NA$CAR Manipulation of Races

[Pacecar]

http://amestrib.com/sections/opinion/colum...-car-races.html

 

written by Bill Haglund, former SAS Track Manager and Promoter

 

Bill Haglund: Manipulating the outcome of car races

 

 

I did something the last two Sundays that I haven’t done in years — I deliberately skipped watching the NASCAR races at Chicagoland Speedway and in New Hampshire.

 

It felt pretty good, too.

 

First, going back more than a decade, I was one who felt that the then-new “Chase for the Cup” was a feeble attempt by NASCAR to recreate its premiere series into something it wasn’t — a sport akin to Major League Baseball, the National Football League, the National Hockey League and the National Basketball Association. All those, of course, have post-season playoffs leading up to championship series.

 

This was supposed to be NASCAR’s playoff series.

 

There’s one distinct difference between NASCAR and those other professional sports — they’re all team sports.

 

For decades, NASCAR racing was a fiercely individual sport, Sunday afternoon fields filled both with single-car teams boasting million dollar sponsors racing side-by-side with single-car independent teams struggling to keep up.

 

NASCAR always wanted it that way. Its competitors were independent contractors. Multi-car teams were rare — car owners felt that fielding more than one car would dilute the success of the other; all the team’s resources should go to one team.

 

That began to change, however, as million dollar sponsorship deals became multimillion dollar deals. Suddenly, car owners like Roger Penske, Jack Roush, Rick Hendrick and Joe Gibbs found it an advantage to have more than one race team competing on Sunday afternoons. Sponsorship money made it not only feasible, but lucrative as well.

 

When Dave Marcis raced in his final Daytona 500 a dozen or so years ago, it marked the end of the independent driver in NASCAR. And, Marcis was indeed fiercely independent.

 

Suddenly, NASCAR had what it had worked hard to prevent for more than 30 years. Suddenly, NASCAR racing had become a “team” sport.

 

NASCAR, which had quashed an attempt by drivers to unionize nearly 50 years ago (in fact, Curtis Turner, one of the union organizers, was banned from racing for a time), now found its fields filled with teams — at least by team cars.

 

Of course, having those “teams” was also a big, big boost to NASCAR. Racing on that elite level had become a sport only for the rich; suddenly it was a young driver’s salability, not just his driving skill, that earned him a seat in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series.

 

Young men who could bring multi-million dollar sponsors with them would earn spots behind the wheel; a more talented driver who didn’t have that type of financial backing or wasn’t the stereotypical young man with All-American good looks didn’t get the same chance to succeed.

 

Big bucks rule the sport.

 

NASCAR got just what it wanted — it became, finally, a team sport. It even began assuring that the top teams were guaranteed a starting spot in each Sunday’s race; some teams were designated as “franchise” teams.

 

Now, NASCAR finds itself in a situation of trying to avoid the consequences that a “team” concept brings to the sport.

 

Make no mistake, there have been many times that drivers have helped determine the winner of the race when they had no opportunity to win. There have been many “inadvertent” bumps on the track that assured a buddy, not a foe, would win that day’s race; there have been many questionable pit stops that allowed a friendly competitor to gain points over a rival.

 

So, it was no surprise that Michael Waltrip Racing would do everything it could to help Martin Truex Jr. get into this year’s “Chase.”

 

Brian Vickers, driving a MWR car, pitted unexpectedly late in the race. Clint Bowyer spun. Voila — Truex found himself in the “Chase” and Stewart-Haas driver Ryan Newman found himself outside the elite group.

 

Ah … not so fast.

 

NASCAR said that Michael Waltrip Racing had done too much, saying those actions were done to manipulate the race’s outcome. So, NASCAR levied a $300,000 fine against MWR and docked each driver 50 championship points. That knocked Truex out of the chase and got Newman back in.

 

Further, it was determined that driver David Gilliland had helped Joey Logano get into the chase as Gilliland was heard over his radio saying something about “the big man remembering this,” an obvious reference to Logano’s car owner Roger Penske. So …

 

NASCAR also decided that, in fairness, Jeff Gordon would be added to the field (Logano remained in as well), making a field of 13 drivers in this year’s chase.

 

It would seem that manipulating the outcome of races is a big “no-no” … unless, of course, it’s NASCAR itself manipulating the outcome.

 

When Richard Petty won his 200th NASCAR race at Daytona years ago with then President Ronald Reagan watching, the post-race inspection showed that Petty’s engine was too big, thereby giving him an illegal edge in horsepower. But, NASCAR let that victory stand.

 

In 1982, racing at the old Richmond Fairgrounds track, Dave Marcis earned his seventh and final victory. Driving his own Chevrolet, Marcis remained on the track when all others pitted during a rain shower. Action was stopped.

 

NASCAR Chief Scorer, the late Morris Metcalf, then said over the radio for everyone to hear: “Dave Marcis is not going to win this race. We will stay here as long as it takes to get the race re-started — Dave Marcis will not win.”

 

It didn’t stop raining; Marcis won.

 

Obviously, manipulating the outcome of races only applies to drivers, and then only certain drivers.

 

Bill Haglund is a writer for the Dallas County News and Boone News-Republican. He can be reached at whaglund@adelnews.com.

[debwill]

Great article. I think Bill hit the nail on the head.

[HiTech]

CANT WAIT TILL THE DAY WHEN DANICA IS SOME WHERE NEAR THE FRONT AT THE END AND NASCAR DOES SOMETHING TO MANIPULATE THE RACE FOR HER .....JUST USING HER AS AN EXAMPLE ........................BUT EVERY ONE KNOWS NASCAR HAS CONTROLLED MANY OUTCOMES NOTHING NEW .THEY CAN GET AWAY WITH A FAKE EXCUSE FOR A YELLOW.SPINNING .WRECKING OTHERS OR JUST PLAIN MIRROR DRIVING ANOTHER COMPETITOR TO HELP YOUR TEAM MATE IS WRONG .DALE DIED DOING THE LATTER . BUT PITTING TO HELP OUT AND OTHER MINER THINGS TO CONTROL A TEAM MATES ADVANTAGE SO WHAT ,,ITS A TEAM SPORT NOW .BUT THINKING NOTHING LIKE THIS WENT ON BETWEEN DRIVERS BACK WHEN NASCAR ONLY ALOUD SINGLE CAR TEAMS YOU WOULD HAVE TO BE REALLY NAIVE .. TODAY IT IS NOT AS EASY TO GET AWAY WITH IT WHEN EVERY ONE CAN MONITOR YOUR EVERY WORDS ... BOTTOM LINE IS .YOU CANT CONTROL ALL OF IT EVEN AT THE LOCAL LEVEL.I HAVE PLAYED THE GAME .

[rebelracewriter]

Well I'll be.....

 

I had to look twice at who the actual author of the article was....Tho granted I wasn't as aware of the deep/dark knowledge of the past....

 

Kudos to Mr Haglund.....I knew I liked that guy from his time at SAS....

 

Nice catch Larry...

[arob]

Yep that article sums it all up.Sad thing is nothing will get better with NASCAR as long as Brian France is at the helm.And I don't think he plans on leaving anytime soon.

[HiTech]

THE AUTHOR IS SPOT ON .

[tps22]

what's the difference if pitting late in a race and slowing to let your "teammate" lead a lap? Lost in all this is Truex Jr. He doesn't know what is going on and yet he loses his spot AND his sponsor. If anyone should have been booted it was Boyer. JMHO, done ranting

[HiTech]

what's the difference if pitting late in a race and slowing to let your "teammate" lead a lap? Lost in all this is Truex Jr. He doesn't know what is going on and yet he loses his spot AND his sponsor. If anyone should have been booted it was Boyer. JMHO, done ranting

AND THE 100 FOLKS ON HIS TEAM THEY WILL PAY THE PRICE TOO.

[arob]

NASCAR will pay the price too when more major companies do not renew their contracts. I just hope Kyle wins the whole thing.

[racer61]

Glad someone said this with better grammar then me. Its 110% on the mark. Great job

 

 

Sadly, stock car racing will probably never go back to being about the racing.

[HiTech]

Glad someone said this with better grammar then me. Its 110% on the mark. Great job

 

 

Sadly, stock car racing will probably never go back to being about the racing.

true so true .just glad that most of our local drivers still race to race ......obama care is going to hurt next year ...

[mikeg]

Glad someone said this with better grammar then me. Its 110% on the mark. Great job

 

 

Sadly, stock car racing will probably never go back to being about the racing.

true so true .just glad that most of our local drivers still race to race ......obama care is going to hurt next year ...

Obumacare is going to hurt until it dies or we die!!!!!!¡BIG MISTAKE