2002 Channellock 250

The 2002 Channellock 250 was a NASCAR Busch Series race held at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee on March 23, 2002. The race was the 20th iteration of the event and the 5th race of the 2002 NASCAR Busch Series. Rookie Scott Riggs won the pole for the race but it was 2000 Series champion Jeff Green who would dominate the race leading the most laps and winning the race. But the race became a wreckfest and was remembered for a pair conflicts between multiple drivers including the ongoing feud between rookies Shane Hmiel and Casey Mears. The conflicts would eventually go to the post-race where there were two different conflicts with one being between Jack Sprague and Jimmy Spencer and the other being the most memorable between Kevin Harvick and Greg Biffle.

Background
The Bristol Motor Speedway, formerly known as Bristol International Raceway and Bristol Raceway, is a NASCAR short track venue located in Bristol, Tennessee. Constructed in 1960, it held its first NASCAR race on July 30, 1961. Despite its short length, Bristol is among the most popular tracks on the NASCAR schedule because of its distinct features, which include extraordinarily steep banking, an all concrete surface, two pit roads, and stadium-like seating. It has also been named one of the loudest NASCAR tracks.

Entry List

 * (R) denotes rookie driver

Qualifying
Rookie Scott Riggs won the pole for the race with a time of 15.196 and a speed of 126.270.

Race
Pole sitter Scott Riggs led lap one of the race. On lap 2, Rookie Kasey Kahne, making his second career Busch Series start, got loose off of turn 2 and hit the outside wall but no caution was flown. On lap 5, Jeff Green took the lead from Riggs. On lap 7, the first caution flew for multiple incidents that occurred in turns 2 and 4. In turn 4, Brian Weber spun all by himself and barely hit the inside pit road wall. At the same time in turns 1 and 2, Lyndon Amick and Jamie McMurray both spun where Amick slid up into the wall and caused cars to check up. The wreck eventually also collected Kevin Lepage and Bobby Hamilton Jr. and also had Ken Alexander run into the rear of Brian Vickers. The wreck also collected Mike Harmon. The race would restart on lap 17. On lap 21, the second caution flew for a 5 car crash down the frontstretch. It started when Ken Alexander got loose underneath Jeff Green off of turn 4 and Alexander got bumped from behind by Jason Keller and both went spinning down the frontstretch. Stacy Compton also spun after contact trying to avoid the wreck and both Johnny Sauter and Michael Waltrip made contact and both came barreling in spinning trying to avoid the wreck. The race would restart on lap 27. On lap 42, the third caution would fly when Kasey Kahne spun in turns 1 and 2. The race would restart on lap 55. On lap 65, the 4th caution would fly when Brian Vickers and Hank Parker Jr. crashed in turn 2. The race would restart on lap 74. On lap 75, Butch Miller spun in turn 4 but no caution was thrown. At the same time, Jimmy Spencer took the lead from Jeff Green. On lap 82, Kevin Harvick took the lead. At the same time, the 5th caution flew when Lyndon Amick, Hank Parker Jr., Kerry Earnhardt, and Andy Kirby crashed in turn 3. Jeff Green won the race off of pit road but Mike McLaughlin, Johnny Sauter, Mark Green, Joe Buford, Brian Vickers, and Larry Foyt did not pit and McLaughlin led the field to the restart on lap 89. On lap 100, the 6th caution flew when Tim Sauter crashed in turn 2. The race would restart on lap 106. On lap 108, the 7th caution would fly when Jack Sprague, Joe Buford, and Ken Alexander crashed in turn 2. This would be Alexander's third incident of the day. The race would restart on lap 115. On lap 117, the 8th caution flew when Scott Wimmer, Tony Raines, and Johnny Sauter crashed in turn 2.

Final laps and post-race conflict
The race would restart on lap 125. On lap 131, the 9th caution would fly for two separate incidents when Andy Kirby and Jimmy Spencer hit the outside wall. Kirby hit it in turn 1 and Spencer did in turn 4. Mike McLaughlin came into pit during the caution and gave the lead to Jeff Green where Green would hold onto the lead. The race would restart on lap 137. On lap 148, the 10th caution would fly when Casey Mears spun in turns 1 and 2 after he got chopped in the right front by Shane Hmiel. The incident would continue the feud between the two rookies that began in the second race of the season at Rockingham. During the wreck, Ken Alexander spun giving him his fourth incident of the race. The race would restart on lap 154. On lap 176, Jamie McMurray spun down the backstretch after he got reared by Greg Biffle but no caution was thrown. On lap 182, the 11th caution flew when Kasey Kahne crashed in turn 2. The race would restart on lap 188. On lap 191, the 12th caution would fly when Ashton Lewis, Joe Buford, and Butch Miller crashed in turns 3 and 4. The race would restart on lap 197. With 46 laps to go, the second place car of Kevin Grubb spun in turn 2 but no caution was thrown. With 44 to go, the 13th caution flew when Johnny Sauter crashed in turn 3 after he got bumped by Butch Miller. The race would restart with 38 laps to go. Jeff Green began to pull away from the second place car in Scott Wimmer and it looked like Green was gonna cruise to an easy victory. But with 11 laps to go, Greg Biffle bumped into the rear of Kevin Harvick which sent Harvick sideways before he overcorrected back to the right and hit head on, nose first into the outside wall in turn 4 and brought out the track record-tying 14th and final caution. This would end Harvick's day. Harvick was not very happy with Biffle for getting wrecked and he went to Biffle's pit where he had a short conversation to Biffle's crew chief Randy Goss about the incident. Harvick also took out his frustration and said "you know I always say Greg Biffle was a good guy but he's about the most impatient thing. I'll be waiting when he comes in here." The race was red flagged for the wreck to make sure the race does not end under caution since there was no green-white-checkered at the time. The race restarted with 5 laps to go. Jeff Green began to pull away from the second place car in Jimmy Spencer and Spencer tried to catch him but couldn't. With 2 laps to go, Jeff's brother Mark Green crashed in turn 2 where he was t-boned in the driver's side door by Larry Foyt. But no caution flew as the white flag flew. On the final lap, Spencer attempted to take the lead in turn 1 but failed to do so and fell back in the process. Coming to the checkered, Spencer turned the lapped car of Jack Sprague off of turn 4 and Sprague hit the inside wall. Jeff Green would take the win, his first of the season. His brother Mark ended up with a broken left foot but would be okay. Mike McLaughlin, Scott Wimmer, Jimmy Spencer, and Greg Biffle rounded out the top 5 while Kenny Wallace, Randy LaJoie, Todd Bodine, Scott Riggs, and Shane Hmiel rounded out the top 10.

After the race, chaos ensued on pit road as tempers began to flare. After getting wrecked, Jack Sprague got out of his car and ran toward where Jimmy Spencer was to confront him. Sprague got on top of the pit road wall where he was stopped by NASCAR officials from getting to him and Sprague yelled at Spencer to which Spencer paid very little attention. But meanwhile, the biggest conflict of the race was yet to come. After getting wrecked about 15 minutes ago, Kevin Harvick waited until the race was over to confront Greg Biffle. As soon as Harvick saw Biffle pit in pit road and get out of his car, Harvick ran toward where he parked, ran through the NASCAR officials to get to him, jumped over Biffle's car in the process like it was a wrestling move from the WWE, and landed right in front of where Biffle was standing. Harvick grabbed Biffle's fire suit and leaned into Biffle's face where he was about less than an inch away from it and began yelling in his face non-stop while Biffle just stood there without saying anything looking terrified and with officials yelling at Kevin to get away from him. After 15 seconds, Harvick was pulled away from Biffle. It showed on how much tempers can flare in just one race. Biffle claimed that Harvick got loose and that he checked off the throttle and also saying "I know there will be some fans mad at me for doing it, but I didn't do it on purpose." Harvick still had none of it and said "Biffle's an idiot. That's pretty much enough." In his interview, Jimmy Spencer didn't mention Jack Sprague at all. Eventually, Harvick was fined and placed on probation until the end of the year. The conflicts would continue for both Spencer and Harvick. The following day in the Cup Series race, Spencer was battling Kurt Busch for the lead when Busch shoved Spencer up the racetrack and costed his chance to win and gave Busch his first win of his Cup Series career. Spencer said in his interview after the race "Jimmy Spencer never forgets" which he kept the promise when he wrecked Busch in the Brickyard 400 that same year. Their rivalry would reach a new peak in the 2003 GFS Marketplace 400 at Michigan International Speedway when the two raced hard and had a confrontation on pit road where Busch hit Spencer's car near the garage. Spencer got mad and yelled at Busch to get out of his car while Busch refused and told Spencer to come to him. In a 2021 interview with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Mike Davis on the Dale Jr. Download, Spencer claimed Busch swung at him from inside the car and that's when Spencer punched him, or to which Spencer claimed was a backhanded slap. NASCAR suspended Spencer for the following race at Bristol and placed Busch on probation. Eventually, the two have appeared to forgive each other for what happened with Busch saying in 2023 that Spencer "taught me how to be tougher." Two weeks after his conflict with Biffle, Harvick was involved in another controversy when he intentionally spun Coy Gibbs during the Truck Series race at Martinsville Speedway after he and Gibbs had contact during the race and Harvick telling his intentions on the radio. NASCAR parked Harvick for the rest of the race after that and for the Cup race the following day where he would be replaced by Kenny Wallace. It was the beginning of where Harvick became known as a temperamental driver throughout his career. which gave him the nickname "Happy Harvick" as he had conflicts with drivers like Kyle Busch, Ricky Rudd, and Chase Elliott.