For a fleeting moment after Sunday’s race in Martinsville, there was a doubt that NASCAR would ignore the accusations of race manipulation against certain Chevrolet and Toyota drivers.
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However, the promotion conducted a stringent investigation of the team scanners, radios, and on-track data and determined that it would penalize the Nos. 1, 3, and 23 teams for violating Member Conduct rules.
Former Hendrick Motorsports crew chief Steve Letarte was one of those left surprised and pleased with this move. He said in an episode of NASCAR Inside the Playoffs,
“There was just enough evidence here that these teams were purely performing only to help the others … I think manipulating the outcome of the race, the fan deserves more.”
Interestingly, he does not believe that teammates helping each other is an issue, but drivers from different teams with the same OEMs doing so is. In the Xfinity 500, Ross Chastain and Austin Dillon blocked up the field to help William Byron hold his position and make it to the Championship 4. Bubba Wallace deliberately slowed his car down to help Christopher Bell as well.
Letarte continued to further detail his standpoint. He contends that the lines of race manipulation are crossed when a driver is instructed on the radio by his team to drive in a certain way that would benefit another driver, which is what happened on Sunday. The entire case would have been void, from his POV, if the driver had decided to help a contender all by himself.
Details of the penalties that NASCAR imposed
NASCAR penalized more than just the drivers for the infractions. Chastain, Dillon, and Wallace were each hit with a 50-point deduction and a $100,000 fine. Their respective team owners were given the same punishment. Their crew chiefs, Phil Surgen, Justin Alexander, and Bootie Barker, and their spotters have been suspended for the finale in Phoenix.
Team executives Tony Lunders, Keith Rodden, and Dave Rogers will sit out the final race of the season as well. Elton Sawyer, the Senior VP of Competition, said in an explanation of the measure, “We want to get our point across that it’s a responsibility of all of us, the team owners, the team leadership, as well as ourselves here at NASCAR to uphold the integrity of our sport.”
NASCAR has scheduled a meeting with OEMs this week to discuss with them this infraction, penalty and expectations moving forward and will also discuss it with drivers this week during a pre-scheduled competition meeting between the two parties
— Matt Weaver (@MattWeaverRA) November 5, 2024
The one down point that fans have been expressing about the promotion’s reaction is that Byron, who benefitted from the manipulation, wasn’t penalized. However, there is no evidence from his team radio relays or other data that he was involved in the violation. He will continue to be a part of the Championship 4 and will compete for the title on November 10.
