Done proper way, nothing wrong with bump-and-run

What's with all the fuss?

You'd think that Carl Edwards had taken a tire iron to Kyle Busch's front bumper, or keyed the side of his No. 18 Toyota. You'd think he had done something dastardly, the equivalent of beaning a batter in the helmet or hitting a quarterback after the whistle. Busch was upset. Busch's fans were upset. Some of Edwards' fans were embarrassed. There was talk of payback, and warnings that you reap what you sow. It was as if an episode of The Sopranos had unfolded at Bristol Motor Speedway, and everyone had a vendetta they wanted to unleash on somebody else.

And over what, exactly? A completely legal and expertly executed move on the racetrack, that's what. Every time somebody wins using the bump-and-run, there's an uproar. Drivers get angry. Fans get angry. Harsh words, old memories and veiled threats are bandied about. Amid all the noise and recrimination, nobody seems willing to appreciate the move for what it is -- a fundamental tactic of short-track racing that, when done correctly, is as devastatingly effective as the deep post route or the 3-point shot.

Enough of the outrage already. Jeff Gordon did it to beat Rusty Wallace, Dale Earnhardt did it to beat Terry Labonte, Jeremy Mayfield did it to beat Earnhardt, and list goes on and on and on. Over the years we've seen different incarnations, like Busch banging the back of Jimmie Johnson's car on the restart before his shootout victory in July at Chicagoland, or Gordon giving Johnson a few good shots in his unsuccessful attempt to get by at Martinsville last year. It's not cheating, it's not dirty, it's not out of line. It's more difficult than it used to be, given the matched bumpers on the new car. And it's a completely legal way to win a race, despite the fact that it's been bastardized by unwritten rules and partisanship.

Crew chiefs are expected to try anything and everything to manipulate NASCAR's technical box, owners get insanely creative when it comes to points and the top 35 rule, but drivers are stigmatized if they don't walk this outdated, invisible line of decorum. As it stands now, the formal protocols are murky. Do you use the bumper only when there's no other alternative? Only if the driver you're pursuing has used the bumper on you? Only if you have a reputation as an outlaw or an iconoclast? Nobody knows.

"I don't think there are any rules," Johnson said. "You race people how they race you, and you also factor in that if you do this now, you know you have one coming. So you factor that stuff in, and I don't think there's a right or wrong. It seems to be public opinion which makes it right or wrong. If you're a Carl Edwards fan, you love the move, and if you're a Kyle Busch fan, you hate the move. I don't think there is a right or wrong. You just have to know at the end of the day, the way you race people, that's how they are going to race you back. If you can live with that and respect other people on the track, you won't have a lot of problems." (Continued)