My first reaction to learning about these penalties was outrage. I couldn’t believe that in NASCAR’s current push for drivers to show more emotion and “have at it,” industry leaders were then turning around and demanding silence. It was thin-skinned censorship, I fumed, and made NASCAR no better than the NBA, which seems to dole out off-court fines at the same pace as on-court fouls.
Ryan Newman's criticism of the racing at Talladega appears to have led to a fine.Getty
But when I got a better understanding of NASCAR’s thought process, and an idea of the offensive remarks, I began to understand the logic behind the penalties.
It’s hard to figure out just what Hamlin did to cross the line – his overall body of work has been fairly impressive since June, when he began an open tirade about debris cautions he believed were called to liven up the show. The finable remark apparently came sometime over the Chicagoland weekend, and probably had to do with his views on the Nationwide Series race, which changed dramatically after a late debris caution and subsequent multicar wreck on the restart.
Newman, it seems, got in trouble for comments made after last fall’s race at Talladega. An outspoken critic of restrictor-plate racing, he blasted NASCAR after last year’s watered-down race.
“It was a boring race for the fans,” he said. “That’s not something that anybody wants to see, at least I hope not. If they do, go home because you don’t belong here.”
That’s what NASCAR got mad at, the kind of statement that falls into spokesman Ramsey Poston’s definition of “comments that materially damage the sport.”
If there was any doubt about that issue, NASCAR president Mike Helton made it clear during an appearance Thursday at Iowa Speedway.
“The emotion of the sport, we encourage. The passion and the emotion of a driver wanting to win and, within reason, his driving style to do that, we encourage,” Helton said. “What we discourage throughout the industry, though, is sending the message that the sport isn’t worthy of following.”
That’s a very legitimate beef, and one that’s shared by almost every other professional league. Unfortunately, the debate over whether NASCAR is right or wrong in fining drivers — and whether what was actually said is indeed damaging — has been overshadowed by a lack of transparency.
NASCAR, for various reasons, decided not to announce these penalties (and as an aside, since they don’t publicize them, we can only assume only two drivers have been punished). But nothing is a forever secret in NASCAR, and word spread quickly last week around Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where a sizable number of veteran drivers apparently discussed the issue during prerace introductions.
So when the fines were eventually publicized Monday, fans and media reacted much the same way I did when I first heard. Only the outrage seems to be about the secrecy, and I don’t disagree.
NASCAR is arguing that the fines came from closed-door conversations which the sanctioning body does not discuss publicly. At least that’s consistent – I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been part of a gaggle of reporters waiting outside the NASCAR hauler for the participants of some dramatic incident to emerge, only to have Helton or someone else say, “We don’t talk about what goes on in the hauler.”
Well, it’s time to make an exception.
NASCAR is working double time to prove to fans that it’s turning itself around after several down years. But the perception of NASCAR as a money-grabbing dictatorship still exists, and with it comes an occasional arrogance that simply alienates the race fan.
NASCAR can do anything it wants anytime it wants, and the fans and drivers are all too aware of that. With no union or oversight board, and an appeals committee comprised almost entirely of NASCAR associates, there is no recourse for anyone who disagrees with a NASCAR decision.
It’s always been take it or leave it, and these days, fans seem to be doing the latter. They gripe about all the things that are wrong, overlooking everything NASCAR has done right over the past season or so. Now, the secret fines have only given them more ammunition.
OK, let’s get on to what to watch for at Pocono this weekend:
1. How will Hamlin handle the spotlight this weekend?
If there’s one track where Hamlin and his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing team can handle some controversy, it’s Pocono Raceway, where he’s won the past two Sprint Cup races, has four career victories and seven top 10s in nine career starts.
Hamlin will be bombarded Friday with questions about his comments, and how he answers them could go a variety of different ways. After all, he said he was done talking about teammate Kyle Busch about 10 times in a May news conference, then proceeded to lob zinger after zinger in one of the more entertaining media sessions of the season.
But it shouldn’t matter what happens off the track at Pocono, a place he’s always known his way around. Until someone beats Hamlin on the Tricky Triangle, it’s his race to lose — and that won’t change just because he took NASCAR to task.
The bigger concern is that Hamlin himself changes. Crew chief Mike Ford absolutely loathes distractions, and Hamlin’s outspokenness this season has become one of those distractions for his race team. Then again, so was his knee surgery, and he won four races after that happened.
Don’t expect this latest bump in the road to derail Hamlin for very long.
It’s rare that a spotter change receives so much attention, but when crew chief Steve Letarte snapped up Jeff Dickerson this week, most everyone noticed.
Steve Letarte felt a change in spotter would help Jeff Gordon get back to victory lane.Getty
Dickerson suddenly became available after parting ways with Kyle Busch before Indianapolis, and although Letarte thought spotter Shannon McGlamery did a good job, he felt that Dickerson was a talent the No. 24 team couldn’t afford to be without.
“I think Jeff Dickerson is one of the best,” Letarte said. “The spotter is the third musketeer on the radio, and when he became available, I listened to a lot of tapes, I did a lot of research, and although the timing was short, I recognized his style will help us build upon our continued communication improvements.”
Communication has been a major focus for Gordon and Letarte this season. They had a series of heart-to-hearts over the winter, with each encouraging the other to step it up during races.
Gordon wanted more confidence out of his crew chief, while Letarte wanted the driver to give better feedback during the frustrating runs. Letarte gave Gordon audio tapes of all his Hendrick Motorsports teammates so that Gordon could hear what he was lacking, and Gordon devoured the information.
Now they are stepping it up another notch with Dickerson, who Letarte is confident can help Gordon snap the longest losing streak of his career. Because double-file restarts, multiple green-white-checkered finishes and improved competition have turned the end of races into total shootouts, Letarte wanted a different style of spotter guiding Gordon over the closing laps.
Gordon was the leader on several final restarts earlier this season but failed to close out the win. His last victory came at Texas more than a year ago – a span of 49 races.
“The sport has changed a lot over the last few years, with double-file restarts, the wave-by, the very aggressive finishes and the way races are ending,” Letarte said. “The weaker side to the 24 [team] – we had very good cars – but we’ve been short in winning races. All that stuff, Kyle has been great on and some of it has been his spotter.
“I think Jeff Dickerson suits the style of racing that we see now.”
3. It should be another strong weekend for ECR engines
The Earnhardt-Childress Racing engines are the best in the business right now, and if there was any doubt, four of its motors were in cars finishing in the top six at Indianapolis.
Juan Pablo Montoya, who also had an ECR motor, led most of the race until a late accident ruined ECR’s likely sweep of the top five.
Those motors are most certainly going to propel Richard Childress Racing, which is running extremely well as a company right now and pushing hard to get all three of its drivers into the Chase.
Current points leader Kevin Harvick seems a lock, and Jeff Burton sits seventh in the standings. But Clint Bowyer is fighting hard, holding onto the 12th spot with a 62-point cushion over Mark Martin.
Look for Bowyer to be good this weekend. He’s coming off consecutive fourth-place finishes and in June at Pocono led 59 laps — second only to Hamlin’s 88 laps out front. Though Bowyer finished ninth in June, he may very well contend for the victory; the stakes are high, his team is clicking and its motors are outstanding.
Busch has two victories and 10 top-10 finishes in 19 starts at Pocono, and he was sixth in June. But at this stage of the season, the 2004 series champion needs wins. Currently fifth in the standings, Busch has two wins and would start the Chase trailing Hamlin and Jimmie Johnson by 30 points if the playoff began tomorrow.
Busch also returns to Pocono on a mission with his No. 2 Penske Racing team — to prove they are better than how they ran earlier this year. Despite the decent finish, nobody was pleased with their performance.
“The truth is that we really struggled there in the first race and we were super fortunate to come out of there with that sixth-place finish,” Busch said. “We didn’t run good enough to deserve that finish. We missed the setup big time. It was one of those days when it wasn’t pretty.”
With bonus points the only goal for the next six races, Busch and crew chief Steve Addington could likely gamble big time on Sunday to go for a win and grab 10 points. Nothing else really matters right now, as more and more Chase-eligible drivers will show from here until Richmond.
Updated Jul 30, 11:50 am EDT
