NASCAR: The one Cup Series feud that won’t let up

There have been a handful of feuds throughout the late stages of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season, but one in particular has not let up.

NASCAR, just like any other sport, has its fair share of feuds. But while in other sports the feuds may be among teams, NASCAR has historically had feuds among drivers, and that has been no different in the 2021 Cup Series season.

One such feud between Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell started in the race at Watkins Glen International, where Larson spun out Bell late.

This led to persistent jabs from each driver afterward, with many interestingly coming by way of the media due to Bell’s unwillingness to have a conversation with Larson.

Another feud that seemingly came out of nowhere featured another Hendrick Motorsports driver in Chase Elliott and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick during the round of 16 finale at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Contact from Harvick while battling for the lead led to a blown tire for Elliott, who then retaliated by holding Harvick up and effectively letting Larson pass him for the win.

This feud reached its boiling point when Harvick spun out Elliott in the round of 12 finale at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval, which prompted NASCAR to intervene. While it remains to be seen if it’s truly over with three races left in the season, NASCAR decided to order a cease and desist on the Harvick/Elliott feud.

But the one feud that still lingers is none other than the one between Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe.

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin and Stewart-Haas Racing rookie Chase Briscoe found themselves in a feud over the summer at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course after Hamlin ran Briscoe wide in turn one late in the race. This caused Briscoe to go into the grass, and he received a black flag from NASCAR for the way he rejoined the track.

But before he was informed of the black flag, Briscoe got into the back of Hamlin’s #11 Toyota, ending Hamlin’s day. The feud didn’t end there, either.

After another run-in at Texas Motor Speedway, Hamlin and Briscoe exchanged words over social media. Hamlin tried to point out to Briscoe that there are drivers racing for a championship and that Briscoe is not one of them. Briscoe pointed out that it is still his job to race for a win each week.

The two are still clearly not over their first run-in back in August, and persistent jabs at one another on social media after this past Sunday afternoon’s race at Texas Motor Speedway illustrate the fact that this one hasn’t quite let up.

Hamlin is right: one is racing for a championship while one isn’t. The problem is that if Briscoe ends up in a position where he feels as though he has nothing to lose, he could ultimately be the reason why Hamlin won’t be able to race for a championship when NASCAR hits Phoenix Raceway for the Cup Series Championship 4 race on Sunday, November 7.