NASCAR Chase Adds 13th Spot

Anyone notice a 13th spot in this years NASCAR Chase? All major news outlets including Yahoo Sports picked up on this debacle a couple of weeks ago.

It all began at the last pre-Chase race in Richmond on September 7th. With six laps to go both current leader Ryan Newman and Jeff Gordon were in place to clinch spots in the Chase with Newman ready to claim a wild card spot and Gordon ready to claim the 10th guaranteed spot. On this lap Clint Boyer spun out, many of whom called this spin intentional which we will get to in a second. On the restart Newman lost the lead and his wild card spot in the Chase to Martin Truex Jr. and Jeff Gordan lost enough spots to turn over his tenth guaranteed position in the Chase to Joey Logano. This one spin out and resulting restart took out Newman and Gordon from the Chase and ultimately replaced them with Truex and Logano. We often see NASCAR race finishes full of wrecks as drivers go all out to win races but this one car spin out caused quite a controversy that was just beginning.

First, Truex was penalized which ultimately dropped him from the Chase and allowed Newman back in however Boyer was never mentioned or penalized probably because he did not qualify for the Chase anyways. Second and the most damning news I have read from multiple sources was that radio communications between Front Row Motorsports and Penske Motorsports spoke of fixing race positioning to allow Logano to move up and make the Chase. Last but not least NASCAR then announced they would add a 13th spot to the Chase for Gordan after what had just unfolded in the days prior.

Talk about a dirty and fixed sport when you have the governing body making these changes and the drivers and owners making deals to manipulate spots via spin outs and more. Live reporters never inquire about fixes but check out the video above for more insight and how big this mess became.

NASCAR Penalizes Team Penske

Just before the start of the NRA 500 on April 13th at the Texas Motor Speedway Team Penske was penalized for rear-end housings that failed pre-race inspection. NASCAR requires all suspension systems and parts to be pre-approved prior to being used in competition. Because these parts were not pre-approved they were confiscated by NASCAR, Penske drivers Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano were stripped of 25 points, both crew chiefs fined $100k and suspended for six races and several other team members were also suspended for six weeks. Penske Racing does plan to appeal these penalties.

NASCAR's Answer to Ratings Drop

How do you fix the lowest TV ratings in five years for NASCAR? Have one of it's most popular and only current female driver Danica Patrick win the pole for tomorrow's Daytona 500. Not saying this is outright fixed but has to be suspicious. Fox Sports, NASCAR, all the sponsors and everyone else involved just hit it big. That is a monumental amount of extra income that will be generated from this one event. Suspicious because Patrick has yet to win a race in NASCAR, it's her first full season in Sprint Cup and she is still adjusting to this type of car and now she wins the pole of the most coveted race of the year to kick off the season. Of note to futures bettors, the line on Patrick to win the Daytona 500 has now dropped from 125-1 to 22-1.

More Nascar Violations

This time Team Penske are the culprits of illegal modifications discovered during inspections last weekend at Talladega Superspeedway. Chad Walter, crew chief for Sam Hornish Jr and Jeremy Bullins, crew chief for Brad Keselowski were both fined $10,000 and put on probation for the rest of the Nascar season. The tiniest modifications can make a huge impact at these types of speeds and therefore highly scrutinized and inspected but also sometimes difficult to spot.

Jimmie Johnson's Car Fails Daytona 500 Opening Day Inspection

A week prior to the big day tomorrow one of the biggest names in Nascar failed his opening day car inspection for the Daytona 500. Jimmie Johnson's car failed pre-race inspection for C-pillars that were found to be out of spec and accordingly confiscated. Car body violations are common at times but this one made news since it came from one of the biggest names in the sport prior to Nascar's biggest race of the year. Who doesn't want to win this race and some will do whatever it takes.

Kyle Busch's Team Penalized

The team of number 18 Kyle Busch were penalized by NASCAR last week after his car failed post race inspection because the car was too low.  Busch was docked six points in the standing and crew chief Dave Rogers fined $25,000 after the race at Pocono Raceway.  Kyle finished the race third so it just goes to show every inch in NASCAR counts, in this case lowering the car.

More NASCAR Infractions

Driver Brad Keselowski was docked 50 points after his Nationwide Series victory at Talladega last weekend and his overall series lead dropped to 10.  He was docked 25 points each for an unapproved right front shock and an unapproved left front spring.  His crew chief was fined $20,000 and the car owner was also docked 50 points in the owner standings.

Michael Waltrip NASCAR Racing Team Penalized

NASCAR penalized Michael Waltrip Racing (MWR) drivers Martin Truex Jr. and David Reutimann along with closely affiliated drivers Max Papis and Marcos Ambrose this week.  All four teams were found to be running non-approved radiator pans and each fined $25,000.  The crew chiefs of Papis and Ambrose were additionally fined $50,000 each and both lost 50 driver and 50 car owner points for unapproved added weight.  Those points may prove costly in car owner points as both are trying to maintain a top 35 guaranteed qualifying spot.  As long as NASCAR has been around drivers and owners have been trying to cheat the system with illegal adjustments to gain an advantage.

NASCAR Driver Carl Edwards on Probation for Intentional Wreck

Last Sunday NASCAR drivers Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski were in an early accident at the Kobalt Tools 500 Race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.  Later in the race Edwards came for revenge and deliberately wrecked Keselowski who dangerously went airborne.  NASCAR has put Edwards on probation for three races.  Not only do these intentional wrecks pose the risk of serious injury to drivers and fans it can also impact or fix standings and earnings for the drivers.  Racing can see its share of fixing by intentional wrecks for standings and race restarts, illegal blocking and illegal car modifications so don't think this sport is any more clean than others.