NASCAR dug themselves a bigger hole with Bubba Wallace penalty

NASCAR did the right thing by penalizing Bubba Wallace for his intentional spin. But in doing so, they dug themselves a bigger unanticipated hole.

After Richard Petty Motorsports’ Bubba Wallace spun out in the third and final stage of last Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series round of 8 playoff race at Texas Motor Speedway and altered the outcome of the race for several drivers, he quickly drew criticism.

The most vocal critic was Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kyle Larson, who had just come into the pits from fourth place when Wallace spun in turn two of the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) Texas Motor Speedway oval in Fort Worth, Texas.

Due to the caution flag period that Wallace brought out, Larson ended up back in 21st place before restarting in 19th and ultimately only working his way back up to 12th.

More from NASCAR Cup Series

He wasn’t the only driver whose race result was effectively ruined. Teammate Kurt Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Erik Jones, Stewart-Haas Racing’s Clint Bowyer and Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron also lost positions as a result of this incident. They finished in ninth, 10th, 11th and 17th place, respectively, after running toward the front of the field with Larson for much of the race.

But Larson was the only one of these drivers who was competing in the round of 8, and his chances of advancing to the Championship 4 were hampered as a result. He was ultimately eliminated once the round of 8 ended the following Sunday at ISM Raceway.

Larson accused Wallace of spinning out intentionally to avoid losing track position with a flat tire, and he criticized NASCAR for not issuing a penalty considering just how clear it was that Wallace spun on purpose.

NASCAR did not cave to Larson’s demands for a penalty. But a few days later, Wallace admitted to spinning intentionally in this interview with NBC Sports’ Dustin Long.

Here’s what @BubbaWallace had to say about his spin at @TXMotorSpeedway, and @KyleBusch and @KyleLarsonRacin’s comments.#NASCARPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/jJsbWgnwFS
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) November 9, 2019

It was this admission that resulted in Wallace being issued a penalty in the form of a loss of 50 points in the championship standings and a $50,000 lighter wallet.

Here is what NASCAR senior vice president of competition Scott Miller had to say about the matter, according to NASCAR.

"“If we feel like it’s on purpose and we have enough information to determine that 100% it’s on purpose, we will react. The reaction today was after a complete admission of guilt, so that’s really what led to the penalty happening today…that was a full admission of something that has been abuzz in the garage and the media. (A warning instead of a penalty) wasn’t an option.”"

But here’s the thing. While NASCAR believe that they effectively caught Wallace “admitting” that he spun intentionally, all NASCAR did was get caught “admitting” what it takes to get a driver penalized for intentionally altering a race result via an intentional spin. They were equally as silly for publicizing this information as Wallace was for making his admission.

And with just the Championship 4 remaining on the 2019 schedule, that could turn disastrous very quickly.

Think about it.

Larson stated from the start that he was not mad at Wallace for doing what he did and that everyone has done it at some point. His whole beef was with NASCAR, and to back himself up, he and his team looked at the data from Wallace’s car to effectively prove that he spun intentionally.

Here is what Larson had to say, according to NBC Sports.

"“We looked at Bubba’s data the next day. You could definitely see, because we have SMT where you have the digital car, you could see him like swerving, he turns right and at the same time he turns left and stabs the throttle and spins out. It’s whatever at this point.”"

But the data didn’t matter; NASCAR still did nothing.

NASCAR only budged once Wallace admitted it.

“Complete admission of guilt” were the exact words Miller used.

Interesting, especially 35 races into a 36-race season.

Two teams are represented in the Championship 4: Joe Gibbs Racing with teammates Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch and Stewart-Haas Racing with Kevin Harvick.

Now picture this.

What happens when the other Joe Gibbs Racing driver, Erik Jones, or one of the other three Stewart-Haas Racing drivers, Aric Almirola, Clint Bowyer and Daniel Suarez, “accidentally” spins out late in Sunday’s Championship 4 race at Homestead-Miami Speedway to help a teammate?

Nothing.

Nothing is going to happen.

Why?

Because NASCAR literally just proved that they won’t bat an eye unless there is a “complete admission of guilt”.

You think the unproven guilty party is going to crack if there is no evidence to prove that it was “100% on purpose”?

Fat chance, especially if one of his/their teammates is standing with the championship trophy in victory lane after the 267-lap race around the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) Homestead-Miami Speedway oval in Homestead, Florida concludes.

But what if the data says otherwise?

NASCAR already proved they don’t care, so that’s really a non-issue, unfortunately.

Next. Top 10 NASCAR drivers of all-time. dark

In the short run, NASCAR was right to penalize Bubba Wallace for doing what he did. But in the long run, a warning for actually spinning intentionally, not a penalty simply for admitting guilt, would have gone a whole farther. Let’s just hope it doesn’t end up mattering this weekend.

Home/NASCAR Cup Series