Don't expect breakout of boxing matches at NASCAR races

NASCAR officials declared recently that they want to see their drivers showing more personality and fire.

It was a nice thought, but fans shouldn't raise their hopes too high.

The past is gone, and there's little NASCAR can do to recapture it other than display dusty photographs and mementos in a Hall of Fame.

Don't expect more races to end like the 1979 Daytona 500 did, with drivers wrestling right there in the infield.

"It's not going to be some big change," Carl Edwards says of NASCAR's stated desire for drivers to loosen up.

Even if NASCAR looks the other way, someone's watching. This big-money sport relies on sponsorships and not every corporation that pays millions to dress a car in decals wants the kind of publicity a right cross and a headlock on national TV can bring.

"Every sponsor is different," Jeff Gordon says. "Some, you can be out there on the edge; others are a little more conservative."

Drivers also have to be careful because they are brands. Their names are trademarked, trinkets and T-shirts are adorned with their likenesses.

Sure, they get upset sometimes, but who can afford to take up the role of villain? It costs too much in sales.

So you're unlikely to see a Jimmy Spencer punch a Kurt Busch, as he did five years ago. You surely won't see a driver dunk another in a nearby lake, as legend described Tiny Lund doing to Curtis Turner after a race.

What you might see is schoolyard shoving and hear a few derogatory comments about what a bad driver someone is. Nothing more.

That NASCAR has all but encouraged drivers to develop a rougher edge comes as the sport's TV ratings decline and attendance wanes at some tracks. Fans love conflict. Allow more of it, the thinking goes, and more fans will watch.

There's also a fine line, because if you lose control, NASCAR becomes pro wrestling on wheels.

Yet, NASCAR needs disputes. Emotion fuels sports, and stock-car racing is no different. Problem is that fans don't see it as often in NASCAR because drivers are enclosed in a car and hidden by a helmet. Every once in a while, TV cameras catch a driver - it often seems to be Tony Stewart - gesturing out the window to a competitor. Too often fans don't see that interaction at all.

It's NASCAR's challenge to show people those moments.

"There's lots of emotion flying, fast and heavy at the events," circuit Chairman Brian France says.

Until late last year, series officials often penalized such action. Now, though France and his crew have begun to show restraint. NASCAR President Mike Helton recently referred to it as giving competitors "breathing room."

Kevin Harvick and Juan Pablo Montoya jostled like fourth-graders at Watkins Glen after a wreck. NASCAR didn't issue fines or place either on probation. That's a marked change from 2006 at Bristol, when Jeff Gordon shoved Matt Kenseth on pit road after a race. NASCAR fined Gordon and put him on probation.

NASCAR also looked the other way at Dover last September, when Kyle Petty and Denny Hamlin had a heated exchange. Petty admonished and pointed at Hamlin before slapping Hamlin's helmet visor and walking away.

While NASCAR stands back, someone will inevitably cross the line and force series officials to return to fines, probation or a loss of points. As NASCAR showed last summer, its kindler, gentler ways have their breaking point.

Stewart was fined $25,000 and 25 points for a profanity in a live interview after he won at Indianapolis last year. Such punishment likely won't change.

So, what you'll see is what you've seen recently: minor conflicts, brief dust-ups.

Car owner Rick Hendrick admits more confrontations might be better for sport.

"It's a spirited competition," he says. "They're gladiators. You've got to let them go at it a little bit."

Just don't expect anything big.