Responding to Richmond

In what had to be the most frantic Chase-deciding race Richmond International Raceway has ever produced, a dark cloud of team orders hangs over the final spot in the Chase. Let me be clear when I say I have no problem with team orders but it is how far they are taken.

Were they taken too far Saturday night by Michael Waltrip Racing? Let's look at the evidence:

Ryan Newman is leading the race with seven laps remaining. He wins, he is in the Chase. At that time, Jeff Gordon was in the 10th position in points. Joey Logano was eleventh and would have lost the second wild card position had Newman won. Clint Bowyer spins and brings out a caution. The field pits, Newman is no longer the leader, Logano is waved around. When the checkered flag flew Logano moved up to tenth, Gordon down to eleventh and Martin Truex, Jr. was holding the second wild card position on a tiebreaker over Ryan Newman who finished third.

Let's dive in a little deeper. Why would over Clint Bowyer's radio "the 39 is going to win" be said? And why did they say "going to win?" They didn't say the 39 is leading but "going to win." Do they always tell Bowyer who is going to win in the final laps? Do they frequently ask Bowyer whether his arms hurt during the later stages of a race?  Do they always ask Bowyer if it's hot in the car? Of course it's hot. It's a race car. When during a race is the cockpit cold?

The question is did Bowyer spin on purpose? And if it were only a flat tire, why didn't the crew change it and get him right back out on track? Why did he sit in the pits for an additional two laps? Then there is Brian Vickers late pit stop that put him a lap down. His crew chief Ty Norris called him in saying, "You've got to pit this time. We need that 1 point." What did he mean "we need that 1 point?" Pitting would give up track position and lose points. If anything, if they need that 1 point then wouldn't Norris be telling Vickers to make a pass for position?

Now here is where team orders get blurry. I am ok with a team telling a driver to fall back and let his teammate by for points. I actually questioned why Penske Racing was letting Logano and Keselowski win Nationwide races while Sam Hornish, Jr. would finish second and lose potential points that could decide the championship. That is a harmless. It's just like when drivers let another driver by to lead a lap for a bonus point. Sometimes it's a team order. Other times a driver realizes his teammate is behind him and let's him by to get the bonus point.

But it's taking team orders to the point when you are telling a driver to stop or spun on track for a caution that is a problem that must be nipped in the bud immediately. It is no better than a player taking a dive towards the end of a soccer match to waste time. Actually it's far worse. Telling a car to spin or stop put many drivers in danger. Imagine if Bowyer had spun and been t-boned by another driver. You are not only putting Bowyer at risk for injury but fellow competitors. When a player dives in any sport, they're just wasting time. For example: A wide receiver can't stomp on the leg of a cornerback causing him to go down and need medical attention and stop the clock without some type of penalty, whether it be unnecessary roughness and a fifteen yard penalty or fifteen yards and an ejection. Why should a driver spinning on purpose be let off the hook?

When the spin happened, I didn't even think about it and didn't think it was to benefit Truex. The same way I didn't think Nelson Piquet,  Jr. (who ironically happens to drive in the NASCAR Nationwide Series) spun in the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix to benefit then-teammate Fernando Alonso. But, just as the Piquet incident, once you hear the radio transmissions from not only Bowyer but Vickers and you have to raise a red flag.

Going off the Renault incident, the FIA came down hard on the team. Renault was given a two-year suspended disqualification from Formula One pending any further rules violations. Then-team principal and chief engineer Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds were banned from the sport, however these bans were later overturned by French courts and Symonds is currently back in Formula One as chief technical officer at Williams F1.

With NASCAR currently investigating the spin, the question is will they punish Michael Waltrip Racing? NASCAR has not been known to making heavy-handed penalties such as the ones given to Renault after Singapore. Sure they have penalized Chad Knaus almost religiously when the #48 car has failed an inspection with points and money but their history of banning drivers for actions on track is spotty. Kyle Busch was sat down for a Cup and Nationwide race in 2011 when he wrecked Ron Hornaday, Jr. under caution during a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event at Texas Motor Speedway. Ted Musgrave was suspended in 2007 for hitting the truck of Kelly Bires under caution. But remember when Jeff Gordon deliberately spun Clint Bowyer head first into the wall and happened to collect innocent bystanders Joey Logano and Aric Almirola last November? No ban.

Would any punishment go further than the drivers? Could it be a whole team penalty? In 2005, BAR Honda were banned disqualified from the San Marino Grand Prix and banned from the next two for hidden fuel compartments that used fuel as ballast, which is against regulations. Could Michael Waltrip Racing as a whole be sat for a race or two? And more importantly, would a penalty change the Chase status or either or both Michael Waltrip Racing drivers in what would be a truly radical and revolutionary penalty handed down by NASCAR?

There are a few ways this could have been avoided. First, Clint Bowyer at one point during the Richmond race was leading the points. If NASCAR gave say a 26-point bonus to the driver to who was leading the points after the "regular season" in addition to the bonus points for winning races during the "regular season," would Bowyer have fallen back and gotten himself into this mess? Wouldn't he go after the regular season championship bonus?

What if in-car radios were banned and drivers had to rely on pit boards and their mirrors? It would be a step backward for racing if that were to happen not only in in-car communicate but safety but if drivers are already spinning on purpose, maybe we have already taken a step back in terms of safety and getting rid of in-car radios wouldn't be that big of a deal.

NASCAR finds themselves in a precarious situation and if they were to issue any penalty that affects the Chase, they have to act quick as Chicago is one week away.