1999 Goody's Headache Powder 500: The Day NASCAR Changed Forever!

Growing up as a kid I remember drivers having a lot more respect for each other then they do now, and I wonder why?

If you wrecked someone for the win, NASCAR would penalize you. For example, in the 1991 Banquet Frozen Foods 350 at Sonoma, Former NASCAR driver Ricky Rudd tagged Davey Allison and spun him out for the victory.

NASCAR penalized Rudd and sent him to second place, and Allison was credited with the victory. NASCAR made the right move, as moving someone out of the way for a victory is just wrong.

It seemed like NASCAR wouldn't stand for that. Hardly ever do I remember someone spinning someone out for the victory until the 1999 Goody's Headache Powder 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

For those of you who don't remember this day, I'll refresh your memory. It was Bristol Motor Speedway, and it was going to be an exciting finish for as Dale Earnhardt was running second to a very talented Terry Labonte.

They swapped the lead (without any hard contact) about three times in the last 20 laps. As they took the white flag Labonte was in front and coming off of turn two, Dale Earnhardt wrecked Terry Labonte.

He took his back bumper and wrecked him. Dale went on to victory. Labonte gave him the whole bottom lane, and Earnhardt still came up and wrecked Labonte. For sure I thought, "Oh, they'll take the win away!"

Nothing happened and Dale was allowed to keep the victory. I hear people's comments about how this was one of the greatest races of all time and to me, it would have been, had Earnhardt had the win taken from him.

Wrecking Labonte there was a cheap shot. The Bristol crowd that night didn't seem pleased either, as they had a great finish taken away from them because of Earnhardt's move.

Boos came down from the crowd when Earnhardt climbed out of his famous black No. 3. Boos half for Earnhardt and half for NASCAR not taken the win away.

Since that day, it has been "okay" to wreck someone for the win. People say "Oh that's racin!"  The fact is it's not racing. It's wrecking. Kyle Busch took out Dale Earnhardt Jr. at Richmond and was not penalized for it.

For the new NASCAR fans, they have grown up with the wrecking as being normal. It's kind of sad actually. In 2008, rookie Craftsman Truck Series driver, Donny Lia won at Mansfield in May. He bumped leader David Starr out of the way on the final lap.

Lia was happy as it was his first NASCAR victory, but should it have been? Juan Pablo Montoya wrecked teammate Scott Pruett with eight to go at Mexico in 2007. NASCAR failed to take the win away there too!

And people say "It's always been this way!" The fact is no it hasn't. The 1976 and 1979 Daytona 500 have been mention to me as wrecking someone for the win.

In 1976, both Richard Petty and David Pearson where RACING, when contact was made and they both slid down the front stretch. Pearson's red and white No. 21 crawled across the finish line first.

No one wrecked each other there. It was a racing accident. In 1979, Donnie Allison and Cale Yarborough wrecked on the super stretch. Both drivers wrecked, but no one took their bumper to the others and spun them out and went on to victory.

Jeff Burton has been criticized numerous times for "not being aggressive enough."  People think Jeff doesn't want to win as much as someone who would bump them out of the way for a win. That is a ridiculous statement.

Burton is a class act and a fan favorite. When he wins the races, you know he was the true winner. When you walk out of the track, you know that he won that race fair and square.

You see part of the beauty of racing is seeing how a driver maneuvers his way past another driver. There is a lot of strategy used and when you bump someone out of the way, you just lowered yourself and your skill.

What Burton does is race. That is what you are supposed to do and getting made fun of for that is stupid. Burton does it the way you are supposed to.

Shame on NASCAR for letting it get this way. Wrecking someone for the win just seems normal since that dark night at Bristol in 1999. The night NASCAR changed for the worse.