The closing laps in the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway last Sunday (Nov. 3) brought back images of a couple of regrettable incidents from a decade ago. In 2013, Clint Bowyer developed the dreaded itchy arm syndrome, lazily spinning down the frontstretch at Richmond Raceway to preserve Martin Truex Jr.’s spot in the playoffs while Michael Waltrip Racing also intentionally pitted teammate Brian Vickers.
Unfortunately, it led to sponsors abandoning MWR late in the season, causing its ultimate demise in the weeks to follow.
This year, NASCAR saw all this play out on TV in similar fashion at Martinsville … and then all over social media afterwards with in-car audio. That forced officials to make a decision: William Byron in, Christopher Bell out.
But did they get it right? This week, Vito Pugliese and Garrett Cook take issue with the outcome at Martinsville, and if NASCAR made the right call.
Send the Message That Everyone Is Expendable
While the two principal parties involved at Martinsville didn’t bring out a caution, it was almost worse as it was multiple teams and manufacturers working in concert to get their respective brand into the Championship 4 at Phoenix Raceway. The penalties levied against the Nos. 1 and 3 Chevrolet and No. 23 Toyota teams targeting the spotters, crew chiefs and team executives are severe, but being as none are involved in the playoffs at this point, missing the final race of the season before “Cabo on three” rings a little hollow.
I think NASCAR missed the call here on a number of levels.
First off, Byron had two other Chevrolets from two different teams conspiring to not pass him. Austin Dillon and Ross Chastain should try out for The Blue Angels with how perfectly they rode in formation behind Byron for 10 laps. For a series that has gone out of its way to promote drama and all-racing, all-the-time with stage points, lucky dog passes, choose cones and mandated green-white-checker finishes, just not passing intentionally for 10 laps looks like textbook race-outcome manipulation.
And it looks like it because it is.
With as big of an institution that sports gambling has become, when does a Vegas Phone Call start becoming an allegation? It’s one thing if Patrick Mahomes gets a pass interference flag for a defensive back existing; it’s another when you have multiple sponsors and auto manufacturers involved. If NASCAR wants to send a message, disqualify them with no money, no points, and suspend the driver for the next race. The driver is ultimately the one responsible for what the car does. If the car owner doesn’t want to lose points and money, let the race play out.
Bell is another situation.
Bubba Wallace was heard lamenting the need to help the Joe Gibbs Racing car of Bell. So obviously there’s some intra-team/manufacturer dynamic here. We saw what happened several years ago when Furniture Row Racing crewmen got into it with Kyle Busch’s then-crew chief Adam Stevens – the crewmen were suspended.
Once Bell got to Wallace, the former took an interesting line through the corners in executing something approximating the Hail Melon wall-ride, but he didn’t gain any position from doing so. Bell was deemed to have committed an unappealable penalty due to a safety violation.
In this instance, I can understand why they gave the tiebreaker to Byron since the intent was there to execute the malevolent melon move. I think it’s kind of silly, but the rule and precedent has been established.
Was the right move granting Byron the Championship 4 ticket, though? Of course not.
In this case, the correct call is toss both of them. You don’t need four cars; it’s not really marketed as The Final Four; it’s just the Championship Race. Park both of them and send a message for future seasons, if we’re going to continue to fiddle around with this current iteration that is basically like shooting dice for nine weeks.
Also, Austin Dillon and the No. 3 team. This is the second race they manipulated this year. Suspend the team for Phoenix and make them ineligible for the playoffs in 2025. This is supposed to be the most legitimate championship format, right? Prove it. I don’t care if the car owner was buddies with the series’ former owner. The No. 3 got the nickname The Company Car in the 1990s for a reason; at least then it was the focal point of the series.
I am not a fan of the playoffs or this format, because it provides the opportunity for these kinds of things to develop. Even though NASCAR takes action after the fact, the finish and outcome are still manipulated. – Vito Pugliese
One Driver Can Add Legitimacy to the Process
On what was supposed to be a momentous occasion for the sport, we were all robbed.
Robbed by the collusion and outright dirty dealings of two manufacturers who you would think would be above such treachery. Both Toyota and Chevrolet, two proud, championship-winning organizations, let that pride get the best of them and blatantly manipulated the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville. Both ordered their drivers to influence the already controversial playoff system to give their drivers a chance to make it to the Championship 4, one unsuccessfully and the other successfully.
Penalties were handed down, but they absolutely were not enough.
Let me take you back to 2013, at Richmond Raceway. The now long-dead Michael Waltrip Racing was severely penalized for doing virtually the same thing. Martin Truex Jr., who would eventually become a champion of the sport, had his playoff spot essentially abdicated, and Jeff Gordon, the wronged party of that scandal, was granted a playoff berth. In that situation, NASCAR made the correct call. In this instance though, they severely fumbled the ball.Â
Only the teams who were obvious participants were punished: Dillon, Chastain and Wallace lost crew members and their organizations subject to fines. Byron, unlike his predecessor Truex, got to keep his Championship 4 berth. He, the benefactor of specifically Chastain’s and Dillon’s tandem blocking of the field, can still win a title on Sunday at Phoenix Raceway.
It’s simply not logical and not fair that he should.
I’m not saying that Bell should replace him, either. Bell didn’t really benefit from Wallace’s interference, as his wall ride at the end of the race to gain position (or save his car depending on who you believe) voided that. No, I want to look at the man who led the series in wins and laps led as the driver who should be there instead of his teammate.Â
Kyle Larson deserves to be in the Championship 4.
Much like the man who many people compare him to was back in 2013, he should either be added to the four or replace Byron entirely. Besides, Larson’s resume screams championship in this fallacy of a championship format. Sure, his Round of 8 was bad. But he was still only seven points out at the end of the day. In my mind, the actions of Chevrolet and Toyota void any legitimate claim to that spot that Byron or Bell may have. Larson and company played the game correctly and do have a claim to that spot, whether you love him or hate him.
If you set a precedent, you need to stick to that precedent. The sanctioning body’s makeup has changed a lot since that infamous week 11 years ago, but you have to stick to some sort of moral high ground. In the spirit of fair competition, you cannot reward the benefactor if you punish the culprits. You simply send the wrong message to the rest of the field if you do.Â
Let’s say Ryan Blaney needs a spot to clinch the championship on Sunday and Austin Cindric either slows down for him, or causes a caution to allow him to catch back up? Do you take the title from Blaney if he wins it? You should, but these officials likely won’t. Mark my words, this will happen again. After all, what did Toyota and Chevrolet really lose by doing this? They’ll pay the fines. Chastain, Dillon and Wallace don’t need those points anymore, because they’re not in the Championship 4.
Those crew members will be back. Nothing was lost. Everything was gained.
If that’s the message NASCAR wants to send, then what are we doing here? They are discarding any chance of legitimacy amongst the fan base, both casual and hardcore. They failed to drop the hammer. Now, they’ve opened Pandora’s box.
Unless by some miracle they come to their senses prior to Sunday, they’ll never be able to close it. – Garrett Cook
About the author
Vito is one of the longest-tenured writers at Frontstretch, joining the staff in 2007. With his column Voice of Vito (monthly, Fridays) he’s a contributor to several other outlets, including Athlon Sports and Popular Speed in addition to making radio appearances. He forever has a soft-spot in his heart for old Mopars and presumably oil-soaked cardboard in his garage.
Garrett joined Frontstretch as a news writer in 2023, and became a fantasy racing and betting writer in 2024. Hailing from the heart of coal country in southern West Virginia, he's a married father of three and currently enrolled in the Physical Therapy Assistant Program at New River Community Technical College in Beaver, WV.
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Garrett drew the short straw! That is the only reason anyone would take that position.
I can see arguments for everything above, other than installing Larson into the mix. Penalize Chevy/Hendrick for collusion by installing a different Hendrick/Chevy car? All drivers eliminated at Martinsville were either Hendrick or Gibbs drivers, so I don’t see awarding any of them a spot.
Penske shouldn’t have to compete against an extra car, because Penske had nothing to do with what happened, so allowing both Bell and Byron in would be the wrong call as well.
So, from my humble perspective, go with the three who earned a spot without controversy. Reddick, Logano, and Blaney fight it out.
NASCAR needs to hope Byron does not win this final race. If he does, the fallout with fans over an illegitimate champion will be severe. It also would not surprise me if NASCAR then finds itself mired in more litigation, from the next highest finishing playoff team. NASCAR contracts would probably prevent this from succeeding, but might a civil suit from sponsors of the second place team be more apt to prevail?
This is not Byron’s fault, but he wouldn’t be in a position to win the title without blatant manipulation. If he wins, he will definitely be hearing some ugly things from some unhinged fans. I hope I’m wrong on this front. Hopefully he doesn’t win anyway, as it will have made the season’s title chase essentially pointless.
Exactly only have 3 teams racing for the “Championship” on Sunday.
Bell out okay a little gray area but seeable.
Byron would not have have gotten in as the 1, 3, 6, and maybe others pass him last 10 laps. Due to him not being fast. How NASCAR cannot see this from the data is beyond comprehension.
Larson out, should not be rewarded for others manipulation since while best of year had a terrible round of 8. This is even more the case with being a Chevy/Hendrick team
Hamilin out, see Larson above. Same thing not earned and no reward. Toyota team.
Agree NASCAR is going to have all sorts of issues if Byron wins championship on Sunday.