NASCAR Cup Series

Feuds to heat up in Bristol

Published Aug. 22, 2011 1:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

Kurt Busch made a genuine attempt to apologize to AJ Allmendinger during the drivers meeting before the race at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday.

But sometimes, apologies are not enough.

For Allmendinger, 29, being punted by a lap-down car while leading a race, nine laps into an event is not acceptable. Allmendinger had qualified second at Watkins Glen — his third start on the front row this season. He had a solid car at the Glen — something that hasn’t always been the case for a driver who had been accustomed to winning in open wheel before moving to NASCAR. And he now had a crew chief, Greg Erwin, with a history of winning.

Things were starting to come together. Then Busch, whose issues began on Lap 4 and was a lap down, nailed the back of the No. 43 Best Buy Ford, sending Allmendinger off the track and into 40th place.

At that moment, Allmendinger promised a violent revenge on Busch. While he soldiered back to finish eighth, considering that Best Buy has yet to sign an extension for 2012, there was more on the line than simply the driver‘s reputation. And with Allmendinger 16th in the points standings, a win could have potentially made him a Chase for the Sprint Cup candidate.

Certainly, this weekend‘s race at Bristol Motor Speedway offers the perfect venue for payback. With lap times under 20 seconds, the track affectionately known as Thunder Valley sets the stage for an artistically placed bump-'n'-run.

At the Glen, karma took care of Kurt Busch. His brakes failed and his day was over after just 48 laps. Allmendinger never got an opportunity to return the favor. But could this be the week? If so, Allmendinger might have to get in line. There are two champions ahead of him — Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon — who also have issues with Busch. Then again, Allmendinger might just wait until the Chase — when it counts.

Here are some possible rivalries that could be reignited at Bristol — and whet the appetite for short-track racing.

Kurt Busch vs. Jimmie Johnson

This battle has been brewing since New Hampshire last June when the pair used rubbing as racing for position. Johnson inevitably won the race and Busch finished third. Fast forward to Pocono. Although the win wasn’t on the line, Busch wasn’t going to leave outside of the top three — and he didn’t.

“There is no secret about it that there is no love lost between the two of us,” Johnson said. “We didn’t have wrecked race cars at the end of Pocono. I could have easily gone down on the tunnel turn and done something stupid, but I didn’t.

“So, there’s lines there that you cross. The stuff on track, yes, it made me mad, but to have somebody run their mouth like he does and did to me, that’s the part . . . if you look back at the time line and where I was the maddest, that is when I was mad. So, that’s where we are.”

Kurt Busch vs. Jeff Gordon

Just because Four-Time dropped by Victory Lane at Infineon Raceway doesn’t mean Gordon has forgotten his history with Busch. Gordon never called Busch to apologize after their first Sonoma romp.

“Yeah, it was nice for Jeff to come up to Victory Lane,” Busch said Sunday. ”It’s nice and convenient from pit road to walk by and say hi.”

And remember Martinsville last fall? The two champs were battling for position in the closing laps when Busch sent Gordon spinning on the front stretch on Lap 385. Gordon had time to retaliate and, after the race, nonchalantly replied, “I guess I didn't know he was on the outside of me".

Kyle Busch vs. Kevin Harvick

The fun and games between these two champion contenders escalated at Darlington last spring when their battle on the track escalated into an exchange on pit road after the race. This was "boys have at it" at its finest, which inevitably led to a four-week probation period for both drivers. And three days before probation was set to expire, Harvick was going to remind Busch he was still in his rearview mirror.

Two laps into the June Pocono race, Harvick began a high-speed game of cat and mouse — until NASCAR came over the radio and put an end to it. Busch wasn’t sure what to think.

“I was running my own race,” Busch said. “It was another car I had to pass. Seemed like he was trying to make it awfully difficult on me. There’s a couple of times where I just had to back off and wait, got back to him and tried to pass him again.

“Maybe kind of shows his character and who he is, how he feels he needs to race on the racetrack.”

Juan Pablo Montoya vs. Ryan Newman

The roots of this feud date to November 2006, at Homestead-Miami Speedway, when NASCAR had to warn Montoya about not driving too aggressively on the track with Newman or he would be parked.

This rivalry recently came to a head at Richmond in April when Montoya, who had led 25 laps, took offense at how Newman had raced him. The two went at it not once but twice, and when the race ended, neither driver had a shot at the win.

While Newman fell to eighth in the point standings, Montoya dropped to 12th and eventually out of the Chase Zone for the rest of the season. Still, Newman, who is seventh in the point standings and likely locked into the playoffs with a win to his credit, has to wonder what Montoya has planned. Was the Richmond incident ever settled or was it simply overshadowed by the Kyle Busch/Kevin Harvick fireworks in the Southern 500?

Tony Stewart vs. Brian Vickers

Ol’ Smoke felt Vickers was being a road block at Sonoma, so he didn’t think twice about moving him on Lap 38. On Lap 87 — Stewart watched the No. 83 Toyota loom large in his mirror and boom, it was over.

"He made his bed at that moment and he had to sleep in it,” Vickers said.

Stewart had led three laps but completed only 88. He was scored 39th, and his day was done. Stewart fell to 12th in the points standing and has teetered in that area ever since.

Stewart is now 10th in the points standings — with a 24-point cushion over No. 11 Clint Bowyer. Vickers is currently 28th in the points standings, so revenge for Vickers could prove more valuable now than later.

If Stewart makes the Chase, he'd still better be aware of Vickers, who not only has no shot at the Chase but has no ride for next year, either.

For any driver floating around the bubble for the Chase, the opportunity to mend fences might be there — but, then again, it might not. And for those competitors simply looking for revenge, if not Bristol there’s always Richmond International Raceway coming up two weeks from now. Or you could always take a page from the Allmendinger playbook — wait until the Chase and make it count.