Charter Concerns Are A Fan Problem, Not A NASCAR Problem
Concern: The Wood Brothers did not receive a charter.
This seems to loudest complaint of all. The Wood Brothers are NASCAR OG’s. Been in the sport since 1950. Had a great feel-good story when Trevor Bayne won the 2011 Daytona 500.
However, the charters were awarded on merit. I’m not sure anyone can make the case that a team deserves a charter when they…
- Haven’t finished in the top-40 in owners points since 2012.
- Haven’t finished in the top-30 in owners points since 2005.
The Wood Brothers haven’t run all the races in a Sprint Cup season since 2007. You simply can’t make the case that they should’ve been awarded a charter. You can make the case that it would have been nice, and a nod to history, but if you’re doing that, give…I don’t know…Teresa Earnhardt a charter to sell. She owned a team (with historical significance) that was competing full-time more recently than the Wood Brothers, and literally nobody thinks she should get a charter.
On the other hand, somehow Harry Scott (and Michael Annett, really) came up with enough money to get a one-year lease for the charter that was originally awarded to the 98 car. You’re telling me that the Woods, or Roger Penske (who is invested in the 21 team in 2016 since his young hotshot Ryan Blaney is driving the car), or Motorcraft (who would surely like their car in each race) didn’t have the opportunity to outbid those guys? Really? That they didn’t does not mean there is a problem with the charter system. It means they did not feel like it was good business to do so.
And having said all that, it is going to be exceedingly difficult for the Wood Brothers to actually miss a race in 2016. He has already been locked into the Daytona 500 via the first-round of qualifying, which was not exactly a surprise given the Wood Brothers focus on restrictor-plate racing (and qualifying) the last few years. After the Daytona 500, qualifying will revert to normal, and if weather cancels qualifying then the grid will be set by practice speeds. The Wood Brothers will have a chance to make sure their car is fast enough to beat the other open cars in practice, so they have an excellent chance to make sure they will make the field if weather threatens to hamper qualifying. And until the fourth race of the season, if practice AND qualifying are rained out, the field will be set by 2015 owners points. The Wood Brothers finished 41st in owners points in 2015, but with the removal of the MWR cars that functionally makes them 39th. For a 40-car field. That means the 21 is nearly guaranteed to make the second and third races of the season (especially with a good Daytona 500 result), and if they fail to do so, it will almost entirely be due to their own poor performance, not the failings of the charter system.
More racing: NASCAR Says Only 36 Cars In The Field Of 40 Truly Matter
If you want to dislike the charter system, that’s your choice. However, the charter system is not going to change much on a race-by-race basis, and unless maybe you are with too much time on their hands, it is not going to be a thing anyone thinks about during the actual races. The owners signed the deal through the 2024 season, so as fans, we might as well begrudgingly accept it and save up the anger for what is coming in 2025.