NASCAR’s Toothless Penalty Won’t Stop Manipulation Of Cup Series Events Going Forward

(The article below is a RaceDayCT column – The views expressed in this column are solely the opinion of the writer)

On Tuesday NASCAR announced multiple penalties in the aftermath of the closing laps of Sunday’s Cup Series Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway. 

According to NASCAR, their investigation found evidence that three teams were involved in manipulating the results of Sunday’s race in an effort to help two teams looking to qualify for the Cup Series Championship 4 for Sunday’s season finale at Phoenix Raceway.

It was deemed that Trackhouse Racing driver Ross Chastain and Richard Childress Racing driver Austin Dillon purposefully assisted Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron. All three are Chevrolet teams. It was also deemed that 23XI driver Bubba Wallace purposefully assisted Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell. Wallace and Bell drive for Toyota teams. 

Chastain, Dillon and Wallace were each penalized 50 driver points and fined $100,000. NASCAR also fined the team owners for Chastain, Dillon and Wallace $100,000 each and penalized them each 50 points in the owner standings. In addition the crew chiefs, spotters and one team executive for the Chastain, Dillon and Wallace teams were all suspended for Sunday’s Cup Series season finale at Phoenix Raceway. 

No other top level sport in this country has had such a longstanding reputation of event manipulation by the sanctioning body than NASCAR. Whether it’s just perceived and the stuff of lore or real doesn’t really matter. What matters is that it’s something that has dogged the sport for decades. Tuesday’s penalties will only serve to fuel that perception for many. 

On paper it looks like NASCAR came down hard on the three team accused of event manipulation on Sunday. The reality is, it was a toothless punishment that will do nothing to stop it from happening again. 

A penalty should serve two purposes. It should serve as a punishment to those who broke the rules and it should serve as a deterrent to anyone thinking about doing the same. 

NASCAR’s decision in regard to this matter doesn’t do either. The points, the money, the suspensions? It really means little to these teams. 

Manufacturers pushed for teams to do what they did. Manufacturers who pour millions of dollars into these teams. Manufacturers who all expect blind loyalty to them and their desires. 

Did Austin Dillon or Ross Chastain really care whether or not Willam Byron made the Championship 4? Did Bubba Wallace really care if Christopher Bell made the Championship 4? Probably not. But, do they know where their bread gets buttered? Absolutely they do. They understand they must be loyal to the wishes of those paying the bills.

Are the penalites served going to stop anyone from doing this again? Probably not. 

NASCAR’s reaction to the results of their event being manipulated and their Championship 4 lineup being manipulated should have involved a punishment that made the world of motorsports stop in their tracks. 

If NASCAR really wanted to ensure that this wouldn’t happen again, this is what they should have done. They should have suspended the No. 1 Trackhouse Racing team, the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Team and the No. 23 23XI team from competing in Sunday’s season finale at Phoenix. Suspend the drivers, suspend the car, suspend the whole team. 

And they should have eliminated Byron from the Championship 4. Don’t give a driver a chance to race for a championship that was put in that position because others behind the scenes were manipulating the outcome of the event. And Bell’s team should be suspended from Phoenix too. Let Joey Logano, Tyler Reddick and Ryan Blaney run for the championship at Phoenix and don’t reward a team that attempted to manipulate the system to get in. 

Imagine this level of manipulation taking place in an NFL game or Major League Baseball playoff game or in an NCAA March Madness game? There would be congressional hearings happening this week. And somehow when it comes to event manipulation in the Cup Series, NASCAR is essentially sweeping it under the rug and hardly building any sort of deterrent to stop it from happening again.