New form of road rage the norm for NASCAR
Rowdy behavior, once as much a badge of honor as grease under the fingernails, has become a blemish in a sport driven by image-conscious sponsors who demand clean-cut, well-spoken drivers who avoid controversy. It's an unwritten code of behavior: Fight, and you could lose a sponsor.
Four years ago, when driver Tony Stewart threw a punch at a photographer after a race in which he did poorly, he says sponsor Home Depot almost fired him. Stewart attended counseling with a sports psychologist.
Because drivers aren't familiar enough with each other to vent face-to-face and fighting is understood to bring suspensions and sponsorship loss, the outcome has been a rise in wrecks triggered by road rage. More at USA Today