Does NASCAR Have a Credibility Issue? - nascar163's Blog

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Does NASCAR Have a Credibility Issue?

Posted on September 14, 2013 at 11:16 PM.

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When auto racing fans think of NASCAR, they think about the excitement in every race; not a sport riddled with cheaters.

For the past week, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series has seen its credibility and support drop dramatically. Ever since the last race at Richmond, NASCAR has found two separate cheating plots, suspended the general manager for Michael Waltrip Racing, removed Martin Truex Jr. from the Chase, added Ryan Newman in his place and added a 13th slot this this year�s field due to one spin causing a mess of the points system.

For the past couple of seasons, NASCAR has seen its credibility start to decline slowly. In 2012, there was the Jeff Gordon-Clint Bowyer fight at Phoenix and Brad Keselowski using his cell phone to tweet pictures during races that brought negative media to the sport.

And in 2013 before last weekend, there had been a few instances involving Penske Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing at the beginning of the year for failing inspections on race day, as well as major injuries to Denny Hamlin and Tony Stewart, two of the sport�s top drivers.

But last weekend topped it all off.

Everyone has seen the videos of Clint Bowyer�s radio and how Clint�s crew chief told him to scratch his arm, where he spun out on purpose in the next turn. We�ve also heard the radio for David Gilliland saying to let Joey Logano pass him to get the 22 car into the final Chase spot.

NASCAR did the right thing in sanctioning MWR and creating a 13th Spot for Jeff Gordon, but the damage is already done.
Not only has the sport�s main series been taking heat from last season and earlier this year, but the entire situation undermined the Chase for the Cup system that has been a staple to the top-tier class since 2004. The question is how long NASCAR will keep the Chase after this disaster, and if the fan support for the playoffs will start to drop.

The sport isn�t the same as it was back in the early 2000s, which I like to call my generation�s �Golden-Age�. In that time, you had action-packed races every Daytona 500, historic wrecks at Talladega, and drivers like Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. dominating the sport. And this was all before the Chase was put into action.

Since then, the sport has been slowly becoming a corrupt sport, both in terms of drivers and officials.

From the fall of DEI abandoning its star driver in Dale Jr., to multiple team changes the past few seasons, it just shows how disloyal the drivers in the sport have become.

The officials meanwhile were beginning to give out more and more penalties and fines, all the way until last weekend, where it reached its climax.

In my opinion, this whole situation has made the 2013 Sprint Cup Season a complete mess. Not only did NASCAR have to change the Chase drivers list twice, but now MWR, Penske Racing and Front Row Motorsports have a target on their backs for 2014. Every fan will look at these teams for the next few years and think, �These guys are ruining our sport every season.�

Because of these three teams, the sport�s playoff system is forever tarnished. No longer will there be as much excitement for the final 10 races of the season, as there�ll always be discussion about a certain team getting into the Chase. Even if there were a couple sanction-free seasons in a row, both the fans and media will think about last weekend�s race.

NASCAR has had a credibility issue since the late 2000s, and in my eyes, it�ll take forever to gain the reputation it used to have back from its prime. And as the only major American sport that doesn�t require physical strength, NASCAR is starting to look just as shady as the MLB and NFL is with steroids.

That�s all,

nascar163/Gamer360Sports

Comments

# 1 Tsuki @ Sep 15

Never knew this stuff was going on good write up.

# 2 seeuatthemovies @ Sep 17

I couldn't agree more. The sanctioning body has been complicit in these antics for years when they felt it benefited the bottom line. They sure didn't complain when Hendrick cars were helping the 48 team win five titles (there are marching orders no matter what is said publicly). France and Helton don't have a problem with the myriad of made for television cautions that conveniently occur whenever a race becomes a run away. I would argue that the credibility slipped on the day that Earnhardt Sr. passed away, if not before then. I hate seeing the sport in this condition because I'm old enough to remember its regional roots and pre-corporate image.