The Top 5 Conspiracy Theories in NASCAR That Make the Fans Scratch Their Heads

In every sport that involves multimillion-dollar teams and similarly ranked viewership numbers, there are bound to be some controversies that arise. These myths, sometimes beneficial but most of the time detrimental, make their way into the iceberg of the sport’s knowledge and remain hidden for fans to pry out. In NASCAR, this is precisely what’s been going down with the Twitter community, which had a field day sharing such conspiracy theories.

Kevin Nix from Front Stretch decided to engage the community with an interesting thread and asked NASCAR fans to chime in with conspiracy theories they thought were true. What followed was a barrage of some of NASCAR’s darkest secrets and most controversial moments. Here, we decided to gather more information on the top five most mind-blowing conspiracy theories that the community shared their two cents on!

1. The invisible debris Dilemma in NASCAR

Kicking things off with the elephant in the room, the ever-increasing ‘phantom’ cautions during each race. This prompted a user to share, “NASCAR threw “phantom” debris cautions to create tension in their races, only to devalue their on-track product.” This theory isn’t too surprising when we consider that the number of debris cautions thrown per race in the 2000s was close to 0.4, and that number has now soared up to 2.0 per race, as reported in 2015 by racingnews.com.

The whole agenda of throwing late cautions to clear debris that only the officials can see slowly picked up the community’s attention when Kyle Larson was denied a heroic first race win at Homestead-Miami during the finale in 2015.

What added fuel to the fan’s anger was the fact that the debris that triggered the caution was not even on the racing line! Another issue was how late the caution was called when it could have easily been called earlier and allowed us to have a heroic battle between Kyle Larson and Brad Keselowski. Instead, Larson lost out heavily because of the caution and slipped out of contention with Busch and Keselowski.

2. Denny Hamlin granting Tony Stewart one final hurrah

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Moving on to one of the more bizarre finishes of a legend’s career, a user put forward their contestant for the most believable conspiracy theory in NASCAR. He shared, “Hamlin botched the last turn at Sonoma to let Stewart win in his final season.“ And boy, oh boy! This story is as interesting as it gets. The 2016 showdown at Sonoma Raceway saw Tony Stewart visit victory lane after an exhausting 86-race draught.

But until the last corner mistake cost Denny Hamlin a well-deserved lead, it looked like Smoke would finish second. While Hamlin is no stranger to ruining his races, this one felt off to many members of the audience. He had maintained the lead after wheel-hopping it into the lead just a few corners before, but went wide in the last turn and got smacked into the wall as Stewart slotted into the lead.

Many fans believe that Hamlin let Smoke have one final hurrah. However, Denny Hamlin shared shortly after the incident that he had not let Tony Stewart win on purpose but had made an uncommon error in his judgment.

3. Daytona 500 qualifying and a history of controversies

Another Twitter user was intrigued by one of the biggest controversies in NASCAR: “Daytona 500 pole rigged from 2013 to 18.“ Many fans believe that the Daytona 500 qualifying has been rigged ever since Danica Patrick took bragging rights at the 2013 edition of the event. The reason why the community believed NASCAR could take such a step was to create the most jaw-dropping headline for the race each year. And the suspicions would continue to build.

Jeff Gordon also won the pole for the Daytona 500 in 2015, months after announcing his retirement. Next year was no different for the rookie who took over Gordon’s seat when Chase Elliott took the pole for the 2016 Daytona 500. The myth would somewhat wind down after 2017, owing to Elliott winning it yet again to give us a result most had expected.

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However, once we inspect what went down in more detail, it’s easy to figure out that it was Hendrick Motorsports who were the culprits behind such performances. After all, out of the seven seasons, six were won by Hendrick Motorsport engines.

4. NASCAR favors headlines over reality

What if Kevin Harvick had been victorious in his intense final-lap showdown with Ryan Blaney during his last race at Talladega this year? Would Harvick still have been disqualified from his last victory or been given the honors much like Tony Stewart over Denny Hamlin?

That’s exactly the question this fan had in mind: “Maybe not necessarily a conspiracy theory, but I do believe 100% that if Kevin Harvick would’ve crossed the line 1st in the fall Talladega race this year, they would’ve looked the other way in inspection and let the win stand.” It’s no secret that the sentiment of NASCAR’s favoritism stretching to influence race results has been growing in popularity.

When Kevin Harvick lost out to Ryan Blaney in a Talladega battle that was one for the history books, fans immediately began to wonder if NASCAR would have turned a blind eye to Harvick’s technical issue if he were to have a glorious final win. It would have certainly boosted the numbers and media chatter after that weekend. If NASCAR can supposedly fix the Daytona 500 qualifying, why can’t it extend to Harvick’s special season?

5. Jeff Gordon’s notorious burnouts amidst accusations of traction control usage

Last but certainly not least, when the 2000s dawned on NASCAR and opened the floodgates to Jeff Gordon’s masterclass, the NASCAR community was left startled by his peculiar style of doing burnouts. And it prompted this fan to reminisce and share, “Jeff Gordon ran with traction control in 2003. Cite: 2003 Atlanta Fall Race”. It’s safe to say that anyone who watched Gordon’s shenanigans at the Atlanta Motor Speedway in 2003 would have noticed how high up the oval he was running.

Although he was kicking up dust as he swooped past the opposition, his car remained on rails. When Gordon tried doing donuts, his car wouldn’t spin and kick up clouds of smoke the way you’d expect, and it prompted a lot of fans to think he was running traction control.

But when the NASCAR techs scrutinized Gordon’s car and searched it thoroughly for any form of traction control, they failed to do so, and he cleared the inspection with flying colors. This conspiracy theory was more down to Jeff Gordon’s exceptional talent than a machine’s feature.

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It’s safe to say the NASCAR community had a blast going over some of NASCAR’s most believable conspiracy theories. Which one do you believe in the most?