First of all, I'd bet that the whole idea originated at the production company, with them encouraging (if not fabricating) the surrounding drama. That said, some of the animosity looked pretty real, and some was just the normal trash-talking to get into the other guys' heads.
I don't recall drivers or year-models from the original call-out that was broadcast; sounded to me like one show would race the other with a fairly loose rulebook. Notice how much ad time they sold?
All in all, none of it should be taken too seriously, it's just entertainment...though it was fun to see the new/old Crow beat the GMG car. Come to think of it, it seemed that Chief pretty much treed Laughlin twice.