Have at it, boys

Last updated

"Have at it, boys" (also interpreted as "Boys, have at it") was a quote formerly used by NASCAR to describe the philosophy that the Sprint Cup Series drivers used starting in the 2010 season to solve their disputes on the race track. This practice was not abandoned near the end of the 2011 season and continued on in the 2012 season.

Summary

NASCAR fans (in addition to fans of car racing in general) have jointly accused the people in charge of NASCAR for making racing "too sterile" and "too calm" during the past seasons of its existence. [1] Robin Pemberton said those words during the 2010 pre-season Sprint Media Tour in Concord, North Carolina. [2] Racing without significant penalties for the drivers seemed to be the definition of this catch phrase. [2] People were beginning to follow the sport more thanks to this new "attitude" towards racing competition. [1] The final laps of the 2011 Showtime Southern 500 saw Kyle Busch get tangled up with Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer. [1] Many run-ins in the past have involved Jeff Gordon; especially during the 1997 Winston Cup Series season. [1] With the fans' interest at heart and the increased safety of the new car, NASCAR refused to change the way which they policed the racing events;. [1] Even in this "have-at-it" era of racing, there were clear limits to what drivers can do to each other. [3] "One of the limits is if drivers put each other into danger", Brian France explained in an interview after the Harvick-Busch incident at pit road. [3] This also applied to the Ron Hornaday Jr.-Kyle Busch incident at the 2011 WinStar World Casino 350K race. After Busch's one-weekend ban for the incident and also after Dan Wheldon's death, the "have at it, boys" era officially came to an end. [4] [5] NASCAR took this action under rules that allow it to park a driver in order to ensure the "orderly conduct of the event," an action which is not appealable. Since the drivers didn't solve this problem amongst themselves, the drivers did not "have at it;" NASCAR's officials had to solve this problem without any input from the drivers themselves.

NASCAR's action mathematically eliminated Busch from contention for the Sprint Cup in 2011, though any realistic chance of him winning it ended earlier in the Chase.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Busch Light Clash at The Coliseum</span> Auto race held at Daytona, United States

The Busch Light Clash is an annual non-championship pre-season NASCAR Cup Series exhibition event held in February before the season-opening Daytona 500. The event was held each year at Daytona International Speedway from the race's inception in 1979 until 2021, after which it was moved to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in 2022. Previously at Daytona, the race, along with the ARCA Menards Series' season-opening BRANDT 200, served as the kickoff events for Daytona Speedweeks. The event is one of two non-points races on the Cup Series schedule, the other being the NASCAR All-Star Race.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kevin Harvick</span> American racing driver (born 1975)

Kevin Michael Harvick is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver and commentator for NASCAR on Fox.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kyle Busch</span> American racing driver (born 1985)

Kyle Thomas Busch is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Richard Childress Racing, part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 33 Chevrolet Camaro also for RCR, and part-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 7 Chevrolet Silverado for Spire Motorsports. Busch is the 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series champion and the 2015 and 2019 Cup Series champion. Busch is currently 9th on the all-time NASCAR Cup Series wins list and his dominance of NASCAR's three major series has him ranked as one of the greatest racing drivers of all time. Busch is also a one-time WWE 24/7 Champion. He is the younger brother of 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series champion Kurt Busch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brad Keselowski</span> American racing driver (born 1984)

Bradley Aaron Keselowski is an American professional stock car racing driver, team owner, and entrepreneur. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 6 Ford Mustang Dark Horse for RFK Racing, a team he also co-owns. He was the owner of Brad Keselowski Racing, which fielded two full-time trucks in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buschwhacker</span> Term for top tier NASCAR drivers who compete in lower tier division races

Buschwhacker is a term for NASCAR drivers who are regulars in the top-level NASCAR Cup Series but who also compete on a regular basis in the second-tier Xfinity Series. The original coinage of the term "Buschwhacker" refers to Anheuser-Busch's longtime title sponsorship of the second-tier series through their Busch beer brand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeff Green (racing driver)</span> American racing driver and crew chief

Jeffrey Lynn Green is an American retired professional stock car racing driver and crew chief. He most recently worked for RSS Racing as the crew chief for their No. 28 car in the ARCA Menards Series, driven by Kyle Sieg, and also competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series as a start and park driver for the team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Childress</span> American racing driver and businessman (born 1945)

Richard Reed Childress is an American former race car driver in NASCAR. As the owner of Richard Childress Racing (RCR), he became one of the wealthiest men in North Carolina. In 2004, he opened a vineyard in the Yadkin Valley AVA near Lexington. Childress sat on the board of directors at the National Rifle Association of America until 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mission 200 at The Glen</span> NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Watkins Glen

The Mission 200 at The Glen is a Xfinity Series that takes place annually at the Watkins Glen International road course in Watkins Glen, New York. Sam Mayer is the defending race winner.

The 2007 Nextel Open and Nextel All-Star Challenge was a professional auto race held on May 19, 2007, at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. North Carolina native and former NBA MVP Michael Jordan was the grand marshal of the event.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series</span> 61st season of NASCAR stock-car racing

The 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series was the 61st season of professional stock car racing in the United States, the 38th modern-era Cup series, and the last Cup season of the 21st century's first decade, the 2000s. The season included 36 races and two exhibition races with the regular season beginning with the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway and ending with the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The final ten races were known as 2009 Chase for the Sprint Cup. Rick Hendrick won the Owners' Championship, while Jimmie Johnson won the Drivers' Championship with a fifth-place finish at the final race of the season. Chevrolet won the Manufacturers' Championship with 248 points.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011 Budweiser Shootout</span> Motor car race

The 2011 Budweiser Shootout was a stock car race and the first exhibition event of the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. It was held on February 12, 2011 at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. The 75-lap race was won by Kurt Busch for the Penske Racing team. Jamie McMurray finished second and Ryan Newman came in third.

The 2009 Sharpie 500 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race that was held on August 22, 2009, at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011 Showtime Southern 500</span> Motor car race

The 2011 Showtime Southern 500, the 55th running of the event, was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on May 7, 2011 at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina. Contested over 370 laps, 3 laps over the advertised distance, it was the tenth race of the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season out of thirty-six. The pole position was won by Kasey Kahne of Red Bull Racing Team. The race was won by Regan Smith of Furniture Row Racing, the first win for both Smith and the team, with Carl Edwards in second and Brad Keselowski in third.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 NASCAR Nationwide Series</span> 31st season of second-tier NASCAR Nationwide Series

The 2012 NASCAR Nationwide Series was the 31st season of the NASCAR Nationwide Series, the second-tier professional stock car racing series sanctioned by NASCAR in the United States. The season included thirty-three races, down from thirty-four, and began with the DRIVE4COPD 300 at Daytona International Speedway and ended with the Ford EcoBoost 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Chevrolet won the Manufacturer's Championship. Joe Gibbs won the Owners' Championship with the No. 18 car, while Ricky Stenhouse Jr. of Roush Fenway Racing won the Drivers' championship with a sixth-place finish at the final race of the season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011 WinStar World Casino 350K</span> Motor car race

The 2011 WinStar World Casino 350K was a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event held on November 4, 2011 at the Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. Contested over 148 laps of the 1.5 miles (2.4 km) oval, it was the second-last race of the season, and was won by Kevin Harvick in a green-white-checker finish.

The 2012 Budweiser Shootout was the first exhibition stock car race of the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The 34th annual running of the Budweiser Shootout, it was held on February 18, 2012 at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, before a crowd of 82,000 people. Kyle Busch of the Joe Gibbs Racing team won the 82-lap race. It was Busch's first victory in the event; Stewart-Haas Racing driver Tony Stewart finished second with Richard Petty Motorsports racer Marcos Ambrose third.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2013 Coca-Cola 600</span> Auto race held at Charlotte, USA

The 2013 Coca-Cola 600, the 54th running of the race, was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on May 26, 2013, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, United States. Contested over 400 laps on the 1.5–mile (2.4 km) oval, it was the twelfth race of the 2013 Sprint Cup Series championship. Kevin Harvick of Richard Childress Racing won the race, his second win in the Coca-Cola 600 and in the 2013 season. Kasey Kahne followed in second while Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin, and Joey Logano rounded out the top five.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series</span> 67th season of NASCAR stock-car racing

The 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series was the 67th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 44th modern-era Cup season. The season began at Daytona International Speedway with the Sprint Unlimited exhibition race, the Budweiser Duels, and the Daytona 500. The season ended with the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Kyle Busch won the championship, despite missing the first third of the season due to severe leg injuries suffered in an Xfinity Series race at Daytona. Busch also became the first Toyota driver to win a Cup championship. Despite not running the full season, Brett Moffitt was named Rookie of the Year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 Cheez-It 355 at The Glen</span> Motor car race

The 2015 Cheez-It 355 at The Glen was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held on August 9, 2015 at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York. Contested over 90 laps on the 2.45 mile road course, it was the 22nd race of the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. Joey Logano won the race, his second of the season. Kyle Busch finished second. Kevin Harvick finished third. Matt Kenseth and Kurt Busch rounded out the top five.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 myAFibRisk.com 400</span> Motor car race

The 2015 myAFibRisk.com 400 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held on September 20, 2015, at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois. Contested over 267 laps on the 1.5 mile (2.4 km) intermediate speedway, it was the 27th race of the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, first race of the Chase and first race of the Challenger Round. Denny Hamlin won the race, his second of the season. Carl Edwards finished second. Kurt Busch, Ryan Newman and Matt Kenseth rounded out the top–five.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Revisiting 'have at it, boys'". ESPN. 10 May 2011. Retrieved 2011-05-18.
  2. 1 2 "Have at it, boys information". NASCAR on Speed TV. Archived from the original on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 2011-05-18.
  3. 1 2 "France explains 'have at it' after recent events". NASCAR.com. Retrieved 2011-05-20.
  4. Lewandowski, Dave (2011-10-16). "Wheldon succumbs to injuries in crash". indycar.com. Archived from the original on 19 October 2011. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
  5. Rodman, Dave. Busch out at Texas. NASCAR.com, 2011-11-05.