Good, hard racing – that is the primary goal of classic NASCAR. However, everything contrary to that goal took place in the final laps of the 2024 Xfinity 500 race. Under the current playoff format, Cup Series drivers desperately try to clinch the Final Four berth – even if it means blatantly disregarding rules. That was on display in Martinsville, where Christopher Bell and William Byron tried to topple each other by a single point. And that enraged Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Bell’s Toyota teammate Bubba Wallace mysteriously reported a flat tire and slowed down, allowing Bell to ride the wall and storm to the front. Then Byron’s No. 24 Chevy was fading. But he had Austin Dillon and Ross Chastain ganging up as a ‘rolling roadblock’ to prevent other rivals from passing him. Although NASCAR responded with heavy penalties, a riled-up Dale Jr. felt it was not enough.

Dale Earnhardt Jr calls for ‘the belt’

Alarm bells rang out in the NASCAR community after Martinsville’s race manipulation. Fans raised their eyebrows, and NASCAR brought down its judicial axe. All three teams involved – 23XI Racing, Richard Childress Racing, and Trackhouse Racing – were slapped with $200,000 penalties each. All drivers were docked 50 points each but not suspended. Instead, their crew chiefs, spotters, and competition directors landed race suspensions for Phoenix. Elton Sawyer explained that NASCAR wanted “to focus more on the team leadership” in this round of punishment. But Dale Earnhardt Jr. feels this is the bare minimum.

In order to send a deeper message, NASCAR needs to scold the racers, as Jeff Gluck said, “This will happen again, and soon.” In a recent episode of the Dale Jr Download, Dale Earnhardt Jr. agrees totally: “I saw Jeff Gluck comment immediately…I kind of understand that, it’s kind of how I felt.” Although Dale Jr. agrees the fines are hefty, parking the drivers is the way to deal with this situation. “I think it’s a lot of money. The points are a lot. But to really get someone’s attention, I think parking them a race – it will be enough of a deterrent for someone to not do it again. It’s not a death knell or a death sentence to a team.” 

Dale Earnhardt Jr. further reasoned that the manufacturer penalties or points redux hardly make an impact. And although some fans may criticize a race suspension as too harsh, he still believes in that form of punishment. “While parking a driver…the driver might sit here and go, ‘What the hell, man?’ And the fans might go, ‘Well, that’s a little misguided.’ I still think that that’s the proper deterrent.” So Dale Jr. demanded that NASCAR be a little more strict to stop such blatant race manipulation. “Elton Sawyer said, ‘We considered parking the drivers. That may be something down the road.’ Dang, man. I hate that. It’s kind of like your parent going, ‘Next time, it’s your ass. Next time, you’re getting the belt.’ Maybe now’s the time to bring your belt out.”

Yet NASCAR’s message to the penalized drivers was no less harsh.

Warned against permanent dissolution

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Well, a strong precedent in the past should be enough to warn the drivers. In 2013, Clint Bowyer created the classic ‘Spingate’ case. In collusion with his crew chief Brian Pattie, Bowyer intentionally spun with less than 10 laps left to bring out a caution in Richmond. That vaulted his teammate, Martin Truex Jr, into the playoffs. Additionally, Joey Logano passed fellow Ford driver David Gilliland, knocking Jeff Gordon from the playoffs. NASCAR expanded its playoff grid to 13 just to include Gordon – but its penalty to Bowyer and his team was massive. Michael Waltrip Racing was fined a record $300,000 and lost primary sponsor NAPA Auto Parts. This incident disintegrated the team, and by 2015, MWR had dissolved.

This incident should be enough to jitter the Martinsville drivers. And despite Dale Earnhardt Jr’s lack of satisfaction with the penalty, NASCAR’s message was clear enough. Future race manipulation may result in banning drivers. Senior VP of Competition Elton Sawyer warned: “We will make sure, going forward, if we need to, we will ramp it up again, we will include drivers, we will include OEs going forward if we need to, we will get this point across.” He added, “I promise you, it does not exclude [the drivers], going forward, and we have meetings coming up with our drivers, and we will get that point across to them and be very clear that when you do anything that’s going to compromise the integrity of our sport, we are going to react.”

Evidently, Cup Series drivers would need to be more vigilant. As the Phoenix race looms ahead, hopefully, we will not witness any more crafty tactics like Martinsville.