Michael Waltrip Racing - R.I.P.

[Dynoroom]

Mr. Clint Boyer was reminded by his team he was having problems and looped it.

[Dean Los Angeles]

In 2013, controversy arose in the Federated Auto Parts 400. Clint Bowyer spun out with seven laps to go, forcing a caution. Rumors abounded postrace that Bowyer had deliberately forced a caution to help Truex into the Chase. Truex was just ahead of Ryan Newman for the final Chase wildcard slot. They gained even further credence when it was revealed the third MWR driver, Brian Vickers, had pitted after the restart on orders from general manager Ty Norris, who was serving as his spotter. As it turned out, by the time Newman was able to pit, he lost several spots and ultimately finished third, tying him with Truex in points. However, Truex got the final wildcard spot in the Chase via a tiebreaker.  An investigation was unable to turn up conclusive evidence that Bowyer's spin was deliberate, but did find that Norris had tried to manipulate the race and Chase standings by having Vickers pit. As a result, NASCAR issued some of the stiffest penalties imposed on a team in its history. It fined MWR a record $300,000 and docked all three MWR teams 50 driver/owner points prior to points being reset for the Chase. The point penalty had the effect of ejecting Truex from the Chase and putting Newman in. Norris was suspended indefinitely. Crew chiefs Brian Pattie, Scott Miler and Chad Johnston were placed on probation until December 31.

There were comments on the team radio that would lead you to believe that Clint Bowyer's spin was intentional. Brian Vickers was asked to pit for no reason. Truex was behind both cars and it moved Truex up in the points. Ryan Newman was leading the race and might have stayed there without Bowyer's caution. Through all of this Truex had no idea it was happening.

[mtkawboy]

There is a reason why Dale Earnhart fired Ty Norris years ago, that's who was behind the whole deal.

[tauruck]

It's harsh when the driver loses out through no doing of his own but it is a team sport. Thanks for the heads up guys.

[dw230]

With the cancellation of WF we are back to this?

Joanie and I are scheduling wine,

DW

[wobblywalrus]

Similar shenanigans happens in motorcycle racing.  Not a lot, but occasionally.  NASCAR is to be commended for noticing it and doing something about it.  A lot of sanctioning bodies look the other way and do nothing.   

[wheelrdealer]

Like NASCAR has never influenced the out come of a race with their late race "cautions" for something on the track. Like no two or three car team has never blocked a competitor. Something's should not be micro managed. This will open the door to a slippery slop of complaints. NASCAR soon will be like my kid's soccer, everyone is a winner, no one keeps score, everyone is a champion for trying. Safety and rules are good but when the competition is micro managed to the point there is no competition except for sponsor dollars, that's not good. Bring back the Smokey's and the Harry Hoggs and let them figure out their own "edge" oh but that would be cheating.

All NASCAR accomplished was negative publicity, caused a $16m sponsor to withdraw, cost an innocent team a shot at a championship and let one team slip into the chase with an asterisk. 

I lost interest in NASCAR when drivers started doing celebration burnouts. I was always taught to not be a sore loser but more importantly, don't be an arrogant winner.

That's why I like LSR...  We are all in a way cheaters! We try and cheat the wind drag, we try and cheat gravity, we try and cheat the laws of physics, we try and cheat the status que of design, all to go a little faster than our vehicles are supposed to go.

Please no celibatory doughnuts in impound!

My two cents

BR

[rouse]

With the cancellation of WF we are back to this?

Joanie and I are scheduling wine,

DW

I'll second that.

Rouse

[jimmy six]

Now if we could just the broadcast stations to fire both Waltrips......

[racefanwfo]

Its called team orders and i do not have a problem with what they did.

[tauruck]

I'm probably the biggest fan around and have been watching NASCAR for a long time and I've always wondered if a big team in a difficult situation would approach a smaller team with a car that was a lap down and offer a cash incentive to bring out the yellow. As for team orders as racefanwfo describes I think it would create a situation that would put NASCAR in the WWF's league. A farce. Sorry man, I get what you're saying but just my opinion.

[desotoman]

I watched the race and it was pretty obvious to me what had just gone down. Cameras don't lie. NASCAR did the right thing. If they really want to do something good for the sport they need to limit owners to one car only.

I went to the Daytona 500 this year, it was my first NASCAR race, and my last. It was follow the leader for 190 laps then they raced for the last 10. Boring for me, and the tickets were not cheap, nor was the parking.  

Tom G.  

PS. Is there any Integrity in NASCAR? Or is it just about the power and money?

[Dean Los Angeles]

If you need a frame of reference to WWF, or in this case WWE somebody with a reliable source 100% correctly predicted every match for 38 straight, even though some of the matches had an "unpredictable" outcome. Yeah, wrestling is "real".

I went to Fontana for a NASCAR race a few years ago. I know that the best seats are the highest. The race was sold out, (remember when that used to happen?) but a few days before the race they said tickets were available. I was scheduled to be out of town that weekend and the plans changed so I called my son and said "Let's go!"

We discovered that the reason there were a few tickets available was because they were the uncommitted handicap spaces. In the space in front of the grandstands are marked spaces for wheel chairs. They plopped down a few folding chairs and that's where we sat. What we saw was a color blur going past followed by a 200 mph blast of wind and dirt. You couldn't see the rest of the track. Caveat Emptor.

[jimmy six]

Everyone knows what happened to NASCAR...$$$$$$$$ The best races are at the shortest track. Tracks should be limited to 1 mile. My son and I went to Phoenix for years and could see the entire track from 10 rows up on turn 4. Bristol, Martinsville, New Hampshire. and remember Wilksborogh..Great track.

How about a little dirt thown in..Trucks are moving in the right direction. If you want to see some good racing check out your local track if you have one or follow the DIRT LATE MODELS on TV for 50-100 laps. 

[Tman]

I agree JD.

As for NASCAR? Teams have been working together for years. Nothing new. I miss the infield brawls.