Never Stop Driving #110: NASCAR Drama
I wish I could have been in NASCAR’s executive boardroom when CEO Jim France and other series honchos debated how to handle the fallout from last Sunday’s controversial race finish at Richmond Raceway. In case you missed it: On the final turn of the last lap, driver Austin Dillon blatantly crashed two other cars out of contention to net his first win of the season.
The outrage machine immediately hit overdrive. “It’s chickensh*&, no doubt about it,” fumed Joey Logano, one of the drivers forced into the wall.
NASCAR deliberated for three days before ruling that Dillon’s win could stand but wouldn’t count toward playoff qualification. It also docked him 25 points, knocking him back in the standings.
Is that really a suitable punishment for endangering fellow drivers? Well, it’s complicated. You have to first take into account the broader culture of NASCAR. “Absolutely a line was crossed, but it’s an invisible line,” noted the usually pugnacious Denny Hamlin, the second driver hit. (Hamlin said that he re-injured a chronically problematic shoulder.)
“Rubbin’ is racing” is a long and tired trope that NASCAR embraces. “Our sport has been a contact sport for a long time,” commented Elton Sawyer, NASCAR’s senior VP of Competition. The unwritten rule is that the drivers police the field. Take a guy out and he or she might do the same to you. That imperfect system holds until a driver with nothing to lose, like Dillon, arrives. Winning a race was his only chance to make the lucrative NASCAR playoffs, and at Richmond he was closer than he’d been all season. Like the founding father Alexandar Hamilton in the play Hamilton, Dillon must have told himself, “I am not throwing away my shot.”
NASCAR fans also have a long history of reveling in the rough and tumble aspects of racing. Check out Tom Wolfe’s brilliant 1965 profile of Junior Johnson. Or Virginia State Senator James Webb’s book Born Fighting, How the Scots-Irish Shaped America, which delves into the unique culture of the southeast, NASCAR’s birthplace. (The magazine editor in me marvels at Wolfe’s piece. It’s the sort of epic undertaking that we strive to present today. If you know of any writers capable of crafting something similar, please name them in the comments. And if you’d like to support our efforts, please join the Hagerty Drivers Club.)
Another complication here is that Dillon was born into NASCAR royalty: He’s the grandson of team owner Richard Childress and drives a car with the same number (three) flown by Dale Earnhardt. Dillon isn’t fighting for a job like many other drivers. NASCAR, however, is full of generational drivers like Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Chase Elliot. And, of course, CEO Jim France is the son of the series’ founder. The grandson of team owner Joe Gibbs, Ty, is often resented for his silver spoon while other legacy drivers, like Dale Jr, are worshiped. Dillon’s reputation is closer to Gibbs’ than Earnhardt’s, so there’s plenty of fan vitriol over his win.
Personally, I don’t take issue with Dillon’s behavior—it was undoubtedly an incredibly dirty move, but he was playing in the sandbox NASCAR created. My real problem is with NASCAR’s lax rules policy and enforcement. My experience with local oval racing, the kind of tracks where future NASCAR drivers cut their teeth, taught me that the feeder series mimic NASCAR and that it’s a problem. Last year I wrote about tracks closing because the racers and spectators act like jerks. I want more folks hosting and participating in motorsports events, not fewer. Hamlin mentioned this issue when he said, “What happens is you see young guys coming up in the short track ranks seeing that, and they think it’s fine.”
Considering all that, NASCAR’s partial penalty seems light. It needed not only to deal with this incident but to set a precedent, something that would deter such potentially injurious behavior in the future. Childress Racing, by the way, said it will appeal the ruling.
Like most things in life, the middle ground is where it’s at. I’m no fan of the heavy rules blanket of F1 and its frequent driver tattletales. That seems beneath the feats those drivers perform. Yet NASCAR is too loose.
The controversy comes when NASCAR is at a crossroads. This is the last year of the so-called “Charter agreement” that gave teams a temporary franchise. In F1 and many stick-and-ball sports, powerful franchises are worth billions and their owners, to varying degrees, call the shots. In NASCAR, team ownership is more like a loan; after a certain number of years, the franchise simply expires. The teams, naturally, want a new deal, one that’s closer to the permanent franchise system of other professional sports. Jeff Gordon said Hendricks Motorsports hasn’t made a profit in ten years. Share the TV money, the teams say, and let us pull together to elevate NASCAR and build franchises that can be sold. (Denny Hamlin owns a team with basketball legend Michael Jordan and frequently discusses the interesting financial aspects on the podcast Actions Detrimental.)
NASCAR seems reluctant to share power—and who wouldn’t be? The existing model has worked for decades, and it certainly has worked for the France family, which is reportedly worth billions.
The landscape, however, is changing. Competition for eyeballs is getting fiercer, and series are getting more ambitious. Formula 1, for instance, bought 40 acres of land in Las Vegas and is hosting that race, a job the company used to leave to local promotors who would pay a fee to F1 but then keep all ticket and advertising revenue. The CEO of Liberty Media, which owns F1, explained the evolution here. F1 also produces its own media, which means it’s squeezed out the pesky and sometimes critical independents. F1’s media has the best—often exclusive—access to drivers and teams, which attracts more eyeballs. While I’m no fan of F1’s media model, I imagine that every sporting league is watching it.
Both the culture and the business of NASCAR are contributing to the fallout around the race at Richmond. I wasn’t watching Sunday’s NASCAR race when Dillon speared Logano. My 15-year-old son was, however, and his screams from our basement induced me to watch with him. I asked my kid what NASCAR should do with Dillon. He shrugged and said, “It doesn’t matter what they do. They’ll be playing that finish on their social channels for months.”
Let’s go back to my imagined NASCAR boardroom. I thought there might be fierce, earnest debate within NASCAR over how to handle the Dillon finish. How naive. They were probably high-fiving. While the grandstands were sparsely attended, everyone is talking about NASCAR this week, including yours truly. They’ve won the eyeball contest, at least for now. If there’s a risk for NASCAR, it’s from the sponsoring companies, who are likely asking themselves if NASCAR is a legitimate competition that they want to align with or simply a demolition derby with skinny young drivers. For the next few weeks, there will be many eyeballs watching for Hamlin and/or Logano to mete out justice on track. I sure will be. Does that make me part of the problem, or just human? I’m sure you see the complexities here.
As the NASCAR drama plays out, I’m traveling to California for the Broad Arrow auction and a week of car events on the Monterey Peninsula. Some of my colleagues will also be at the Woodward Dream Cruise. We’ll be reporting from both and you can follow along on Hagerty.com/media and also on our social-media channels.
Have a great weekend!
Larry
P.S.: Your feedback and comments are welcome.
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Larry, if you had actually watched the race you would have noticed on the replays that Hamlin moved up into Dillon trying to block him. I absolutely agree that NASCAR is mimicking WWF more and more all the time. Kyle Larson is becoming their Hulk Hogan and it’s more about entertainment not actual anymore. The cars are a joke because of design and how parts must be obtained through NASCAR’s selected vendors.
Why all the drama? This is what you get when you get non racing people watching races. NASCAR was built on controversy and that filled the stands.
Dillion did the old Bump and run on a short track. Richmond as a Rich history of the bump and run there. Pun intended.
Was it a well done bump and run no but it was what it was. Dale did it to Darrel, Ricky Did it to Dale at Willksboro, Jeff did it to Rusty at Bristol. The list could go on.
It is not like this was done at a super speedway. Even then we saw king Richard do it to Pearson at Daytona but David still made the line first.
There are racers and there are winners. The winners generally will do what it takes to win. Rub, nub, bump etc. Those who don’t might win but they are the ones who retire with no championships.
As for Joey and Denny. They both have done it. Just ask Kyle Larson.
I have grown tired of NASCAR trying for people that don’t understand how things were and want to change it. First the chase and then stages etc. If they can’t accept the series for what it is then move on.
This whole thing is a mess anymore. NASCAR is never going to replace the NFL or Baseball. It is never going to be overly loved in LA.
NASCAR just needs to be what it was NASCAR of Bill France. Put on a good show and not fabricate the results.
Big Bill would have love Dillons move as it got people to talk and he would have told the other two drivers if they have cast the same stone in the past.
As for Dillion just issue a warning or probation. Put him in the playoffs if you have to have them. Just leave the series alone. We can get enough natural drama without any additional help.
As for Richard Childress. Get the old film of Dale and or Jeff and give Austin a lesson on how to do the bump and run right. Jeff used to be the best at it as he dumped Rusty so often.
AS for Joey and Denny. Give them the same punishment if they do the same. It is a matter of time.
Once a real fan of NASCAR I lost interest in it when the cars became homogenized. The only difference being the vinyl the cars are wrapped in and to some degree the skill level of the various drivers. I find it interesting that so many are badmouthing (that is their prerogative) Dillon while so many worshipped the dirty racing of Dale Ernhardt. The name of the driver means more than the cause of the wrecks. NASCAR gained its fame with wheel-to-wheel racing and fender rubbing. Now they just line up and go around in circles. No need to watch anything until the last fourth of the race. BORING. F1 is even worse and Indy is no better.
Other race series are policed a bit more stringently than NASCAR. It can be argued that they place more emphasis on driver safety and skill when passing maneuvers are being executed. But hey, if you don’t like it, watch another series.
For Denny Hamlin to cry about being wrecked, only makes me think of when he took out Kyle Larson to win Hamlin‘s biggest problem is he’s working at Gibbs racing, where he is no longer the golden boy and Ty Gibbs is the family will always win over him no matter what And he should quit his crying and it’s time to retire
Like so many others, I do not watch Nascar like I used to. I try to catch the road course races, Daytona and maybe a couple others if I don’t have anything better to do. I was a Dale Jarrett fan back in the day, but today, no one stands out to me to be a fan. I did happen to catch the tail end of the Richmond race, and my only take is Hamlin and Logano do this type of thing all the time. Just like Bush, then they cry when it happens to them. Earnhardt Sr. was also a dirty racer, (that should get the fires going). No doubt that is why so many people loved him. I personally know someone who was on the Bush’s pit crew when they were snot nosed kids racing Late Model and know from what he has told me that they were arrogant and entitled then and still are today.
I do find it amusing how worked up people get if you dislike their favorite driver. Remember, everyone is entitled to their own opinion.
Nascar used to been fun to watch back when the cars were cool and different from every other team. Now they all look alike, and the drivers are whiners.
If Nascar is going to encourage pushing and shoving like they do, eventually people get hurt or worse. I guess that’s good TV though, so it is what it is.
I personally watch for the strategy of the crew chief and pit crew, not who is going to take out who next.
Nascar Hippodrome Demo Derby, is not much more than a glorified county fair track… which fair race is generally better racing (and drivers) than what has been on display on NASCAR tracks, since Bill France Sr left. Racing (true racing) is likely F1 now, and IMSA with their BOP would be a good outline for NASCAR to follow. Anyone with guts and lease agreement could go out and tear up the current NASCAR field. Literally its garbage to watch…. who am I to say this? I followed NASCAR through 80’s and 90’s and was fully invested… visiting Richmond, Atlanta, Bristol (hearing damage), Charlotte, Texas (inagural) Daytona, Gateway, Indy (inagural) and a little track in Michigan who hosted the Gabriel 400 for the first running. I followed Cale Yarborough, hated Petty and found Jimmy Johnson was a bully. I thought the world of Morgan Shepard/Wood Brothers when I met him at a Hardees and always found myself rooting for the underdogs. A race starts and the first one to mileage marker/finish line wins. This garbage about bumping, bump drafting, restrictor plates has made the product a card shuffle till the final 2-3 laps, which is in general good when they reach the limit honestly, not with help of rules and restrictions. Lets not forget the “Hail Melon” of last year. Hamlin was on the receivers end of that “Video Game in real live experiment”. Just dumb and dumber the longer the governing flakes are regulating the “sport” to cater to the crashing public…. IMHO. Bring back the iron fisted Bill France, who told them how to compete and how to race. Then you’ll get the eyes and butts back in the seats… for now, it’s a slow death of a 1,000 cuts… this is just one more. Anyone who enjoys racing, strategy and honest technical slight of hand… doesn’t watch this.
NASCAR slowly lost me after taking the manufacturer out of the game. I understand the reasons, but it just isn’t fun anymore.
As a Gen Xer and a fan of Dale sr / Tony Stewart and even Jeff Gordon – the 90s for me personally
was the most fun . I was at Texas in 97 and 98 and boy was that a mess the first year but we made the best of it . I remember Dale Sr spinning Terry Labonte out at Bristol and how pissed I was at him .
We live by the sword and even die by it and Boys will be boys .
It seems like what we have is a bunch of kids albeit some really talented ones too driving and also involved in all kinds of so called sports with shall we say behavioral issues .
I have been digging into 60s , 70s and 80s Nascar – a bit before my time to appreciate for sure but I do now !
I see Men who took care of business and were some real American bad asses especially in the 60s.
Imagine wearing a football helmet and a rope around your waist and even getting to smoke a cigarette !!
People , places and circumstances Have to change – sometimes we think for the better and sometimes not so much but what can we really do .
As for my personal take on the Nascar of today – it seems a bit too cookie cutter for me .
20 years ago a Toyota Camry was a Grandmas car and WOW just like that they are selling like hotcakes
go figure.
I do appreciate the open wheel cars and hopefully the future will be brighter for some of these avenues of entertainment – but since so many of us of ALL ages have gotten more and more used to a virtual experience
its no wonder that meat and potatoes just arent that big a deal anymore .
As for Austin – yes he comes from so called royalty but once again boys will be boys !!
I recently saw Ricky Rudd taking about how he was ” talked to ” for spinning Dale Sr out
after Dale had just done the same to him a few laps earlier but what Dale did wasnt the issue ?
I hope you all have a great rest of your Summer !!
San antonio Car Guy
An interesting read of NASCAR to a total outsider, I am not familiar with the sporting code governing NASCAR,
but safety of drivers and spectators should be the prime objective of the rules.
Once such bump and shunt behaviour is allowed without strict penalties, it becomes the norm as it seems to have become.
The trouble is we used to race for the trophy. Today it is for the money win or lose. Money is the root of all that is evil in racing.
In the old days as Dale Sr said a true racer would race for a Hot Dog. Just don’t tell the owners that.