leave space and he was off the dotted line until we were already wrecking. He faded up and sandwiched (Truex) into me.

"We're as high as we can go, so it's like, I don't know if he thought he had enough room or gave us enough room and didn't or whatever. That's just what I was like, you're responsible for those two guys when you shove guys three-wide. You have to act like two cars are to the top of you."

Rivalry Moment No. 4: SVG vs. Hill Continues

The road course race at Circuit of the Americas provided a glimpse at the budding rivalry between Hill and van Gisbergen. Sonoma took it to another level.

Hill was the control car on a restart with 11 laps to go. Van Gisbergen was on his inside. As they went into Turn 2, van Gisbergen got loose in the dirt. He collided with Hill and sent the No. 21 wide, taking the lead in the process.

Van Gisbergen went on to win while Hill fell to fifth. Once the checkered flag waved, the New Zealand native did his celebratory burnout around the entire course. Though he slightly altered it after pulling up behind Hill, who was sticking his middle finger out of the window.

Van Gisbergen proceeded to continue doing the burnout while following Hill around the California road course.

"So I was doing the skid at Turn 1 because that's where all the fans are, Turn 2," van Gisbergen said during an appearance on Corey LaJoie's podcast. "And then (Hill) goes past pulling the finger. So I'm like, 'This is for you now, not the fans.' I just followed him the whole lap."

Van Gisbergen said during his podcast appearance that he doesn't feel anything against Hill after multiple run-ins in road course races. That doesn't change the fact that the two race winners have delivered exciting moments for fans of the Xfinity Series.

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