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NASCAR Failed at Penalizing Matt Kenseth, and Here’s Why

By Joseph Shelton

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Yet again, NASCAR drops the ball in penalizing a driver.

Unless you’re living under a rock, by now you know that Matt Kenseth was suspended two races for dumping Joey Logano at Martinsville in what was an act of retribution for Logano dumping Kenseth while racing for the win at Kansas two weeks before. Many argue that the Kansas incident and the Martinsville incident were two different circumstances. However, they were one in the same, and now NASCAR has egg on their face for placing too harsh a punishment on Kenseth.

A lot of the argument centers around the fact that while Logano was racing for the win, Kenseth was laps down when he blatantly took out the No. 22 Ford. Many argue that it’s the fact that Kenseth had nothing to lose when he took out a driver who had a lot to lose. However, affording that logic, isn’t it safe to say that Logano had nothing to lose at Kansas when he spun the No. 20?

Think about it. Kansas was the second race of the second round of the Chase. The previous week at Charlotte, Kenseth crashed and Logano won. Therefore, while Kenseth was fighting for his title hopes and trying to win at Kansas, Logano didn’t need that win to continue. Sure, as a racer, every win is a must. But in the sense of title hopes, Logano was set to enter the third round. He had nothing to lose. Still, he flat drove through Kenseth to get the win.

When Kansas happened, of course, Brian France was all over himself with glee at the result. This was drama at it’s finest, or as he so eloquently (and later, hypocritically) put it, “quintessential NASCAR.” Now, a comment like that from NASCAR’s top dog is empowering, no doubt. So Logano went from being a driver striving for respect to just driving like he has carte blanche in the Sprint Cup garage.

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How NASCAR didn’t see that Martinsville was going to happen is nothing short of confusing. Kenseth, when angry, isn’t a driver to just let bygones be bygones. Logano raced him with disrespect, and Kenseth felt he needed to even the score. That doesn’t mean what he did was right or wasn’t right. But when the driver code of ethics passionately mentioned by ESPN’s Ricky Craven is violated, drivers take it upon themselves to police it. It’s not a new concept in NASCAR, and usually this sort of thing generates drama that NASCAR loves to promote.

Going back to the context of the Martinsville incident. Logano had everything to lose. He just swept the previous round in the Chase, so now that everything is reset he needs to solidify his place at Homestead. He had everything to lose. Kenseth, meanwhile, was wrecked and out of title contention. Like Logano at Kansas, he had nothing to lose.

See the similarities?

Kenseth’s 2015 season was over largely in part because of Logano. As previously mentioned, NASCAR had to have seen it coming. Logano should have as well, for that matter. When a driver is unceremoniously dumped racing for a win and a championship, the driver who did the dumping therefore dons a proverbial bullseye on their back. Kenseth knew of this target, and considering Logano apparently made no attempt at reconciliation, Kenseth felt like he was in the right for teaching Logano a little bit about respect.

Truth be told, it may have been a little warranted. Sure, Logano has been a driver trying to mature and toughen up. He’s gone toe-to-toe with Kevin Harvick and Tony Stewart, but that doesn’t mean he needs to go through the garage like some cocky punk rookie. In case he’s forgotten, he isn’t a rookie anymore.

Going on to the penalties, maybe a monetary fine and some trimming of points would have been fitting for Kenseth. Why wouldn’t it be? Wasn’t that what Jeff Gordon got for dumping Clint Bowyer at Phoenix in 2012? Wasn’t that the same context as Sunday’s incident? What about all the praise from France? Where was Kenseth’s praise when he took out Logano?

On that note, what was France’s basis for issuing the suspension? Was it a business decision? France doesn’t have the genes or the knowledge of a racer or a racer’s ethics. As a matter of fact, if what Smokey Yunick said was true, France comes from a long line of questionable leaders. What this seems like is that France simply caved in to media pressure. The punishment of a two-race suspension is inconsistent with previous penalties in similar instances, so why did he decide to be so harsh? It’s not like Kenseth retaliated at Talladega. No, he had enough wherewithal to wait until Martinsville to exact revenge. Martinsville, a short track with slow speeds. Any argument saying he could have hurt Logano is laughable.

So to come right out and suspend a driver who otherwise hasn’t really been a troublemaker is nothing more than NASCAR shooting itself in the foot. They’re now going to have to suspend every driver who retaliates in some way, shape, or form, or at least penalize them. That’s what this amounts to. Granted, it’s nothing more than speculation, but for France to come off as heavy-handed as he has doesn’t set a good precedent for our sport’s product. All this drama NASCAR loves to promote has now been muffled, to say the least, because of this incident. It’s pretty stupid.

Honestly, Mark Martin tweeted it best:

Maybe that’s how this should have been resolved. A good way to end a feud between drivers is a fistfight. It’s a lot easier to repair than a broken car. Plus, it’s classier, oddly enough. Sure, Logano wouldn’t have been able to withstand a Kenseth surprise, but if NASCAR is looking for a proper way to induce drama, this would have helped greatly and actually would have been less confusing. Instead, we have this mess, and it will be interesting to see how NASCAR reacts to the lack of drama down the road because of this asinine ruling.

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