“If the lion didn’t bite the tamer every once in a while, it wouldn’t be exciting.” These words from Darrell Waltrip perfectly sum up the high-stakes, high-emotion world of NASCAR. The combination of speed, danger, and competition creates a breeding ground for tempers to boil over. Short tracks like Bristol and Martinsville are notorious for producing on-track rivalries that spill over into post-race fireworks.
Kevin Harvick knows this better than most. The 2014 Cup Series champion built his reputation as one of NASCAR’s most aggressive competitors. Early in his career, he was not afraid to settle scores with his fists as well as his race car. One of his most infamous brawls happened in 2002 when he went after Greg Biffle following a late-race incident at Bristol.
What happened that night at Bristol became one of the most talked-about scuffles in NASCAR history. However, what many don’t know is that Biffle held back. Not because he wanted to, but because a previous altercation had already cost him dearly. Had circumstances been different, Harvick might have been on the receiving end of a knockout punch.
Greg Biffle recalls his most expensive lesson!
NASCAR has seen countless on-track rivalries explode into post-race confrontations. The Bristol Xfinity race in 2002 was one of those moments. Greg Biffle and Kevin Harvick tangled late in the race, leading to Harvick wrecking. Furious, Harvick waited for Biffle on the pit road, then jumped over his car and grabbed him by the collar. Well, fans were expecting a melee between the two drivers, but to everyone’s surprise, Biffle didn’t move a muscle.
“So when I saw Harvick coming… I said, “I’m not—I’m not—I’m not going to touch him. I’m not doing nothing. I’m going to keep my hands to my side.” If I wouldn’t have got fined and that, I probably would have hit him with an uppercut. Just knocked him outright as he jumped off the back of the car,” Biffle recalled while speaking on DJD’s classic episode.
Notably, that moment of restraint came at a cost. Biffle’s decision was shaped by the heavy-handed penalty he received for the 2001 Richmond fight. NASCAR officials fined him $15,000 and deducted 100 driver points. His team, Roush Fenway Racing, made sure he paid the fine himself. The hit was financial, professional, and personal. Losing points in a championship battle was a painful price to pay. So, in 2002, when he was leading the Xfinity championship, he didn’t want to repeat the previous year’s mistake. And Biffle’s patience and calm head paid off big time as he bagged the Xfinity Series championship by the end of the year.
13-21 February, 2016, Daytona Beach, Florida USA
Greg Biffle, driver of the #16 KFC Nashville Hot Ford, poses with his car after qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 14, 2016 in Daytona Beach, Florida.
LAT Photo USA via NASCAR via Getty Images
However, years later, Kevin Harvick reflected on that moment, admitting that his younger self had a habit of making poor decisions. “At that particular time, I had a lot of bad influences around me…that would egg me on to do stuff like this. I planned that out for hundreds of laps…very premeditated,” he revealed on his podcast. Notably, that fight cost Harvick a lot. NASCAR slapped Harvick with a hefty $50,000 fine and some championship point deductions.
Almost a decade later, in 2011, Biffle and Kevin Harvick found themselves in another heated moment at Martinsville. The track’s tight corners and aggressive racing style led to another clash between the two. But by now both drivers had matured and learned from their past mistakes. Instead of throwing punches, they exchanged heated words but kept things under control. Notably, this was not the biggest trouble of Biffle’s life as, years later, he found himself in another scandal that had nothing to do with racing.
When Roush Fenway and Biffle were accused of spying!
Years after his intense on-the-track battles, Greg Biffle’s name resurfaced in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. In 2018, his ex-wife, Nicole Lunders, and her mother sued him and Roush Fenway Racing over allegations of hidden cameras inside their home. Lunders alleged that Biffle had recorded her and her mother without their knowledge and had even shown the footage to others. The lawsuit accused the driver of invasion of privacy and emotional distress.
When questioned under oath, Biffle admitted to installing the cameras but claimed it was for security reasons. He said that he believed his maids were stealing from him, which led him to set up surveillance. However, the plaintiffs argued that his reasoning didn’t justify secretly recording them in private areas. The case stirred up controversy, with many questioning Biffle’s actions and whether they crossed legal boundaries. While the lawsuit eventually faded from the spotlight, it left a lasting stain on his public image.
Despite a controversial image, Greg Biffle had been one of the biggest superstars of his era. In the late 1990s, his amazing racing skills impressed Jack Roush, who gave him his first NASCAR break. In 1998, he debuted in the Truck series and won his first championship in 2000. However, in 2001, he moved to Xfinity to win the Rookie of the Year award before the championship in the 2002 season. He could’ve won a championship in the Cup Series as well in 2005, but a controversial caution call and a loose wheel in Texas played spoiler to his attempts at NASCAR history.
The post “Hit Him With Uppercut”: NASCAR Legend Confesses Pulling His Punch on Kevin Harvick’s Arrogance for $15,000 appeared first on EssentiallySports.