NASCAR has often been accused of being a monopoly in how stock car racing is governed, and former Cup Series driver Jeremy Mayfield recently spoke his mind on the same. Appearing on a recent podcast with Chase Holden, the Kentucky native put forward an interesting anecdote from his time in stock car racing’s highest echelon.
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“You just don’t challenge them (NASCAR) on anything,” said the 1993 Rookie of the Year award winner.
Elaborating on why he and other drivers of his time developed such a feeling, he said, “For example, the small stuff. Speeding on pit road. There’s times when I can promise you that Rusty Wallace or myself or anybody that’s caught speeding, there’s times when weren’t caught speeding but you got caught anyway and you couldn’t do nothing.”
There have been several instances of questionable decisions being taken by NASCAR throughout the history of the sport, all the way up to the 2024 season. Last year saw William Byron benefit from his Chevrolet teammates at Martinsville while Ryan Blaney questioned the Damaged Vehicle Policy.
Looking further back, phantom cautions before stage racing was introduced is another infamous way the governing body has allegedly altered the outcomes of races to its own desire.
Speaking on whether this shift of power happened during his time in the sport, Mayfield’s words in a day and age when two teams fight a lawsuit with the governing body throw light on how NASCAR has always been a tightly run ship, often steering only where the governance wants.
“It was day one. When I got there (in the Cup Series) I realized real quick that, and that is just a quiet thing that went through the garage area.” — Mayfield
Mayfield previews the 23XI-FRM-NASCAR lawsuit’s eventual outcome
Speaking on whether he does not believe the governance will back down and accept defeat if the teams are to clinch a victory in court over NASCAR, the 55-year-old former driver opined,
“I don’t know where it’s going to go from here. All I can tell you is just hang on because it’s not over yet. I can’t see NASCAR just bowing down to them (the teams). If anything, it’ll change the sport in a way that we’ve never seen, either way.”
With the injunction appeal being ruled in favor of 23XI Racing and FRM, both teams will compete during the 2025 season with valid charters until the legal resolution of the main lawsuit is cleared up.
The season kicks off in February with the exhibition-style Clash at Bowman Gray, followed by the 67th Daytona 500.
