INDIANAPOLIS – A hundred years from now, when archivists try to pin down automobile racing’s historic highs and lows, they’re going to have a tough time deciding on its apogee.
But there will be no denying that its low point was reached in the late-night and early-morning hours of April 4-5, 2024, in a social-media slapfest between NASCAR star Denny Hamlin and Speedway Motorsports CEO Marcus Smith. It had all the grace of a “Real Housewives” episode.
To borrow a British phrase reserved for occasions when things get truly catty, this was handbags at dawn.
Now, there was a time when combining the words “handbag” and “NASCAR” raised a smile, because they evoked a tale out of stock car racing’s rough-and-tumble ’50s.
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