The crew for the #48 Lowe’s For Pros Chevrolet, driven by Jimmie Johnson (not pictured), attempt to work on their car after failing inspection during qualifying for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway on March 16, 2018, in Fontana, California. Photo – Robert Laberge/Getty Images
Fan4Racing Crew Commentary
The wind of change is in the air at Auto Club Speedway this weekend and it’s the NASCAR Cup Teams that are driving the momentum for drastic measures.
The momentum has built over time and NASCAR is consistently reacting by implementing rules to level the playing field for all competitors. But as with any sport, competitors consistently look for every advantage they can gain to satisfy their owners, sponsors, fans and their own competitive nature. Eventually, that effort pushes to the point of no return, forcing major changes to slow down the momentum of the constant push.
NASCAR recently created a rule that all teams will start race day on their qualifying tires while also allowing for ten sets of tires for all teams at Auto Club Speedway. The intent was to level the playing field for all teams.
On Friday, during the Cup Series qualifying, 13 teams may have found a loophole in NASCAR’s rules by failing the inspection process multiple times. Understanding the failed inspections put them at the back of the field for the race, they also saved their qualifying tires creating a competitive advantage for the start of the Auto Club 400 on Sunday. The teams that legally passed inspection used their qualifying tires to qualify for the event putting more strain on their qualifying set giving them a competitive disadvantage at the start of the race.
Those non-qualifying teams put NASCAR in a corner forcing them to react by implementing an adjusted rule for the weekend.
For the Cup Series, qualifying teams have an extra set of tires to start the race, while the non-qualifying teams will have to start the race on their qualifying tires that are also used during their last practice session on Saturday.
For the Xfinity Series, NASCAR implemented a slightly different rule to curtail the non-qualifying strategy. Any team that fails multiple inspections before qualifying will not only start at the back of the field but must also serve a pass-through penalty during the first green flag lap.
With more and more teams willing to take the risk versus the reward to gain a competitive advantage, NASCAR often takes the blame from fans for changing their rules to adjust. But let’s put the blame where it belongs – on the teams pushing the envelope beyond the rules and their intention.
NASCAR has been reluctant to disqualify teams for illegal cars even though at the grassroots level, it’s a given that if the car is illegal, the team cannot compete or claim a victory. The reason for the reluctance at NASCAR is because of the sponsors funding the teams. With sponsors coming and going from the sport, NASCAR doesn’t want to limit the team options.
That said…Now is the perfect time for NASCAR to adjust their thinking about sponsors and teams pushing too far. Rules are in place because of the minority willing to push too far and when the minority starts growing it’s time for a major change.
It’s time for NASCAR to start disqualifying teams for failing three inspections or two if there are so many they don’t have time for more.
NASCAR usually gives teams three chances to pass inspection but the line was so long at Auto Club Speedway, teams could only go through inspection twice. This weekend, there’s reason to believe at least some did it intentionally to gain an advantage on race day.
There’s a saying that my high school teacher often quoted and applies here as well. The first offense is probably an accident – the second a coincidence, and if there’s a third consecutive offense, it’s now become a habit. For NASCAR, failing inspections multiple times has become a habit that requires a stiff penalty to stop.
It’s time for NASCAR to embrace the grassroots of racing and disqualify any team unable to pass their inspections on multiple tries. If you think sponsors or fans will flee as a result…let’s look at this from a different perspective. Perhaps it will be the sponsors, team owners, and fans that will embrace the winds of change for any team willing to take the risk of disqualification taking them out of competition or claiming a victory with an illegal car. No one wants their car disqualified from the competition because they are illegal for not meeting inspection specifications. There’s a good bet no one will take that risk.
And more good news from this perspective is that disqualifying illegal cars will also give NASCAR credit for legitimizing their on-track product. Simply put, there are no set of circumstances that an illegal car should claim a victory in any competition.
Here’s to hoping NASCAR will embrace the winds of change pushing for a new way of thinking about their sport. It’s time to stop reacting and start taking the lead in a big way.