In the movie Days of Thunder, the character Harry Hogge told his driver “he didn’t slam you, he didn’t bump you, he didn’t nudge you… he *rubbed* you. And rubbin, son, is racin’.”

In the world of NASCAR the rubbing and nudging is pretty much the norm. Cars are running in close proximity with no chicanes or tight corners where braking and acceleration provide an opportunity to overtake, so a little nudge to unsettle your opponent is often the only way you can gain an advantage.

Of course our own British Touring Car Championship often takes this concept to extremes leaving cars with bits of bodywork hanging off!

In my personal experience there have been times when I’ve been so close to the car in front that my bumper has indeed rubbed that car’s rear bumper, and vice versa. I recall a race at Silverstone with Masters where a fellow Capri driver and I, swapped places many times each lap and on at least two occasions I overtook him going into Maggots and his front bumper nudged my rear. Frankly it was all good fun because we trusted each other not to do something silly.

Now, whilst the sport is non contact (outside of the BTCC and other professional championships), there are times when the inevitable happens and visible damage is caused. At times like this we would try to keep the car going and running repairs would be carried out. Things like tank taping panels together would be the norm in these circumstances. Before the next race weekend, the necessary repairs would be carried out so the car would be presented in pristine condition. I was not alone in this approach.

So, I was rather saddened recently when I observed a club championship, where quite possibly half of the entries were sporting sagging bumpers and/or dented wings, all covered by tank tape etc. This was the first round of the championship and it would seem that nobody thought about the presentation of the grid to the spectators.

Of course in many cases historic and classic car panels are difficult to obtain, it would therefore make sense for the championship organisers and indeed their sponsors, to encourage “clean” racing to minimise damage and costs, and to enhance the championship’s reputation.

I’m not going to mention the particular championship here, but I can’t think of good reason why the cars were still carrying damage from what had to be the previous season.

The car in the featured image above was photographed in October last year, after a season of racing. Looks good doesn’t it?

Happy to hear alternative views in the comments.