The Championship 4 contenders for the 2024 Cup Series were finalized at Martinsville on Sunday. Worryingly, accusations of race manipulation rose in the final moments of the race and have since divided the NASCAR community.
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With icons like Brad Keselowski and Mark Martin throwing punches at the promotion’s broken playoff format, former racer Kenny Wallace has joined them in the debate.
He analyzed the entire fiasco on his YouTube channel and opined,
“Keselowski was utterly disgusted because here he’s a professional NASCAR driver. He couldn’t race because Austin Dillon and Ross [Chastain] were given team orders… So, listen. The race was manipulated.”
He believes that everyone will forget about the manipulation by the end of the week and look forward to the finale.
Wallace had not been 100% sure that the race was manipulated when he was watching it. He admitted that he’d also not agreed with Martin’s view that the race was a “complete s***show” and that it had taken him a day to see sense in that argument.
Wallace put forward the three things that don’t sit right with him. They are what have proven to him that foul play was at the track. He said,
“Bell rides the wall. The #3 and the #1 blocked the whole field. Now Brad’s pissed cuz he can’t race. That’s two. That’s race manipulation. Yes, it was blocking but we all know it was on purpose blocking. Some say there’s no rule against blocking. Well, come on. Then three, Bubba [Wallace] pulls over and lets Bell go by. Three things.”
Keselowski and Martin’s thoughts regarding the race
The RFK Racing co-owner has been angered by the conduct of his fellow contenders twice this season. The earlier occasion was when drivers employed heavy fuel-saving strategies in Daytona. Keselowski, being a veteran, expressed his frustration to a great extent at the time.
Unfortunately, he doesn’t seem to get a break. He responded to a post on X that blamed the OEM partnerships as the root cause for the manipulation, “This should be the last straw on the camel’s back for the playoffs.” One of the victims of Dillon and Chastain’s blocking, he finished the race in ninth place.
Martin was equally disgusted by what he was watching. He went on the same platform and wrote, “We have a shit show here.” The big question right now is if the ‘100% rule’ will be invoked to potentially penalize a driver. Radio communications between the Chevrolet teams are heavily suspicious and NASCAR has promised to analyze them.
Further drama can be expected before the finale drops down on November 10. But it wouldn’t be surprising if the days go by without word from the promotion and the lore is forgotten, as Wallace predicts.
