It’s the last race of the season, in the days before NASCAR had a playoff. You’re leading, but you have no chance at a championship. Behind you is a teammate who, if he can get by you, can win it all, but he’s not good enough to pass. Do you ease up and let him by?
“That’s a stupid question,” a slightly irritated Bobby Labonte, then driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, replied. Hendrick Motorsports’ Jeff Gordon was more practical. “You do what’s best for the team,” Gordon said. “Winning the championship is more important than you winning the race.”
Robert Yates, owner of Robert Yates Racing and one of the greatest engine builders and nicest guys in NASCAR history, smiled mischievously. “I hope my driver would make the right decision,” he said coyly.
There is a lot to digest here. From a team standpoint, what Gordon suggests is the most practical route to go. Obviously, refusing to give ground and denying your team a title that you have no chance of winning seems somewhat selfish.
On the other hand, what about the integrity of the sport? Back in the day, when Labonte, Gordon and Yates were expressing their opinions, multi-car teams were just starting to emerge. Hendrick was the only three-car team. JGR had two cars, as did Yates. Team Penske had only one.
But as the teams continued to grow; at one point, NASCAR allowed as many as five cars to run for a single organization, taking one for the team and how those drivers raced each other became a bigger problem.
That came to the fore again this week after competitive situations on the track threw JGR into complete turmoil during the last two playoff races at New Hampshire and Kansas.
At New Hampshire, JGR’s Ty Gibbs, Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell were battling for 11th place. Hamlin and Gibbs were both trying to pick up extra playoff points while Gibbs is not in the playoffs. Yet Gibbs refused to let Hamlin and Bell make an easy pass.
Eventually, Hamlin slipped trying to get around Gibbs and knocked him into the wall and out of the race. Hamlin said he hadn’t meant to hit Gibbs, but felt Gibbs should have moved over to let the JGR playoff cars by.
While this was for 11th place, what if Gibbs has the fastest car in the final race at Phoenix With Hamlin, who could win the championship with a victory, right behind him and Chase Elliott, another contender, right behind Hamlin?
Should Gibbs give up his chance to win and let Hamlin, a team car, by and then block Elliott? It’s a little different then the Labonte-Gordon-Yates scenario, but not much. And again, what does that say about the integrity of NASCAR racing?
The incident at Kansas is even worse. Hamlin lost the back of his car and slid into Wallace, who was about to win the race. That allowed Chase Elliott to slip by underneath them and punch his ticket to the round of eight.
What makes this so egregious is the fact that Hamlin drives for JGR and is a part owner, along with Michael Jordan, of Wallace’s Toyota. No one should be allowed to drive for one team and own part of another.
It would be like allowing Jordan Love to play for the Green Bay Packers while being a part owner of the Minnesota Vikings. No other sport would tolerate this, and NASCAR shouldn’t either. If you want to own a team and continue competing, then you should drive for the team you own.
NASCAR could clean all this up with a few rule changes, eliminating the playoffs and rewarding drivers who race to win instead of giving them points for simply finishing, but it doesn’t seem inclined to make sweeping changes. That’s too bad, because sweeping changes are what’s needed if it wants to have real integrity.
NASCAR NOTES
Three most likely winners at Charlotte Roval: 1-Shane van Gisbergen, 2-Christopher Bell, 3-Chase Briscoe. Last year’s winner at the Roval: Kyle Larson. Top five at the Roval last year: 1-Larson, 2-Bell, 3-William Byron, 4-Austin Cindric, 5-Chase Elliott.
Last week’s Kansas picks: 1-Denny Hamlin, 2-Briscoe, 3-Larson. Kansas winner: Elliott. Old Guy Sport season record after 26 races (no Pocono pick): 11-14, .440.
OGS competition index top 10 after 26 races: 1-Denny Hamlin 600 points, 2-Briscoe 478, 3-Bell 413, 4-Ryan Blaney 408, 5-Larson 376, 6-Byron 356, 7-van Gisbergen 295, 8-Elliott 244, 9-Joey Logano 185, Bubba Wallace 185.
OGS competition index top 10 on road courses (tracks similar to Charlotte Roval) after five races: 1-van Gisbergen 295 points, 2-Bell 145, 3-Elliott 80, 4-Tyler Reddick 65, 5-Byron 60, 6-Briscoe 59, 7-Ty Gibbs 51, 8-Michael McDowell 48, 9-Kyle Busch 38, 10-Chris Buescher 32.

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