Geoff Bodine Reveals NASCAR’s Dale Sr Leniency Behind Drivers’ Over-Aggression With Bold Claim

“Dad and Geoff Bodine to me has to be on the Mount Rushmore rivalries in NASCAR,” is what Dale Jr had to say about the rivalry between Dale Earnhardt and Geoff Bodine. Nicknamed “The Intimidator,” Earnhardt is often considered the epitome of aggression in NASCAR. Earnhardt was one of the drivers who forced his fellow drivers into battling aggression with aggression. However, according to Bodine, whose three-race wrecking ordeal with Earnhardt in 1987 at Charlotte Motor Speedway became the basis for a scene in the movie Days of Thunder, it was NASCAR’s leniency toward the seven-time champion when he was wrecking people that led to younger drivers following suit.

Bodine also believes that the disparity between cars is one of the reasons behind NASCAR being as intense and aggressive as it was back in the 1980s. The 18-time Cup race winner claimed that the current Cup Series cars being built equally has ‘ruined racing.’

No love lost between Geoff Bodine and Dale Earnhardt

The rivalry between Geoff Bodine and Dale Earnhardt started in the late 1980s and took a new turn at the 1987 All-Star Race as Earnhardt took to aggressive driving and despite complaints from Bodine no stringent step was taken. “They (NASCAR) slowed it down for a while, well that got boring. So, then it’s ‘Okay, wide open again, guys’,” Geoff Bodine asserted that NASCAR’s ignorance of the clear-cut aggression from Earnhardt further motivated drivers to take the same approach to racing.

Earnhardt exemplified aggression during the All-Star Race in 1987 as he hit Bodine and Bill Elliott‘s vehicles en route to winning the race and the $200,000 prize money. This triggered a switch in Elliott and Bodine as they took their complaints to NASCAR and asked for a stop to such incidents. However, it was Bodine who was fined $1,000 and put on a probation period of three weeks.

A week after the incident, the pair met again at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in a Busch Grand National Series race. Driving for Hendrick Motorsports, Bodine was entangled in another bump with Dale Earnhardt, and, yet again, he was on the receiving end of NASCAR’s penalties as he was fined $15,000 for intentional wrecking. His probation was extended to the end of the 1987 season as well. HMS owner Rick Hendrick and Bodine appealed against the wreck being intentional and managed to get the penalty revoked.

In 1988, the duo collided at the Coca-Cola 600. Earnhardt wrecked Geoff Bodine’s No.5 car, bringing the respective team owners into the situation. As NASCAR handed the Intimidator a five-lap penalty, RCR owner Richard Childress argued that the penalty was too big for an incident like that. On the other hand, Mr. Hendrick wanted a harsher penalty for the then three-time Cup Series champ. Eventually, NASCAR resolved the matter through a meeting between the drivers and the owners at Daytona.

Over the years, there have been many heated rivalries in NASCAR. Wrecks and crashes have often been a part of those, but none have gone on as long as the bad blood between Dale Earnhardt and Geoff Bodine. Bodine also revealed that he thinks the races have become less exciting due to the parity between the cars and believes it has become more business than fun.

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Bodine feels equality between cars has decreased the excitement of racing in NASCAR

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Bodine is also of the belief that NASCAR has limited the innovation of teams. Establishing guidelines and a specific set of do’s and don’ts has taken away the freedom from teams to experiment with their cars and try to win the battle with the car’s design. “You can change a little bit but not much, and to us older guys, that’s ruined racing. We always liked to be innovative. I always tried to design something better. Now, NASCAR might outlaw it, which they did a lot, but that was the fun part of racing back then.” claimed Geoff Bodine, slamming NASCAR’s intention of making teams equal in their car’s abilities.

Bodine also said that today’s racing was more business than fun, “They tear your car apart and see that you got a nut and a bolt in the wrong place, you’re in trouble. That just sounds overkill. They’ve taken a lot of fun out of it, but it’s big business. It’s more business than fun.” While Bodine’s reasoning behind his argument is understandable, considering the eras of racing he has witnessed, NASCAR has tried to level the playing ground. This has increased the competition between drivers and made some feats impossible, like Richard Petty‘s 200 career wins.

Bodine also talked about another factor contributing to aggressive racing in NASCAR these days. He said that earlier drivers didn’t receive salaries but a percentage of their winnings if they didn’t own their team. The split was usually 60% team owner and 40% driver. Bodine believes the fact that drivers now receive salaries as the result of sponsorships and aren’t entirely dependent on their finishing positions contributes to today’s aggressive driving.

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Every sport experiences change with time, and so has NASCAR. Do you agree with Bodine’s views?