Win and you’re in the playoffs means that when it’s time to battle for the checkered flag, you’re going to attempt to fit into some holes where there’s no guarantee your car will make it through without contact and someone’s feelings getting hurt.

Almost nobody in NASCAR, outside of a few remaining journeyman, is racing cars they build with their own hands anymore. So tearing up some sheet metal means less to most drivers. It’s the reality of today’s Cup series (and even the lower series to a lesser degree; Truck series is like a demo derby the last couple years).

But let’s be honest. Hard racing and contact is not something that just began with Ross Chastain and other young guns of today’s NASCAR. Dale Earnhardt Sr. used the bumper plenty in his day, unapologetically, and he’s remembered with great fondness. And nobody on the grid can plead not guilty to being overly brash with the chrome horn at times during their career.

So how does the problem get solved? Honestly, it probably doesn’t. Though if a particular driver is more extreme in his actions than others, competitors will make sure he gets the message by showing him no quarter on the racetrack week in and week out. 

Self-policing is the only way to do this, as we can’t expect NASCAR to throw down a penalty anytime some beating and banging happens on track. That would turn the sport into Formula 1. And while F1 is a great series in its own way, over policing isn’t an approach we want to bring to our sport. I don’t want the booth reviewing every bump and run.

And as a side note to the respect conversation, not every wreck is Ross Chastain’s fault just because he was in the vicinity. He has as much of a right to race for positions as anyone else, regardless of his past behavior. To see Christopher Bell blame Ross for Bell’s own error at the end of Richmond was pretty weak.