The talk of the NASCAR town is last weekend’s Martinsville fiasco. Both Chevrolet and Toyota were under NASCAR’s radar for similar OEM tactics. While Ross Chastain and Austin Dillon did not speed up to overtake a fading William Byron’s car, Bubba Wallace apparently slowed to let Christopher Bell pass. The fans were outraged, and the race videos raised eyebrows—until NASCAR brought down its judicial hammer. However, Elton Sawyer explains why.

When we race in superspeedways, similar team strategies pop up. Those are inevitable, considering the racetrack’s unique aerodynamic features. Unless you work as a team and take control of the draft, crashes are possible. But Martinsville is a short track and way different, as NASCAR’s Senior VP of Competition claims.

Elton Sawyer draws a parallel

After the Next-Gen car debuted in 2022, we all know what changed in superspeedways. The ‘drafting tracks’ of Daytona, Atlanta, and Talladega produce close-quarter racing entailing big crashes. The car also evened out the field, making it hard for cars to pass each other. Then teams collaborate to effectively use drafting or even fuel mileage, as we saw in this year’s Daytona 500. That collaboration differs from what the Toyota and Chevy drivers did in Martinsville, a 0.526-mile short track. Radio chatter showed Dillon and Chastain discussing the ‘deal’ with their spotters before running on par immediately behind Byron. Then Wallace’s radio talk was more subtle, as he dropped a possible flat tire warning before slowing down.

This prompted NASCAR to drop $200,000 fines and 50-point penalties on all three teams: Trackhouse Racing, Richard Childress Racing, and 23XI Racing. As an explanation for this gigantic punishment, Elton Sawyer drew a parallel with the collaboration we see on superspeedways. “I think the big difference there in speedways is…when you’re in those situations, you’re not holding someone back. You’re racing…you’re drafting, decisions are made to get in one line. Ultimately it works out and you do have a teammate. That’s competition – there’s not anything wrong with that. If we did, we would have addressed that as well.”

Comparatively, Martinsville came out of the blue as all three drivers went against typical short-track racing. Elton Sawyer continued, “But when you look at Martinsville in particular and the cars…and teams that are in question…and our fans really raced them hard. And you look at the i-Test. Basically, those types of things are just not gonna be tolerated.” 

Past precedents exist to justify the penalty: in 2013, Michael Waltrip Racing was slapped with a record $300,000 penalty. Clint Bowyer’s late spin allowed his teammate Martin Truex Jr. to advance into the playoffs. Then in 2022, Cole Custer intentionally slowed down to let Chase Briscoe get ahead in Charlotte.

Although the penalties are harsh blows to the teams, one has decided not to fight back.

A penalty-riddled year for Wallace

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23XI Racing‘s No. 23 team has been frequently traded paint with NASCAR this season. Take into account the Chicago Street Race, where Bubba Wallace slammed into Alex Bowman’s No. 48 Chevy during the cooldown lap. NASCAR fined the driver $50,000 for this ‘door-slamming’ fiasco. Then 23XI and Front Row Motorsports collectively boycotted NASCAR’s charter deal. They filed a lawsuit, which is still ongoing and getting more intense by the day, creating a wide rift between NASCAR and the two teams.

The sport’s executives have already announced excluding 23XI and FRM from 2025. And now we have Martinsville—besides the $200,000 penalty, the team executive, crew chief, and spotter have been suspended for Phoenix.

Despite these colossal punishments, 23XI has decided to conserve its energy for the courtroom. The team openly announced that it would appeal against Wallace’s penalty. However, immediately after, it dropped a decision not to refute Elton Sawyer and his team. “After internal deliberations, 23XI has decided not to appeal NASCAR’s decision to penalize the No. 23 team. We disagree with the penalty ruling and strongly believe we did not break any rules at Martinsville. It is our conclusion that it is in our best interests, and those of our team members, partners, and fans to fully devote our personnel and resources this week toward the championship and not an appeal.”

Although 23XI is not taking any action, it is clear about opposing NASCAR’s decision. Let us see where their courtroom fight leads to.