NASCAR-FIX this sport

Since I’ve made so many posts about NASCAR, I feel obligated to write about the current controversy.  In the last race before the Chase, there were three separate “fixing” incidents which teams engaged in to get drivers into the “playoffs.”  Frankly, the particulars don’t really matter.  Any team could have been motivated by the Chase to do it.  I didn’t see the race.  (A Juarez station is still pirating my ABC affiliate, KVIA’s signal, otherwise I would have.)  My dad did see it and apparently the ESPN coverage didn’t talk about any potential fixing or didn’t notice it at the time.  No doubt they were too busy breathlessly hyping up Chase scenarios.

Well, NASCAR did notice.  In a fairly unprecedented action, they penalized one of the drivers who benefited from the fixing (Martin Truex).  Having knocked him out of the Chase, one of the drivers who was hurt by the fix (Ryan Newman) was put back in.  However, two of the other drivers involved in the fixing are still in the Chase (Joey Logano and Clint Bowyer).  Then on Friday, NASCAR suddenly decided to add a 13^th driver to the Chase (Jeff Gordon), just to make it up to the other driver hurt by one of the fixes. 

At last, NASCAR finally has a truly worthy controversy to generate some publicity for the Chase.  Let me post a few stinging quotes from the mainstream sports media.

(Sound of crickets chirping.)

Oh wait, I forgot that football season has started, which has the effect of ending every other sports’ season.  My parents said that the mainstream news has mentioned the story (I haven’t heard it), but the sports media that I’ve seen has either ignored or backpaged it.  I’m not sure if NASCAR is lucky or unfortunate here for the lack of coverage.  On the one hand, it’s a truly sensational scandal that begs coverage and thus, publicity.  On the other, it damages the integrity of a sport, which already is viewed suspiciously on this issue.  We’ll call it a draw.

NASCAR could have done nothing.  All of this fixing was caused by their Chase after all.  The media would have ignored it in short order.  The fans would have eventually said, “Well, that’s just racin’.”  It’s surprising that this hasn’t happened in an obvious fashion before.  Certainly it’s probably happened in a more covert manner.  The very blatant nature of these incidents indicates that the teams thought it was okay to do it.  This notion alone had to provoke a reaction from the ruling body.  Otherwise, incidents like this would continue and might totally unravel the sport’s integrity. 

If it’s resolved that they had to do something, did NASCAR do the right thing?  (Remember, the Chase itself was a reaction to Matt Kenseth’s near winless championship.)  If their goal was to piss everyone off, then “Yes.”    

That Truex was put out of the Chase as punishment seems appropriate. That Newman got in by virtue of that penalty is a somewhat logical consequence.  That Bowyer and Logano, two other drivers involved in the fix, are still in the Chase is questionable.  That an extra slot was added to the Chase to put Gordon in several days later. . . Well, even Jeff was somewhat skeptical in an interview about that decision. 

Two drivers have gotten into the “playoffs” by NASCAR decisions and not by driving their way into it.  Two of the three drivers involved in the fix can still win the championship.  There are nothing but mixed messages here.  NASCAR could have sent a strong message by eliminating all of the implicated drivers, perhaps even banning a whole team, like F1 did in their similar “Crash-gate” scandal. 

By letting some the results stand, teams won’t stop fixing, they’ll just try to be more clever about it.  Meanwhile, teams that might be hurt by these tactics can simply lobby NASCAR to be put in the Chase anyway.  If you’re one of the big teams, it’ll probably work.  (The number of teams appears to be completely arbitrary anyway.  Going from 10 to 12 teams, I think was a reaction to Dale Jr. not getting in one year.) 

I’m sure there are any number of rules and enforcement remedies that can and may be applied next season.  But, why?  Just eliminate the Chase.  Most of the fans hate it.  (Though this might be mostly due to a hatred of Jimmie Johnson, who is definitely perceived to have benefited from the format.)  It’s not only this “playoff” format that doesn’t make sense in racing, it creates an environment that promotes these kind of scandals. 

Whatever advantages the Chase offered NASCAR and its teams and its broadcast partners are now tainted.  From here on out fans and teams are going to be vigilant and accusatory of any further suspicious shenanigans.  The Chase was supposed to compete with the NFL.  This scandal hasn’t even caused a ripple of notice compared to the Shield. 

My suggestion, go back to the season-long championship.  Eliminate “participation points” for anyone not finishing in at least the top 20.  Make race wins worth 50% more than second place.  Just these two suggestions alone will at least keep more drivers involved in the championship and should ensure that no lead is really safe.  (Unless someone’s winning a bunch of races, in which case, they deserve to win the championship.)  NASCAR needs to make sure they stop losing fans, especially from this scandal.  Focusing on what fans want is where to start.