Month: November 2024

By David G. Firestone

So I’m back this week, this time with NASCAR news to catch up on. I would have discussed the ending to the Martinsville race, but with everything that happened between then and now, I just didn’t have the energy. I will discuss my thoughts a little later in this column. Anyway, on to NASCAR news.

Our first two stores are about Bobby Allison. The first is the announcement made on October 23, when a decision was made about the NASCAR Cup Series Myers Brothers Memorial at Bowman Gray Stadium on August 6, 1971. To understand the circumstances behind this race, I quote Wikipedia:

“Because of reduced sponsorship money being given out by the “Big Three” automobile companies in Detroit, NASCAR decided to hold six of their smaller Winston Cup Series races in conjunction with the “minor league” NASCAR Grand American Series.

As Bobby Allison was not racing in a Grand National car, he never received credit in that series but was credited with a Grand American Series (“pony” cars) win. Vehicles that competed at the Grand American series were in Chevrolet Camaros, Ford Mustangs and AMC Javelins as opposed to their full-sized equivalents from their manufacturers.[8] NASCAR rules for combination races, which were in effect for Riverside and other West Coast races where the West Series raced with the Cup Series, and later used by other multiple-division races in NASCAR, state each division is scored separately, similar to rules used in the NASCAR-owned International Motor Sports Association sports car racing series. Under current rules, Richard Petty would be credited with a Grand National Series win.”

Well the decision was made to give Bobby Allison the win, 53 years later. According to NASCAR.com:

“NASCAR today announced its recognition of Bobby Allison as the official winner of the NASCAR Cup Series Myers Brothers Memorial at Bowman Gray Stadium on August 6, 1971. The NASCAR record books have been updated to reflect Allison in sole possession of fourth place on the all-time Cup Series wins list with 85 wins.

“For 53 years, the Myers Brothers Memorial was the only race run by NASCAR that did not have an official winner,” said Jim France, NASCAR chairman and CEO. “As we began preparations for the upcoming Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium, the topic of that August 6, 1971 race returned to the forefront. We felt it was the right thing to officially recognize Bobby’s win and honor him as an 85-time NASCAR Cup Series winner. We are grateful for Bobby’s lifetime contributions to NASCAR.”

The timing of this would turn out to be perfect, since, on November 9th, Bobby Allison would die at the age 86. Obviously, the loss of a legend hit the series and the fans very hard. For me, it’s kind of tough to swallow for many reasons. The older I get, the more pass away. It’s hard accepting the fact that you are mortal, but we all have to.

Our next two stores focus on sponsors ending their sponsorships of NASCAR. At the end of the 2020 season, GEICO ended their part of the NASCAR Cup Series premier sponsorship. According to Sports Business Journal, the deal was GEICO paying low seven figures. A change in the marketing strategy and departments was cited for the end.

GEICO really isn’t a big loss. Even with the amount they were paying, they weren’t really interested in promoting the sport. They really weren’t interested in using NASCAR to promote their product. Outside of their name on the NASCAR Cup Series logo, and their name on the restart zone, what did they do to promote NASCAR? I’m really asking. GEICO has a seemingly unlimited advertising budget, but the fact that they didn’t use NASCAR to promote their product, well, that says a lot. Goodbye and good luck!

In related news, it was announced on Monday that FedEx will end their 20 year long sponsorship of Denny Hamlin’s #11 Toyota Camry. As Denny put it:

“It’s really hard to put into words because I got to know so many of the employees, so many of the executives over 20 years. I bleed purple. Every time that a FedEx truck goes by, my kids are yelling, ‘Daddy.’ That’s some of that brand awareness that I hear from fans, as well. Whether they are going to be on my racecar in the future or not, doesn’t matter, I’m still going to be a part of the purple family.”

We live in an era where sponsorship money is getting much harder to come by. Teams are increasingly reliant of sponsors to keep the lights on, especially with NASCAR making the decisions they do. The loss of a long-time sponsor can hurt, if not kill a team. I feel for Denny, but I also know that for a championship caliber driver, these problems can take care of themselves. I have no doubt he will land on his feet, and the team will have a full sponsorship for 2025 and beyond.

So, a few weeks ago, I discussed a situation in IndyCar where an employee stole intellectual property from one team and illegally gave it to another. Well, now it’s NASCAR’s turn. Though nothing concrete has been reported as of yet, it appears that a current engineer for Joe Gibbs Racing has committed the exact same offense.

According to an Associated Press article by Jenna Fryer:

“NASCAR has acknowledged it is aware of allegations that an engineer for a Cup Series team accessed proprietary information and shared it with another team.

The stock series released no details about the allegations because neither team has filed a complaint with NASCAR. But a series spokesman confirmed to The Associated Press at Charlotte Motor Speedway over the weekend it is aware of a brewing scandal between the two teams.

The engineer is in a contract year with Joe Gibbs Racing, according to executives with six teams who spoke with the AP on condition of anonymity because the details are considered private and have not been disclosed publicly. Joe Gibbs Racing, which has two cars still competing for the Cup title, declined to comment.

The engineer had been exploring options with other teams as the season draws to a close, multiple team officials told the AP on Sunday, confirming they discussed possible employment.

NASCAR acknowledged to AP it has heard that one team — with no cars in the playoffs — paid the engineer cash in exchange for setup information.”

If these accusations are true, and at this point, there is no concrete evidence to say for sure, whoever this small team is, they are in a lot of trouble. Any team that is willing to bribe an engineer for another team for setup information should not only be legally charged, but banned from participating in NASCAR forever. Remember, the FBI raided Rahal Letterman Lanigan for the exact same thing! You think that the FBI won’t get involved for a NASCAR team?

It boggles my mind that anyone thinks that trying this strategy will work. The FBI is smarter than you are, and they have more skills and resources than you do! Look at former Senator Bob Menendez. Look at Martin Shkreli. Look at Bernie Madoff. Look at everyone who thought they had the power to fool the system, and got caught. Now look at yourself…do you really think you can win here? The FBI can and will find evidence, and you will go down. I hope whatever you got out of this deal was worth losing everything, because that can and will happen.

Now we get to the end of the Martinsville race. First, let me discuss Christopher Bell’s move at the end of the race. Bell got put into the corner during the end of the race, and gunned the engine while on the wall. AT the end of the race, a discussion was held by NASCAR officials who determined that the move constituted a “wall ride” made famous by Ross Chastain in 2022, and banned thereafter.

The decision made was that Bell was trying to wall ride to get into the playoffs. As a result, Bell was removed from the playoffs, and William Byron was the fourth driver in the championship four. This was followed by an outcry from the fans about the way the situation was handled.

Here’s my take: The move Bell did could easily have been interpreted as a wall ride. He knew it was illegal, and why it was illegal. I get that he had a lot to lose, and he lost a lot. However rules are rules. Every driver and team needs to remember, you want to play in it, but at the end of the day, it’s NASCAR’s sandbox. It’s NASCAR’s sandbox, they make the rules. If they decide that you broke the rules, you broke the rules. You are one driver, and they will protect the sport over you. Life sucks, get used to it.

The first part of the story was announced by NASCAR:

“NASCAR has announced penalties following the Xfinity 500 NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday.

The crew chiefs, spotters, and a team executive from the teams of #1-Ross Chastain, #3-Austin Dillon, and #23-Bubba Wallace have each been suspended for the Phoenix race following the team’s actions as the end of the Martinsville race. In addition each team and driver have been fined $100,000 and assessed a 50 point penalty.

Rule book section 4.4 B&D are as follows:

B. Member actions that could result in a loss of 25-50 driver and/or Team Owner Points and/or $25,000-$50,000 fine. Violations may also result in Race suspension(s), indefinite suspension, or membership revocation:

-Physical confrontation with a NASCAR Official, media members, fans, etc.

-Attempting to manipulate the outcome of the Race or championship. [emphasis added]

-Intentionally damaging another vehicle on pit road.

-Wrecking or spinning another vehicle, whether or not that vehicle is removed from Competition as a result.

-Any actions deemed to compromise the safety of an Event or otherwise pose a dangerous risk to the safety of Competitors, Officials, spectators, or others.

D. Member actions that could result in a fine and/or indefinite suspension, or membership revocation:

-Actions by a NASCAR Member that NASCAR finds to be detrimental to stock car racing or NASCAR. [emphasis added]

-Statement and/or communication made public (including social media platforms) that demeans, criticizes, ridicules, or otherwise disparages another person based upon that person’s race, color, creed, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, religion, age, or handicapping condition.

-Member-to-Member confrontation(s) with physical violence (e.g. striking another Competitor) and other violent manifestations such as significant threat(s) and/or abuse and/or endangerment.

-Multiple violations of the Code of Conduct.

-Selling NASCAR Single Event Credentials (VIP Passes, Essential Worker Passes, etc.).

-Being charged with or convicted of significant criminal violations (e.g. Domestic Violence, Trafficking, Assault), or having had determinations rendered by criminal or civil authorities that in NASCAR’s judgment necessitate action. NASCAR will not pre-judge guilt or innocence in the criminal or civil legal system, or the guilt or innocence of the Member, but rather review each matter in its own context and circumstances and with regards to its potential effects upon the sport.

-Violations of NASCAR’s Sports Gambling Policy.”

On November 7, 2024 NASCAR made the following announcement:

“The National Motorsports Appeals Panel today heard and considered an appeal of a behavior penalty issued on November 5, 2024 to driver Ross Chastain, owner Justin Marks, Competition Executive Tony Lunders, spotter Brandon McReynolds and crew chief Phil Surgen in the NASCAR Cup Series.

The penalty concerns the following sections of the 2024 NASCAR Rule Book: Sections 4.4.B&D Member Code of Conduct. The penalty issued was a $100,000 fine to both the driver and owner; a loss of 50 driver and owner points; and a one-race suspension to the competition executive, crew chief and spotter.

Upon hearing the testimony, the decisions of the National Motorsports Appeals Panel are:

That the Appellants violated the Rule(s) set forth in the Penalty Notice.

That the Panel affirms and upholds the original Penalty assessed by NASCAR.

In reaching the above decision, the panel provided the following explanation: “We feel in the best interest of racing and to protect the integrity of the sport, it was appropriate to uphold and affirm NASCAR’s decision with regard to the NASCAR rule 4.4, attempting to manipulate the outcome of the race.”

The Appellant has the right to appeal the decision of the National Motorsports Appeals Panel to the National Motorsports Final Appeals Officer in accordance with the NASCAR Rule Book.”

While this might seem pointless, remember the 2013 Federated Auto Parts 500, aka “Spingate.” That is considered the biggest race-fixing scandal in NASCAR, and one of the biggest race-fixing scandals in this history of racing. Spingate caused the death of Michael Waltrip Racing, and Front Row Racing came off looking horrible as a result. NASCAR has to put safety and the integrity of the sport above all else. As such, NASCAR will take any accusation or suspicious activity very seriously. If you do something that falls in the realm of cheating, it will be considered cheating. If you give them rope, you will get hung. NASCAR does NOT need to look weak right now. As the saying goes: “You can’t get caught if you don’t cheat.”

With that, this week’s column comes to an end, and I will do something for next week, be it the anti-trust suit or otherwise.

Sources cited:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1971_Myers_Brothers_250

NASCAR officials award Bobby Allison with 85th Cup victory; legend now fourth on all-time win list

https://sports.yahoo.com/nascar-legend-bobby-allison-dies-at-86-001716069.html

GEICO to end Cup Series premier sponsorship

End of an era: Denny Hamlin reflects on 20 seasons with FedEx sponsorship

https://apnews.com/article/nascar-stolen-intellectual-property-428957bd87a87def4baf3b9c84a97e23

By David G. Firestone

So the last few weeks have been very hectic, and I simply didn’t have the time to devote to The Driver Suit Blog. I will be covering some of the stories that either happens, or ones that I haven’t gotten to for this week, except for the anti-trust suit, as I feel it deserves it’s own column. This week, non-NASCAR stories.

First is a Formula 1 story that, at least to me, makes no sense whatsoever. Back in September, FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has banned F1 drivers from swearing during races. In explaining his reasoning, he stated the following:

‘We have to differentiate between our sport – motorsport – and rap music. We’re not rappers, you know. They say the F-word how many times per minute? We are not on that. That’s them and we are [us]. I know, I was a driver. In the heat of the moment, when you think you are upset because another driver came to you and pushed you. But also, we have to be careful with our conduct. We need to be responsible people. Because imagine you are sitting with your children and watching the race and then someone is saying all of this dirty language. I mean, what would your children or grandchildren say? What would you teach them if that is your sport?’

Known profanity enthusiast Max Verstappen was, well, less than enthusiastic over the new ban. “A lot of people say a lot of bad things when they are full of adrenaline in other sports, it just doesn’t get picked up,’ he said in the pre-Singapore Grand Prix press conference on Thursday. I couldn’t even say the f word… It’s not even that bad. What are we 5-year-olds, 6-year-olds? I guess the world is changing a bit, but I guess it already starts with no broadcasting it. Or, not giving the option for people to hear it in general. That would help a lot more than putting bans on drivers.”

I’m taking Verstappen’s side here. Drivers in F1 have so much to focus on while racing, that expecting them to “mind their language” while driving isn’t a smart move. Let them race, and if they get frustrated, it happens. Sometimes drivers curse. It happens.

I’m also sick of this whole “protect the children” bullshit that populates some areas of culture. I shouldn’t be expected to to change my life for your kids. Your children are YOUR problems, not mine, not ours, yours! You, as a parent, are responsible for everything they eat, read, play with, watch, or interact with until they reach adulthood. Stop expecting the rest of the world to do it for you!

Now sticking with something else Formula 1 does that makes no sense, we discuss 2025. Apparently, F1 is eliminating the fastest lap bonus point for the 2025 season. Why? Why would you eliminate a bonus point? I’m a proponent of bonus points, since they encourge drivers to push themselves to perform better. The more points, the better! Why not encourage drivers to succeed?

I was against the idea of the new NASCAR point system that eliminated the points for laps led. I was against the idea of the NHRA eliminating bonuses for setting speed and ET records. I’m against this too! Sanctioning bodies should encourage performances, since it gives drivers and fans a better experience! I don’t get this logic at all!

Speaking of not getting logic at all, let’s talk about IndyCar. Last year, the disastrous race at Thermal was introduced. The racing wasn’t great, the attendance was embarrassing, the purse was cut in half, and nobody, and I mean NOBODY thought this could get worse. The race was an embarrassment.

Well, Marshal Pruitt of Racer.com has discussed that IndyCar s making a return to Thermal in 2025. As Pruit discussed:

“The non-points $1 Million Challenge was a first for Thermal in two regards as network television was brought to the facility to broadcast the event, and with the need to include IndyCar’s followers in the venture, the circuit opened its gates to fans for the first time by making a maximum of 2000 tickets available for purchase.

Initially listed at $2000 apiece, few tickets were sold, but weeks prior to the event, a 75-percent price drop was applied as new sales went for $500 per ticket; those who bought tickets at the full $2000 level were refunded the $1500 difference.

Although attendance figures weren’t provided, an estimated daily crowd in the low hundreds was seen at the event, and with plenty of lessons taken from the experience, Thermal is targeting the sale of 5000 general admission tickets which RACER understands could be set at $450 apiece for the Friday-Sunday event set for March 21-23. If all are sold, it would allow the club to generate north of $2 million and cover most of the sanction fee paid to Penske Entertainment and other event-specific operating costs.”

To quote comedian and actress Jamie Andrews: “If at first you don’t succeed, WHY? WHY AGAIN?” Nobody liked this! Teams, drivers, fans, sponsors, EVERYONE HATED THIS! Why bring it back? You couldn’t sell over 1,000 tickets of the available 2,000, so why would you think you could sell 5,000? Is this really anything else more than a glorified tire test?

IndyCar has a number of issues, and this doesn’t help with their public image. I liked the idea of Penske taking over, and that I thought he would improve things. Looking at the totality, this was false hope! He took the worst race of 2024, and thinks bringing it back for 2025 will somehow work this time? Seriously?

The sad thing is that there is a lot of room for IndyCar to grow, but if they keep up on the current path, it will continue to shrink! I’ve seen the TV numbers! No growth is happening! It’s almost like IndyCar is following the AEW method of doing the same mistakes repeatedly, and expecting the fans to unconditionally support them! Well, if things keep going this way, they will lose, not grow. That’s just a fact.

Alright that’s enough for this week, next week, NASCAR stories.

Sources Cited:

Max Verstappen hits back after F1 drivers are given ‘swearing ban’ by FIA president

https://www.espn.com/f1/story/_/id/41850538/f1-scrap-fastest-lap-bonus-point-2025

https://racer.com/2024/10/24/plans-coming-together-for-full-indycar-race-at-thermal-club/