Rubbin’ is racin.’

At least that’s what Robert Duvall’s character tells young driver Cole Trickle, played by Tom Cruise, in the classic racing movie, “Days of Thunder.”  However, with NASCAR forced to respond to Tony Stewart’s prediction of death at this weekend’s Daytona 500, rulebook revisers are running on all cylinders.

The practice commonly referred to as “bump drafting” is characterized by a driver bumping into the rear end of another in order to keep momentum and stay off the brakes as much as possible.  Most of this rubbing happens on the circuit’s super speedways where restrictor plates are used to curb the engines power, lowering speeds and keeping drivers safe at some of NASCAR’s largest tracks.

The downside of plate racing is that it also reduces the car’s ability to accelerate and pass without the aid of the draft.  This problem means that drivers are unlikely to even touch their brakes and cars will be bunched up into large packs, increasing the chances of a major pile-up.

The use of restrictor plates has been detested by racing purists since their inception in 1988, but they’ve  earned a free pass this week as NASCAR has set up a patchwork system to penalize excessive bump drafting at Daytona.  Extra spotters and monitors will be set up in various “no-bump zones,” where the slightest bump can cause car to lose control, around the track and penalties will be administered to drivers who are caught riding the rear-end of a competitor.

The main concern from many fans, myself included, is that NASCAR would be required to...well...make a judgement call.  History does not bode very well for this.

When the organization began to crack down on the “yellow line rule,” which bans a driver from dipping below a marked boundary in order to pass a driver or advance his position in any way, many controversial calls were made.  One of them was this weekend when Carl Edwards went under the line to avoid a collision and was subsequently penalized.  How does NASCAR intend to add more human error to the race without taking the outcome out of the drivers hands?

“We’re gonna make some calls that won’t be popular at times,” said NASCAR vice president of competition Robin Pemberton, “We hope that we make the right calls.  But if we have to step in to try  and regulate this, this is what were going to do.”

While I understand NASCAR’s good intentions, I doubt their ability to support the greater good.

Is sending Dale Jr., whose known to have a penchant for rubbing, into pit lane during the final laps of the race because he tapped the car in front of him the right move from a competitive standpoint?  Furthermore, how is a mere mortal supposed to determine if the rear driver actually bump drafted or if the front driver checked his brakes, sending the two on a collision course?  With cars moving at 185 mph and officials lacking devine omnipotence, the only thing that can emerge from this setup is a major letdown.  The prospect of a faceless figure possibly tainting the Super Bowl of stock car racing sends a deep, unsettling feeling right to my core.   

It should be stressed that bump drafting has not always been viewed with such disdain.  In fact, when done correctly it’s perfectly legal and effective.  Ideally, a bump is executed on a straightaway when the bumping driver is certain the other car intends on continuing on a straight line.  When drivers get impatient and reckless, they bump draft in the corners and cause others to go slamming into the wall.

Many veterans feel as though it’s the younger generation of driver who causes the majority of these incidents, such as the near miss by Kyle Busch this past weekend when trying to pass Mark Martin.  However, NASCAR officials were clear that they weren’t going into Daytona looking to thumb down any one driver.

“We’re not picking on anybody,” said Pemberton, “We’re just trying to do what’s best for the sport across the board.”

Nonetheless, I can’t help but feel that more unruly drivers, like the Busch brothers, will be watched with a little extra care this Sunday.

As NASCAR manifests itself in American pop culture, the days of fights in the pits and Earnhardt’s “Pass in the Grass” will slowly fade away.  Even the scene in “Days of Thunder” where Trickle rams a rival car during his victory celebration probably isn’t shown at too many company picnics.  Instead, we’ll all have to settle for Olympic-style scandal and bureaucratic rule changes.  I just hope the number 8 Budweiser, Dynomax, Drakkar, Purelator, Nabisco, DEI Chevrolet Monte Carlo can pull out a championship before this sport gets too commercial.

(Tom Cruise was unavailable for comment.)

Jess Mosser is a journalism major at Ohio University who also writes for the Ohio University Post. He can be reached at jesse.mosser@atomicsportsmedia.com