Crew members push the #48 Lowe’s for Pros Chevrolet to the grid during qualifying for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Gander Outdoors 400 at Pocono Raceway on July 28, 2018, in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. Photo – Sarah Crabill/Getty Images
COMMENTARY
NASCAR’s integrity is once again in question and as so, at risk of losing more fans by failing to effectively address the ‘risk versus reward’ mentality that is permeating the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. This season is evidence with on-going penalties for teams taking the risk of bringing an illegal car to the track in hopes of tricking the inspection process to gain an illegal reward and advantage over their competitors.
In essence, the ‘risk versus reward’ mentality is becoming a deadly disease for NASCAR and their future. If left unchecked, that disease will continue to grow and eventually kill the sport for everyone in the industry including owners, crews, drivers, and their fans.
If you’re thinking these statements are overly stated, take a moment to close your eyes and imagine what happens if this disease continues to permeate, fester and grow?
Imagine the potential of crowning a 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion whose team has continued throughout the season getting penalties for an illegal car. Let’s take that thought even further, by imagining the ramifications of the sanctioning body’s reluctance to put an end to teams repeatedly failing their inspections. In essence, the sanctioning body continues to enable the ‘risk versus reward’ mentality by not going far enough to penalize teams to stop them from doing it again…and again…and again.
It’s time for NASCAR to decide whether they want to continue to enable the behavior and thought processes – the disease – that is killing the sport.
Fans are already questioning why penalties for illegal cars are becoming one of the biggest topics of the season when what they really want to talk about is the fantastic racing among the competitors.
With 13 of 40 cars failing the post-qualifying/pre-race inspections at Pocono that should serve as evidence that what NASCAR has done is not working. What they’ve done is not effectively stopping teams from trying to cheat the system, their fans, and their reputation for the future.
It’s time to reverse the mentality that it’s okay to take the risk of cheating because there are no consequences for the bad behavior. It’s time to stop the disease ‘before’ it ruins the sport for more fans.
Although NASCAR has to take the first step, it will take all of us to stop rewarding teams taking the risk of bringing an illegal car to compete. Why are we promoting the ‘Big Three’ when two of the three team’s cars were illegal at Pocono? One of those teams took up NASCAR’s time to go through inspection not once, twice or even three times. It took four inspections to pass their car to race. That’s an embarrassment to the sport. Yet, that same team holds the potential of being crowned a champion at the season finale at Homestead-Miami. That is not only embarrassing…it should be repulsive to even imagine.
NASCAR is wondering how to bring fans back to the sport, but so far they haven’t been willing to take ownership by addressing teams with a ‘risk versus reward’ mentality, the disease that is disillusioning fans young and old about NASCAR’s integrity.
It’s time to discipline teams for bringing illegal cars to the track. That requires a tough love stance of perhaps disqualifying teams from the competition or even competing in the playoffs. NASCAR must end any reward for bringing an illegal car to competition to stop this disease from ruining their future.
Once is an accident, twice a coincidence, three times is now a bad habit that needs to stop. For NASCAR, failing inspections is a really bad habit that needs an aggressive response before it kills the sport forever. Be the parent that has to discipline the kids that are ruining their futures.
If you’re still questioning what’s written here…
Integrity Matters….read this article written after the Richmond race in 2013 when the ‘risk versus reward’ cheating mentality took Michael Waltrip Racing off the map.