NASCAR Chase controversy

Sounds like NAPA is reconsidering its role with the team. Whether you like NASCAR or not, this is a big deal in racing.

Linky: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1767886-ryan-newman-to-replace-martin-truex-jr-in-chase-for-the-cup?utm_source=cnn.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=editorial&hpt=hp_t2

In reply to David S. Wallens:

I'm kind of ashamed that I used to be a Michael Waltrip fan. This is the second huge cheating scandal they got caught in.

I really really hope NASCAR puts Gordon back in the Chase. (As an aside, Jeff's been screwed since the Chase started in 04. He should have been Champ again in 04 & 07 on points, making him a 6-time Champ)

The latest is that Penske may have asked Gilliland to let Logano pass on that final restart to beat Gordon for the final spot.

David S. Wallens wrote: Sounds like NAPA is reconsidering its role with the team. Whether you like NASCAR or not, this is a big deal in racing. Linky: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1767886-ryan-newman-to-replace-martin-truex-jr-in-chase-for-the-cup?utm_source=cnn.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=editorial&hpt=hp_t2

That would be a huge blow to the team, especially in a time where the "Most Popular Driver" cant get a single sponsor to foot the bill for the entire season. NAPA has been with Waltrip for so long, that it would be a shock to see them leave or change teams.

Bending the rules and creative engineering have always been part of the sport... see icons Smokey Yunick. Junior Johnson etc. We relish the stories. Not acceptable in this day and age tho.

btw, MWR shot themselves in the foot, NAPA has plenty of talent to pick from.

In reply to fasted58:

There's a huge difference between doing things that aren't in the rules (such as hey, there's no rule saying how big my gas line has to be, I'll make a 7/8" hose!) and blatantly, outright cheating (such as spinning and pitting in order to get teammates into the "postseason"). Do not confuse ingenuity with malice.

Will wrote: The latest is that Penske may have asked Gilliland to let Logano pass on that final restart to beat Gordon for the final spot.

I just saw that, too.

Javelin wrote: In reply to David S. Wallens: I'm kind of ashamed that I used to be a Michael Waltrip fan. This is the second huge cheating scandal they got caught in. I really really hope NASCAR puts Gordon back in the Chase. (As an aside, Jeff's been screwed since the Chase started in 04. He should have been Champ again in 04 & 07 on points, making him a 6-time Champ)

the rules changed with the chase, the teams all played to those different rules... the teams that played it best won..

In reply to novaderrik:

A made-up racing "post-season" is stupid and sucks. I haven't watched since they did that, and you're talking to a guy that's been to 4 Daytona 500's and 3 Pepsi 400's in person.

Based on actual season-long results, Gordon is a 6-time Champ and Jimmie Dean Johnson is only a 2.

So why do they get this big penalty when there was no penalty for what Chase Elliot did at the end of the Craftsmen truck series in Canada?

Javelin wrote: Based on actual season-long results, Gordon is a 6-time Champ and Jimmie Dean Johnson is only a 2.

What he was trying to point out is that it's not as simple as applying the previous points format to the Chase-era results as though that's how the races would've played out.

Who's to say (for one example) Johnson and Knaus would not have adjusted their strategy and raced hard all season instead of racing just hard enough until the Chase kicked in if there were no Chase?

In the past, Knaus has said that when the are locked in, they try different things to see if they work. They don't worry about finishes. Betcha he runs a lot different at the next race.

iceracer wrote: In the past, Knaus has said that when the are locked in, they try different things to see if they work. They don't worry about finishes. Betcha he runs a lot different at the next race.

Jimmy Johnson almost took the week off from racing to spend time with his newborn daughter (or son? i forget since it doesn't really matter to me).. which is something that he could have done since they were already locked into the chase..

and, yeah, every team tries different stuff once they are locked in.. that's why you see things like more motors blowing up in cars run by those teams in the few weeks leading up to the chase.

JOLIET, Ill. -- Citing unprecedented and extraordinary circumstances resulting from several allegations of race-fixing last week at Richmond International Raceway, NASCAR has expanded the field for its Chase for the Sprint Cup playoffs by adding Jeff Gordon as a 13th driver.

http://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/cup/story/_/id/9669892/nascar-adds-jeff-gordon-13th-car-chase

Javelin wrote: In reply to fasted58: There's a *huge* difference between doing things that aren't in the rules (such as hey, there's no rule saying how big my gas line has to be, I'll make a 7/8" hose!) and blatantly, outright cheating (such as spinning and pitting in order to get teammates into the "postseason"). Do not confuse ingenuity with malice.

I don't see a problem with pitting. Wrecking cars and blatant cheating, yes.

the rainbow warrior has been added as a 13th slot. Imagine if the NFL did something like this in the middle of the playoffs. "Patriots were cheating so we'll go ahead and put the Browns in as well since they kind of deserve to be in."

I wonder where this is going to put MWR. I always liked Michael Waltrip and still do. Did I read that Newman is to take Truex seat? There is some weird irony to that. However this may be what saves the NAPA sponsorship with MWR.

For those that dont like it that NASCAR decision to put Gordon in the chase what should have been done?. He had no part of the shenanigans going on around him. He was racing his way in to the 2nd season and would have been in had all this not happened.

I am also sure that sponsorship had something to do with it. AARP and Dupont are two hugely powerful sponsors both in the nascar world and probably more importantly in the real world and nascar could not aford to have them mad at them. Also Jeff Gordon is probably the 2nd most popular driver next to DE jr and turning away that fan base is something that NASCAR can not afford to do.

DirtyBird222 wrote: the rainbow warrior has been added as a 13th slot. Imagine if the NFL did something like this in the middle of the playoffs. "Patriots were cheating so we'll go ahead and put the Browns in as well since they kind of deserve to be in."

I think thats the only way my beloved Browns would make it to the playoffs!

In a series that does not really penalize some racers for intentional contact, and racers finish way back if the get crashed out in the last corner of the last lap, I hope Gordon wins.

dean1484 wrote: I wonder where this is going to put MWR. I always liked Michael Waltrip and still do. Did I read that Newman is to take Truex seat? There is some weird irony to that. However this may be what saves the NAPA sponsorship with MWR.

I believe Newman signed with RCR to drive the 31 car next year.

In reply to Will:

I could see that, Burton is supposed to be leaving right?

The Dinger is moving into the 47, glad to see Daugherty is getting a good driver.

dean1484 wrote: I wonder where this is going to put MWR. I always liked Michael Waltrip and still do. Did I read that Newman is to take Truex seat? There is some weird irony to that. However this may be what saves the NAPA sponsorship with MWR. For those that dont like it that NASCAR decision to put Gordon in the chase what should have been done?. He had no part of the shenanigans going on around him. He was racing his way in to the 2nd season and would have been in had all this not happened. I am also sure that sponsorship had something to do with it. AARP and Dupont are two hugely powerful sponsors both in the nascar world and probably more importantly in the real world and nascar could not aford to have them mad at them. Also Jeff Gordon is probably the 2nd most popular driver next to DE jr and turning away that fan base is something that NASCAR can not afford to do.

this whole "controversy" stems from some teams that didn't try hard enough to earn their way into the chase whining about "fair play", and NASCAR giving into pressure to make things "fair" because, as you know, in this day and age the person that whines the most gets their way.

no teams did anything new or broke any rules at that race- any time NASCAR has to use the "actions detrimental to stock car racing" catch all, you know it's a bunch of crap- but NASCAR had a PR nightmare on their hands, so they decided to make themselves look even more silly than they already did by doing "the right thing" just this once and giving themselves an even bigger PR nightmare due to the lost credibility...

will they be handing out penalties when a Hendrick affiliated back marker comes in for a pit stop with 100 laps to go to give Jimmy Johnson an extra position on the track? will the penalize a team that hits the brakes coming off pit road so that they can line up for the restart in the fastest lane? how about whenever one driver lets a teammate lead a lap to get the bonus point for doing so? all of these things "manipulate" the race, so they should all lead to $100k fines and lost points by the new NASCAR logic.

i guess what i'm saying is this: if Jeff Gordon wanted to be in the chase, he wouldn't have just ridden around and settles for top 20 or top 10 finishes earlier in the season and would have fought to try to get a few more positions on track, and maybe an actual win or 2... but nope- he coasted along all season, sometimes competing for the lead, sometimes with the cruise control set to just finish the race- and he had to rely on his boss doing some back door whining to get into it...

So you know that Jeff Gordon has been just sitting coasting all season. Hummmm You work for Hendrick? Did Jeff Gordon tell you he was not really trying.

Come on, wake up. They guy has been driving has ass off and has for a variety of reasons (his driving included) not been a front runner. But he had managed to get to where he was going to make the chase until all the crap happened.

And yes when many many millions of sponsorship dollars are on the line you can bet your ass that Hendrick is going to complain. For all you know there could be contract language with the sponsors that guarantees additional moneys if they make the chase.

To imply that Jeff Gordon was sitting on his hands all season is just crap and you know it. Say his driving sucked, he has some bad luck with equipment and on the track and I am sure there were some screw-ups on pit road that cost him but I highly dought that he was not trying to win.

I am not particurly a Jeff Gordan fan. I am kind of ambivalent really. But saying he is not trying is just BS.

In reply to dean1484:

Agreed. I'm ambivalent towards Gordan as well, but t osay he isn't trying to win is just silly.

Dale Jr's comments are interesting. Basically saying none of this is new, but not quite saying NASCAR was wrong. It seems there's a lot head scratching going on in the garage. It's almost as if NAPA went to NASCAR and said, "We want out of our contract with MWR and go to a different team. If they do anything on the fringe, can you please nail them?" I'm not saying that is really the case, but the whole thing is just strange... If this sort of thing has been going on for years as Jr implies, then why did NASCAR decide to come down on it now?

dean1484 wrote: So you know that Jeff Gordon has been just sitting coasting all season. Hummmm You work for Hendrick? Did Jeff Gordon tell you he was not really trying. Come on, wake up. They guy has been driving has ass off and has for a variety of reasons (his driving included) not been a front runner. But he had managed to get to where he was going to make the chase until all the crap happened. And yes when many many millions of sponsorship dollars are on the line you can bet your ass that Hendrick is going to complain. For all you know there could be contract language with the sponsors that guarantees additional moneys if they make the chase. To imply that Jeff Gordon was sitting on his hands all season is just crap and you know it. Say his driving sucked, he has some bad luck with equipment and on the track and I am sure there were some screw-ups on pit road that cost him but I highly dought that he was not trying to win. I am not particurly a Jeff Gordan fan. I am kind of ambivalent really. But saying he is not trying is just BS.

i didn't say he was coasting all the time, but there have been weeks where they got into a comfortable groove and decided that 15th place was good enough, when in reality he could have passed a few more cars on the track... it's not just him- they all do it- but then at about race 20 or so they figure out that they need to start trying to make up the ground they didn't go after up to that point, and then they wind up a couple of points out of getting into the chase and it's time to start scrambling and looking for any technicality to work in their favor...

this is where drivers like Kyle Busch shine- he might be a bit of a loudmouth whiny punk and race kind of dirty sometimes, but he's always seems like he's fighting for every position on every lap of every race, which is what he gets paid for and why he's still got the big dollar sponsors despite never pulling it all together over the long haul..