NASCAR driver Rick Mast was going to shoot Jimmy Spencer

Instead, the two NASCAR drivers became good friends

1980’s NASCAR was a different breed of NASCAR driver.

Feuds aren’t uncommon on the race track. But, back in the day, it was the blue collar racers that were in the feuds and things could get more serious.

Rick Mast came up through the ranks turning the wrenches on his own machines. From one short track to the next, he lived paycheck to paycheck until finding his footing in the Speedway’s of NASCAR.

Jimmy Spencer came up through the open wheel modifieds. Those cars were bad fast and contact had to be precise to avoid wheel to wheel rubs.

When both drivers reached NASCAR, they collided…

Rick Mast was going to to shoot Jimmy Spencer

“I was going to shoot him,” Rick Mast stated of Spencer via the Dale Jr Download.

“We were at Lanier Georgia. You run right up against the outside wall for a 200 lap Busch race.”

Lanier is one of the gems in NASCAR’s past. It’s a .375-mile bullring oval.

In those days, teams could run 200 laps on 1 set of tires. And rain was on the way, Mast was picking up the pace, running 2nd and racing for the win in what could be a rain shortened event.

“Spencer’s been in the pits. He’s comes out, running the bottom. He’d run right up to my door, every freaking lap.”

“He kept aggravating me. Then, he hit my door. Finally, he came off the turn and just hit me and spun me.”

“The race is over, I go down there. Jimmy is bigger than everyone and all his brothers and sisters, they’re all bigger.”

Rick Mast
Rick Mast

Rick Mast talks with Jimmy Spencer after the race

“Spencer, why’d you wreck me?”

Spencer responded, “I didn’t wreck you.”

Mast said, “Spencer, you wrecked me in turn four. Why did you wreck me?”

Spencer said, “You come down on me.”

Mast added, “Spencer, I didn’t come down on ya. I was battling for the lead. Why did you wreck me?”

Spencer responded, “Well, I was trying to get a lap back.”

Mast rebutted, “Spencer, you’re 63 laps down. Why did you wreck me?”

Spencer finally said, “Are you going to try and whoop my ass? Is that what you’re going to do?”

Mast clarified, “No. I’m not going to do it because you and all your brothers are going to jump on me and I’m not taking an ass-whooping from all y’all people. I’m gonna go back to my truck, get my gun and blow your head off.”

“Honest to god, and I thought about this over the years. I walked away and got maybe 50 feet from him.”

“Spencer says, ‘Mast! What the hell?’ “

“He defused me.”

“He asked me one time, ‘What was going to happen?’ I said, ‘On my mind, I was going to get my gun, come back and shoot you.’ “

“Maybe by the time I got back to the truck, got my gun I would have got chilled out. After that, me and Jimmy never touched bumpers for a decade on the race track.”

“Whenever I had a little problem, I looked up and all his brothers were behind me. It was weird the way that worked,” Mast concluded.

Links

Rick Mast | Jimmy Spencer | Lanier Raceplex | NASCAR

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