This
past Tuesday, NASCAR suspended Matt Kenseth for the next two races in response
to his actions to Joey Logano in Sunday’s race at Martinsville. While I understand NASCAR needed to remind
drivers that intentionally wrecking is completely unacceptable, I believe
NASCAR penalized Matt Kenseth too harshly. However, I believe Kenseth intentionally wrecked Logano & I believe Kenseth
needed to be punished. Furthermore, I am
neither a Matt Kenseth fan nor a Joey Logano fan; as an avid fan of the sport
though, I understand both drivers’ perspectives. Regardless of what I would have done in that
situation, Kenseth received an incredibly harsh punishment because NASCAR
wanted to set a precedent. I hope that
just as the NFL wanted to punish the Patriots for Deflategate, Kenseth will
channel his inner Tom Brady & the suspension will be lifted. Lastly, to assert my argument that NASCAR
unjustly penalized Matt Kenseth, I will cite sources, as sources supplement my
point.
Before I discuss the incident at Martinsville, I flashback to the NASCAR Cup Series Chase race at Kansas on October 18. With the drivers in the Chase, if a driver wins during one round of the Chase, he automatically advances to the next round. After the races for one round conclude, the bottom four drivers are eliminated, & so it goes on for each round. With less than five laps remaining in the race, Matt Kenseth led Joey Logano. Kenseth desperately needed a win to advance to the next round after a poor finish the previous week & Logano wanted to win, but he already clinched a berth with his victory at Charlotte the previous week. Kenseth repeatedly blocked Logano for several laps, & with about five laps to go, Logano spun Kenseth. Rather than bump & run as NASCAR drivers do so often, especially at short tracks, Matt Kenseth said, "He (Logano) picked my rear tires off the ground and wrecked me, so there's no debate about that one” (Spencer). Logano won the race, denying Kenseth a win as he finished 14th (Spencer). The next weekend, Matt Kenseth both failed to win & did not accumulate enough points, & as a result, he was eliminated from the Chase whereas Joey Logano advanced to the next round.
Unfortunately, Brian Frances’ remarks following the race further escalated the situation. As Bob Pockrass covered France’s radio show,
Before I discuss the incident at Martinsville, I flashback to the NASCAR Cup Series Chase race at Kansas on October 18. With the drivers in the Chase, if a driver wins during one round of the Chase, he automatically advances to the next round. After the races for one round conclude, the bottom four drivers are eliminated, & so it goes on for each round. With less than five laps remaining in the race, Matt Kenseth led Joey Logano. Kenseth desperately needed a win to advance to the next round after a poor finish the previous week & Logano wanted to win, but he already clinched a berth with his victory at Charlotte the previous week. Kenseth repeatedly blocked Logano for several laps, & with about five laps to go, Logano spun Kenseth. Rather than bump & run as NASCAR drivers do so often, especially at short tracks, Matt Kenseth said, "He (Logano) picked my rear tires off the ground and wrecked me, so there's no debate about that one” (Spencer). Logano won the race, denying Kenseth a win as he finished 14th (Spencer). The next weekend, Matt Kenseth both failed to win & did not accumulate enough points, & as a result, he was eliminated from the Chase whereas Joey Logano advanced to the next round.
Unfortunately, Brian Frances’ remarks following the race further escalated the situation. As Bob Pockrass covered France’s radio show,
“France endorsed the Logano
move, which earned Logano the victory and put Kenseth in a virtual must-win
situation Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway, if Kenseth is to advance to the
next round of the Chase for the Sprint Cup. That's quintessential NASCAR,’ France said… ‘Late in the race, I think that's a great
example of everybody doing probably exactly what they should be doing. You had Matt Kenseth trying to block and hold
his position. He had a faster car behind
him, and when you block, you risk that somebody is going to be in that position
... and there was contact.’
If I were Brian France, I would not have championed
the move nor opposed it. I would have
said, “I understand both drivers’ points of view, the reality is the little
contact caused the spin, & while I know Joey Logano wanted to win & put
Matt Kenseth in his current situation, I sincerely hope the spin was accidental. Because, as I want to remind both drivers
& fans, intentionally wrecking another driver is unacceptable & will
not be tolerated.” In that phrase, the
move is accepted, but drivers receive a stern warning to be careful. That would have cautioned Logano not to be aggressive
& prevented Kenseth from wrecking Logano. Instead, France approved spinning another driver to win the race, &
he put a target on Joey Logano. Additionally,
he failed to discourage revenge by Kenseth as France inadvertently supported grudges. While I seriously doubt he supports grudges
& desires revenge by drivers, his words spoke volumes on the incident.
Before I dissect the racing at Martinsville, I feel it vital to state the facts. The race rundown from jayski.com clearly states, “With just over 50 laps remaining, #2-Keselowski got into #20-Kenseth, spinning him into #41-Kurt Busch. Keselowski and Busch had to go to the garage for repairs. Kenseth pitted and stayed on track. Then with 46 laps to go, Kenseth got into the back of Logano in turn 1, sending them both into the wall. NASCAR parked Kenseth for the remainder of the race. Logano called the move intentional, Kenseth denied that.” To provide further context, the inside line at Martinsville is the preferred line. On restarts, drivers on the outside fight to get in line on the inside otherwise they are sitting ducks for drivers on the inside to pass them. Team Penske drivers Brad Keselowski & Joey Logano dominated the field, & on the restart, Keselowski started on the outside with Logano on the inside. What the two drivers previously did was the inside driver would allow the outside driver to pass & get on the inside lane to prevent either driver from losing positions. While that is legal, the other drivers were irritated because the two drivers would wait until the last moment to go, causing the rest of the field to stack up. Kurt Busch, the second driver on the inside lane, lost his patience & shoved Keselowski, who bumped his teammate Logano. Busch, trying to perform a bump & run on Keselowski, continued to shove him & Keselowski lost control of his car. While Kenseth claimed Keselowski intentionally wrecked him, I doubt it, as I believe the momentum from the shove caused Keselowski to lose control of his car & hit Kenseth. Kenseth spun hard left, causing damage to Keselowski & brutally slammed into Kurt Busch. As Jayski informs you, Kenseth returned to the track, & when Logano went to further lap him as Kenseth was already several laps down, Kenseth turned hard right, ramming both cars into the wall & ruining Logano’s chance to win. Logano finished in 37th & Kenseth 38th (Pennell). While Logano still has a chance to advance to the championship round at Homestead & win the championship, Kenseth cannot win it. Kenseth does not care; he achieved something satisfying at Martinsville: vindication.
The aftermath of it all is Logano probably must win one of the two remaining races in this Chase round to advance to the championship round. Kenseth’s team appealed the penalty, & if upheld, I feel as though NASCAR refuses to acknowledge the contradiction. Denny Hamlin, a veteran who has won many races & sometimes quick-tempered himself, described the contradiction as, "I love Brian France, but when he says that drivers are 'doing what they have to do,' it seems like he's promoting this type of racing. That's tough to crown a true champion when things go like this.” Hamlin is right. Logano may have won the race, which would have locked him into the championship round instead of Jeff Gordon, who has now become the sentimental favorite. While the Kansas results are final, the decision to suspend Matt Kenseth alters the remainder of this Chase round. In NASCAR, each position is a point, & suspending a driver like Kenseth benefits the remaining Chase drivers as a NASCAR champion is not in the field, & so virtually they each gain an additional position. That is not fair to hand them an additional point nor will a true champion be crowned because of the events at Kansas & Martinsville, & if Kenseth’s suspension is upheld, the next two races. While there will be a champion, & I am cheering for Gordon to win the championship in his last season, the incidents from those races greatly influence the Chase. When NASCAR created the Chase, it wanted an elimination style of playoffs. What the Chase has produced is desperate & then vengeful drivers like Kenesth racing aggressive drivers still in the Chase such as Logano. That is a dangerous predicament, & not only for those two, but also their fellow competitors. Again, Kurt Busch was an unlucky victim. He took the brunt of Kenseth’s spin. Conversely, Jeff Gordon greatly benefited from the Martinsville incident. If Kenseth, Keselowski, Logano, & Kurt Busch did not sustain damage, Gordon would have raced more cars that are superior in the final laps of the race. The Chase, which NASCAR developed to boost ratings, emphasize winning, & create fun great racing, has turned into, “It's a no-holds-barred, Wild, Wild West… The structure which we have around us is not very strong as far as an authority figure saying, 'No, you cannot do that anymore'” (Associated Press).
Matt Kenseth is guilty of wrecking Joey Logano & should be held responsible. However, NASCAR bears responsibility for creating a system where drivers race aggressive & drivers form feuds. Drivers have good memories & they remedy the situation, peacefully or not, on or off the track. Danica Patrick intentionally wrecked David Gilliland & foolishly admitted to it on Sunday. She received a penalty of $50,000 & the loss of 25 points. I would create a system. If you intentionally wreck a driver in places 1-10, you are suspended one race, lose 50 points, & a fine of $50,000. If you intentionally wreck a driver in places 11-20, you lose 40 points with a fine of $40,000. If you intentionally wreck a driver in places 21-30, you lose 30 points with a fine of $30,000. If you intentionally wreck a driver in places 31-43, you lose 20 points with a fine of $20,000. Standardize it & establish a rule. If a driver appeals that another driver intentionally wrecked him, such as the Kansas incident, both drivers are on probation until the appeal. I believe Matt Kenseth should be suspended one race, lose 50 points, & be fined $50,000. One race is a loss of almost 50 points, so the penalty is comparable in terms of points. Winning the All-Star Race is $1 million, so $50,000 is plausible. Nevertheless, two races is excessive, because NASCAR established this culture, Brian France endorsed Logano intentionally spinning Kenseth, & Logano was part of the reason Kenseth wrecked in the first place at Martinsville.
Sadly, NASCAR denied Matt Kenseth’s appeal & he remains suspended for the next two races. While Kenseth deserved a penalty, Joey Logano was not an innocent victim. An issue NASCAR has not addressed aggressive driving. Logano spun Kenseth at Kansas & the tactics employed by Logano & Brad Keselowski on the restarts at Martinsville were the tipping point for Kenseth’s anger. NASCAR has not warned Logano about pushing the limits; they should put him on probation for pushing drivers to their boiling points. How are drivers supposed to act when they are aggressively bumped, shoved, or spun by Logano, or any other driver for that matter? Apparently, they cannot do anything on the racetrack. Because revenge is unacceptable. Again, do not question my feelings about the actions of Matt Kenseth. Nevertheless, I am confident about one thing. The punishment doesn’t fit the crime.
Before I dissect the racing at Martinsville, I feel it vital to state the facts. The race rundown from jayski.com clearly states, “With just over 50 laps remaining, #2-Keselowski got into #20-Kenseth, spinning him into #41-Kurt Busch. Keselowski and Busch had to go to the garage for repairs. Kenseth pitted and stayed on track. Then with 46 laps to go, Kenseth got into the back of Logano in turn 1, sending them both into the wall. NASCAR parked Kenseth for the remainder of the race. Logano called the move intentional, Kenseth denied that.” To provide further context, the inside line at Martinsville is the preferred line. On restarts, drivers on the outside fight to get in line on the inside otherwise they are sitting ducks for drivers on the inside to pass them. Team Penske drivers Brad Keselowski & Joey Logano dominated the field, & on the restart, Keselowski started on the outside with Logano on the inside. What the two drivers previously did was the inside driver would allow the outside driver to pass & get on the inside lane to prevent either driver from losing positions. While that is legal, the other drivers were irritated because the two drivers would wait until the last moment to go, causing the rest of the field to stack up. Kurt Busch, the second driver on the inside lane, lost his patience & shoved Keselowski, who bumped his teammate Logano. Busch, trying to perform a bump & run on Keselowski, continued to shove him & Keselowski lost control of his car. While Kenseth claimed Keselowski intentionally wrecked him, I doubt it, as I believe the momentum from the shove caused Keselowski to lose control of his car & hit Kenseth. Kenseth spun hard left, causing damage to Keselowski & brutally slammed into Kurt Busch. As Jayski informs you, Kenseth returned to the track, & when Logano went to further lap him as Kenseth was already several laps down, Kenseth turned hard right, ramming both cars into the wall & ruining Logano’s chance to win. Logano finished in 37th & Kenseth 38th (Pennell). While Logano still has a chance to advance to the championship round at Homestead & win the championship, Kenseth cannot win it. Kenseth does not care; he achieved something satisfying at Martinsville: vindication.
The aftermath of it all is Logano probably must win one of the two remaining races in this Chase round to advance to the championship round. Kenseth’s team appealed the penalty, & if upheld, I feel as though NASCAR refuses to acknowledge the contradiction. Denny Hamlin, a veteran who has won many races & sometimes quick-tempered himself, described the contradiction as, "I love Brian France, but when he says that drivers are 'doing what they have to do,' it seems like he's promoting this type of racing. That's tough to crown a true champion when things go like this.” Hamlin is right. Logano may have won the race, which would have locked him into the championship round instead of Jeff Gordon, who has now become the sentimental favorite. While the Kansas results are final, the decision to suspend Matt Kenseth alters the remainder of this Chase round. In NASCAR, each position is a point, & suspending a driver like Kenseth benefits the remaining Chase drivers as a NASCAR champion is not in the field, & so virtually they each gain an additional position. That is not fair to hand them an additional point nor will a true champion be crowned because of the events at Kansas & Martinsville, & if Kenseth’s suspension is upheld, the next two races. While there will be a champion, & I am cheering for Gordon to win the championship in his last season, the incidents from those races greatly influence the Chase. When NASCAR created the Chase, it wanted an elimination style of playoffs. What the Chase has produced is desperate & then vengeful drivers like Kenesth racing aggressive drivers still in the Chase such as Logano. That is a dangerous predicament, & not only for those two, but also their fellow competitors. Again, Kurt Busch was an unlucky victim. He took the brunt of Kenseth’s spin. Conversely, Jeff Gordon greatly benefited from the Martinsville incident. If Kenseth, Keselowski, Logano, & Kurt Busch did not sustain damage, Gordon would have raced more cars that are superior in the final laps of the race. The Chase, which NASCAR developed to boost ratings, emphasize winning, & create fun great racing, has turned into, “It's a no-holds-barred, Wild, Wild West… The structure which we have around us is not very strong as far as an authority figure saying, 'No, you cannot do that anymore'” (Associated Press).
Matt Kenseth is guilty of wrecking Joey Logano & should be held responsible. However, NASCAR bears responsibility for creating a system where drivers race aggressive & drivers form feuds. Drivers have good memories & they remedy the situation, peacefully or not, on or off the track. Danica Patrick intentionally wrecked David Gilliland & foolishly admitted to it on Sunday. She received a penalty of $50,000 & the loss of 25 points. I would create a system. If you intentionally wreck a driver in places 1-10, you are suspended one race, lose 50 points, & a fine of $50,000. If you intentionally wreck a driver in places 11-20, you lose 40 points with a fine of $40,000. If you intentionally wreck a driver in places 21-30, you lose 30 points with a fine of $30,000. If you intentionally wreck a driver in places 31-43, you lose 20 points with a fine of $20,000. Standardize it & establish a rule. If a driver appeals that another driver intentionally wrecked him, such as the Kansas incident, both drivers are on probation until the appeal. I believe Matt Kenseth should be suspended one race, lose 50 points, & be fined $50,000. One race is a loss of almost 50 points, so the penalty is comparable in terms of points. Winning the All-Star Race is $1 million, so $50,000 is plausible. Nevertheless, two races is excessive, because NASCAR established this culture, Brian France endorsed Logano intentionally spinning Kenseth, & Logano was part of the reason Kenseth wrecked in the first place at Martinsville.
Sadly, NASCAR denied Matt Kenseth’s appeal & he remains suspended for the next two races. While Kenseth deserved a penalty, Joey Logano was not an innocent victim. An issue NASCAR has not addressed aggressive driving. Logano spun Kenseth at Kansas & the tactics employed by Logano & Brad Keselowski on the restarts at Martinsville were the tipping point for Kenseth’s anger. NASCAR has not warned Logano about pushing the limits; they should put him on probation for pushing drivers to their boiling points. How are drivers supposed to act when they are aggressively bumped, shoved, or spun by Logano, or any other driver for that matter? Apparently, they cannot do anything on the racetrack. Because revenge is unacceptable. Again, do not question my feelings about the actions of Matt Kenseth. Nevertheless, I am confident about one thing. The punishment doesn’t fit the crime.
Works Cited
Associated Press.
"Jeff Gordon Gets First Win of Year, to Run for 5th Cup Title in
Career Finale.” ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures, 1 Nov. 2015. Web. 04
Nov. 2015
Jayski. "Martinsville
2015 NASCAR Race Info.” Jayski's®
NASCAR Silly Season Site - Race Info Page.
Jayski LLC, 1 Nov. 2015. Web. 04 Nov. 2015.
Pennell, Jay.
"Race Results: Jeff Gordon Wins at Martinsville Speedway. “ FOX Sports. Fox Sports Interactive Media, LLC, 1 Nov.
2015. Web. 05 Nov. 2015.
Pockrass, Bob.
"Brian France Backs Logano's Late Bump on Kenseth as
'quintessential NASCAR'" ESPN.
ESPN Internet Ventures, 19 Oct. 2015.
Web. 04 Nov. 2015.
Spencer, Reid.
"Logano's Late Bump Denies Kenseth, Ices Kansas Win.” NASCAR. NASCAR Media Group, LLC, 18 Oct. 2015. Web.
04 Nov. 2015.
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