Quick takeaways from Darlington: Who was more blatant, Nemechek or Stewart?

Throughout 2016 we may have way too many quick thoughts for our post-race posts. So consider our Takeaways feature to be the home of our random and sometimes intelligent musings. Sometimes the post may have a theme. Sometimes it may just be a mess of unrelated thoughts. Make sure you tweet us your thoughts after the race or email your post-race rants via the link in the signature line below.

• Is there a challenger to John Hunter Nemechek’s slam of Cole Custer for most egregious wreck of the week in NASCAR?

If you missed Nemechek’s “pass” of Custer for the win in Sunday’s Truck Series race at MoSport, here it is. Nemechek contended after the race that he didn’t wreck Custer and that “Rubbing is racing.”

Let’s flash to Sunday night’s Southern 500 at Darlington. Tony Stewart, who had a borderline top-10 car, was racing with Brian Scott, who was a lap down. Scott was on the high side and Stewart got loose exiting the corner on the inside of Scott. As the two approached the next two corners, Stewart moved to the right and, well … see for yourself.

[Related: Martin Truex Jr. wins at Darlington]

Stewart, who retired before the end of the race because of a blown engine said “he wrecked” with a smile when asked by NBC about the incident with Scott. He later said he got loose and the crash was not intentional.

Scott said he was trying to let Stewart by because he was a lap down.

“I was pointing him to the inside to let him go,” Scott said. “Apparently he got mad at me … I have a lot of respect for Tony. He has always raced me really clean. I am not sure what he thought was going on there. I am not sure if he thought I was trying to hold him up there, I wasn’t. I was trying to let him go. I even pointed him to the inside. Maybe he thought I was giving him the finger or something.”

So, which of the crashes was more egregious by the drivers who instigated the contact? Yes, the circumstances were quite different, but if you’re a longtime observer of NASCAR, it’s not hard to see how they could have been avoided. Nemechek could have cut it out after the first two bumps of Custer didn’t work. And Stewart is a three-time champion whose car turned right on the straightaway. If the car was that loose on the straightaway, how was Stewart able to control his car in the corners?

We’re not advocating for penalties for either Stewart or Nemechek, though Stewart was called to the NASCAR hauler after the race. Purposeful crashes will always be a part of racing, whether drivers publicly admit intent or not. And it’s sure hard to take either driver’s comments at face value.

[Related: Race for Chase may be down to McMurray vs. Newman]

• NBC’s throwback segment with Ken Squier, Ned Jarrett and Dale Jarrett calling a portion of the Southern 500 was once again a blast simply for the nostalgia factor. We’re good with that segment happening at Darlington for however long Squier and Ned are able.

• This pre-race tweet from Interntional Speedway Corp. chief marketing officer Daryl Wolfe might have broken the NASCAR throwback hyperbole meter.

Yes, the retro paint schemes are awesome. But incredible and historic? Plus, isn’t overly praising the throwback paint schemes a backhanded indictment of how bad Sprint Cup cars generally look today?

The throwback races in 2040 flashing back to 2016 will be something. Maybe NASCAR will be racing hovercraft by then.

• Regan Smith won the battle of Alan Kulwicki tribute paint schemes with Greg Biffle. Both drivers ran cars resembling Kulwicki’s 1992 Sprint Cup winning car and Smith took the trophy with a 20th-place finish. Biffle smashed the wall and had to go to the garage. He ultimately finished 72 laps down.

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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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