Autosport Plus

Why nice guys don't always finish last

Ruthlessness is often described as an attribute of champions, but could playing the nice guy have its advantages? Our panel of experts weigh in.

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Dale Earnhardt Sr looked almost embarrassed as he addressed the TV cameras from victory lane at Bristol in August 1999, delivering a line that would go down in NASCAR folklore: "I didn't mean to turn him around, I meant to rattle his cage."

Perhaps for the first time in his long and distinguished career, 'The Intimidator' was roundly booed by the capacity crowd after he wrecked Terry Labonte in their final-lap duel for the lead, which came four years after he had turned 'Texan Terry' on the run to the chequered flag at the same venue - albeit with the order unchanged.

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Author James Newbold

James Newbold is Autosport's Plus Editor, responsible for coordinating website feature content.

In a sign of things to come, having completed his Politics and International Relations degree at the University of East Anglia in 2015, he left his graduation ceremony early to catch the last train to Brussels for the following day's Spa 24 Hours.

After a period as a freelancer, he joined the Autosport staff in 2018 and won the Motorsport UK young journalist of the year award. He initially edited Autosport magazine's Performance and Engineering supplements before joining the website team in his current role in 2020.

A keen enthusiast of anything that can be categorised unusual or niche, he enjoys unearthing little-known stories across all branches of motorsport, but has spent most of his career covering sportscars and is a regular part of the Le Mans 24 Hours reporting team.

He lives with his wife and children in Plymouth, England.