Rattled His Cage
Dateline: 06/20/2000"I just wanted to rattle his cage." Jeremy Mayfield said with a big grin after he had just knocked Dale Earnhardt out of the way in the final turn of the final lap to claim victory in Pocono. Clearly he understood that he had put a classic Earnhardt move on Earnhardt himself. That was the type of incident that "The Intimidator" has been involved in many times, however this was the first time that Earnhardt was on the receiving end.
The Incident
Dale Earnhardt had a solid lead when they took the white flag but bobbled a little bit through the tunnel turn which allowed Jeremy to close hard. Jeremy got a run into the third and final turn and just nudged Earnhardt's back bumper enough to move him up the track. Earnhardt saved the car, avoided the wall and the other drivers and brought the car home in fourth place.
The "cage" quote was simply brilliant on Mayfield's part. The quote comes from last August's race in Bristol. After Earnhardt spun Terry Labonte on the last lap to take the win Dale had explained away his actions by saying "I didn't mean to wreck him. I just wanted to rattle his cage."
NASCAR Justice
It's amazing how well the NASCAR justice system works. You help define how other drivers treat you on the racetrack by your own driving style. Earnhardt is the master of the bump-and-run and there is little doubt that if the roles were reversed, Earnhardt would have done exactly the same thing. Earnhardt has won races like this before, now it has come full circle to cost him one.
I do have to give Dale credit for taking it pretty well. Since this was the first time he ever received the shaft like this there was some doubt about how angry he might be. But he handled it like a true seven-time Winston Cup Champion. He mentioned the sponsor, complimented his crew, acknowledged that it was a good day in the points and is off to try to get them next week.
Keep an eye on these two on the track for the next few weeks. Neither would intentionally cause a wreck, but neither driver will give the other any extra room either.
