The basic concept of racing is for every man trying to finish ahead of 42 other cars; however, the Chase creates a divide between 12 “haves” and 31 “have nots.” For the “have not” cars, their goal throughout an entire 400-mile event remains simply to win; but for the 12 Chasers, consistency proves paramount, as any point earned for finishing up front could make the difference in who comes out on top in the quest for the title.
Clearly, those different roles can cause conflict, calling into question the realities of how teams with different goals can all play fair together in a playoff format.
Yet another example of this occurred last Sunday afternoon, when Kyle Petty and Denny Hamlin fought for the same spot on the race track—and neither won. Both cars wrecked, turning them into a hunk of steaming sheet metal; of course, that’s not the only thing that was steaming by the time both drivers were all said and done. Irritated over the incident, Petty found Hamlin still sitting in his car back in the garage, and incited a verbal shouting match that all but turned physical. For Hamlin, it put his Chase chances in serious jeopardy. As the one man out of the two competing for the title, he felt that gave him an extra degree of courtesy he never received.
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