NASCAR’s confusing messages, unrelenting pressure make Chase volatile, dangerous
After the Kansas incident between Matt Kenseth and Joey Logano in the final moments of the race, payback from Kenseth was in Logano's future.
Maybe Kenseth was too obvious at Martinsville on Sunday. His pile-driving move, when he was multiple laps off the pace, sent Logano into the wall and ended the younger man's day.
Kenseth's move was surprising only for its force and lack of subtly.
Then again, Kenseth's was out to send a message, to make a point, to show that he has been racing too long and too well to be pushed around by anyone.
To briefly recap: Kenseth had the lead at Kansas and was attempting to block the hard-charging Logano. Logano, unable to maneuver around Kenseth, took the road less traveled – or frequently traveled, depending on your idea of sportsmanship and "racing hard" – bumped Kenseth and sent the driver of the No. 20 car spinning and, essentially, ending Kenseth's pursuit of the Chase title.
NASCAR's response, more or less, was, "That's racin'."
Logano's short-term gain set him up for long-term pain, although the long-term pain instead has been visited upon the Kenseth.
Kenseth has been suspended for two races, one of the more severe penalties NASCAR has handed out in recent years. It is one race too many given NASCAR's "Boys Have At It" philosophy.
Jeff Gordon, now the sentimental favorite of seemingly every NASCAR fan and driver – save the three others who will make the cut for the season finale at Homestead – to win the Chase, intentionally wrecked Clint Bowyer at Phoenix in 2012. Gordon was fined $100,000 and docked 25 driver's points.
Gordon thought, apparently as did Kenseth, he was sticking to the "code."
"We talk about this a lot, and a lot of fans don’t understand what the driver code is," Denny Hamlin said on FS1's NASCAR Race Hub television show Tuesday night.
Hamlin is a teammate of Kenseth's at Joe Gibbs Racing, which has appealed Kenseth's penalty.
"Any race car driver that's been doing this long enough understands what the driver code is," Hamlin said. "And I feel like the driver code that's been established since racing has ever begun 100 years ago, that driver code is more compromised now than ever. NASCAR said in years past, and they said even this year, that they like the drivers to police themselves. Matt was policing himself, and he was policing the driver code, in my opinion."
In 2012, Hamlin said Gordon was wrong to wreck Bowyer.
Hamlin and Gordon said Logano could have diffused the Kansas situation by apologizing to Kenseth in person, via phone or even through the media. When that was not forthcoming, it apparently only served to stiffen Kenseth's resolve to handle the situation himself.
Perhaps Kenseth's response would not have been as forceful had not Brad Keselowski, Logano's teammate at Penske Racing, tapped Kenseth's car Sunday and sent him into the wall at Martinsville. That probably was a bump too far. Kenseth had had enough from Penske's drivers, dating back to the 2014 Chase when he had issues with Keselowski's driving.
The bigger issue, however, is NASCAR and the Chase format.
The pressure on the drivers racing for the championship is unrelenting. It grows exponentially in each of the final 10 races.
One mistake, one careless moment by a driver, can ruin another driver's chances to win the most coveted prize in the sport. A maneuver that pushes the bounds of sportsmanship or ethics in the name of advancing in the Chase is not forgotten.
Winning a championship should not be easy.
But NASCAR has created a volatile, dangerous situation that tempts drivers to make decisions that go against their better selves and default to their baser instincts.
A format that drives competitors to be ruthless, reckless and vengeful is going to get someone seriously injured or, heaven forbid, something even worse. Paul Woody/Richmond Times Dispatch