NASCAR Sends Risky Message By Putting Simple Price Tag On Intentional Wrecks On Modified Tour 

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

It’s an overused cliche around grassroots motorsports that it’s a community founded by the philosophy of being “pay to play.” 

In the simplest sense it means, if you’ve got the money to pay the bills to own a race team, you can go participate somewhere in the sport. 

On Tuesday, NASCAR added a new wrinkle to that philosophy when it comes to competitors on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. 

Maybe they could even do some flashy graphic advertising to promote what’s apparently a new “pay to wreck” format for the NASCAR Modified Tour.

We can just see those graphics now. 

Not enjoying how that guy in front of you is racing? Mad at someone for something they did to you in the last race? Want to make sure one of your competitors has a really bad points day? Well … if you act now, for the low low cost of just $2,500 you can intentionally wreck any other competitor during any of our events.

Maybe they could even just set up a booth in the pit area and sell “Wreck Whoever You Want” cards to competitors like they’re selling Ginsu knives at the state fair. 

All joking aside, the message sent by NASCAR to competitors on the Modified Tour on Tuesday was that if you have the desire to intentionally wreck another competitor on the track during an event, you can do so simply by paying the sanctioning body $2,500 to go through with committing that action.

NASCAR announced Tuesday that the one-race NASCAR Modified Tour suspension against Stephen Kopcik announced by the sanctioning body last week has been overturned on appeal. NASCAR had originally suspended Kopcik one race, fined him $1,500 and put him on probation through Dec. 31, 2025 for intentionally wrecking Tyler Rypkema during the FaithFest Evangelistic Ministries 150 on May 18 at North Wilkesboro Speedway. 

It was announced Tuesday that Kopcik’s penalty was amended after appeal to the National Motorsports Appeals Panel. The panel dropped Kopcik’s one-race suspension but increased his fine to $2,500. 

And here’s the wild part, in announcing their decision the appeals panel stated that they deemed Kopcik to have intentionally wrecked Rypkema on the track. 

A release from NASCAR stated: “In reaching the above decision, the panel provided the following explanation: ‘The panel believes that although there were several factors that contributed to the wreck, ultimately, the contact by the 21 car [Kopcik] against the 3 car [Rypkema] was intentional.‘”

So the appeals panel decided what Kopcik did was intentional, but that paying a little bit more of a fine would be a more satisfactory punishment rather than being forced to miss an event. 

Here’s one thing we know about most racers, tell them they’re getting fined and they probably don’t mind. Tell them they can’t race, and you’re going to get through to them. We can also guarantee this, tell drivers they can pay a nominal fee to the sanctioning body to have their blessing to wreck anyone they want on the track and you’ll have a line of guys in helmets waiting to take them up on that offer.

The reality of this whole sordid mess is that NASCAR messed up. If you want to point fingers on who messed up the biggest here, it’s NASCAR and the officials that oversee events on the NASCAR Modified Tour.

This whole thing went sideways when NASCAR allowed Kopcik to continue racing on May 18 after intentionally wrecking Rypkema. Let’s be frank, Stevie Wonder could see that Kopcik intentionally wrecked Rypkema the moment it happened at North Wilkesboro. Kopcik should have been parked by NASCAR at that moment. Instead, NASCAR let Kopcik continue in the event and he went on to get a sixth place finish out of the day and close to within eight points of the top of the series standings. 

This whole mess could have been fixed and should have been fixed before the North Wilkesboro race went back to green after the lap 105 wreck. NASCAR messed that up in a massive way and series officials should be ashamed for that. 

And now, what should have been resolved on May 18 is turning into a comical weekslong folly of exactly how not to hand out punishment to competitors for intentionally wrecking other competitors. 

It really doesn’t even make sense. What was announced Tuesday sends a message, loud and clear to every competitor on the Modified Tour that at any time during an event, if you want to intentionally wreck someone else on the track, just be prepared to write a check for $2,500 and you’re good to go. Maybe they’ll even offer two for one deals, where you can wreck two cars for $4,500 and get a $500 discount. The options seem endless right? 

Again, joking aside, this sends an ugly and dangerous message to competitors that the teeth of punishment for intentionally wrecking competitors is just that you’ll get a bill for it from NASCAR. 

Open the checkbooks, let the wrecking begin.