NASCAR Suspends Several Team Members Involved in Martinsville Controversy
What’s Happening? Following the NASCAR Round of Eight cutoff race at Martinsville, NASCAR has suspended the Executives, Spotters, and Crew Chiefs…
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NASCAR President Steve Phelps and COO Steve O’Donnell sat down with NASCAR’s media for the State of the Sport press conference Friday in Phoenix. Many observers expected Martinsville and the Playoffs to be hot topics. Here’s what two of NASCAR’s leading executives had to say.
What’s Happening? Following the NASCAR Round of Eight cutoff race at Martinsville, NASCAR has suspended the Executives, Spotters, and Crew Chiefs…
Last Sunday, NASCAR’s manufacturers worked hard to ensure their drivers made it into the Championship Four. This included Chevrolet’s Austin Dillon and Ross Chastain running a multi-lap blockade to help William Byron and Bubba Wallace fake a flat tire, allowing Toyota teammate Christopher Bell to pass him on the final turn.
In turn, NASCAR suspended not only the drivers and OEMs but also the Spotters, team executives, and Crew Chiefs involved. When asked about this incident, Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR’s COO, said:
“What I saw in Martinsville pissed me off and pissed everyone off at NASCAR. Because we all know better, and we know what happened. So, we do have rules in the rulebook where we can address it. And we did. We had a call with our OEMs where we were very clear in what our intentions are going forward.” — Steve O’Donnell
Not only did this finish upset NASCAR, but many fans online claimed this was the problem with NASCAR’s playoff system. The complex system has been a point of contention for fans since its 2014 re-organizing. Despite efforts from NASCAR to make the system as legitimate as possible, incidents like this one have tarnished that legitimacy in the eyes of many long-time fans.
NASCAR President Steve Phelps opened the press conference by addressing the playoffs without question. All week long, fans have criticized the championship four for their poor and perhaps underwhelming statistics. In his opening statement, Phelps addressed this by saying, “These drivers in all three national series competed and went to the highest level. And they deserve to be here.”
Later in the press conference, when asked about the playoffs as a system, both NASCAR executives supported and promoted the system, reminding fans of their philosophy that in every major sport, the best team might not make the championship. This point, comparing NASCAR to “stick and ball” sports is often made by NASCAR and tends to upset many traditional fans.
They further stated that this system creates great, meaningful races late in the season. While NASCAR seems willing to review the format, both Phelps and O’Donnell clarified Friday that the playoffs, which began as the Chase for the Cup in 2004, are not going anywhere.
“We’ll absolutely look at you know what form the playoffs take in the offseason. You always learn, like I said before. But playoffs in and of itself, as Steve said, you cannot argue with the racing of the playoffs.” — Steve O’Donnell
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