NASCAR Looked the Other Way
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I bid
you welcome gentle readers, and a warm and heartfelt “Hey there” to our
assigned reader of all things NASCAR. It’s Monday afternoon as I pull up to the
keyboard and start to collect some coherent thoughts from the cobwebs of my
mind. Once again, something intended to be good… and I truly believed it was
good, has fallen prey to the rule of unintended consequences.
I speak
of NASCAR’s Charter System, only two years old and already sullied by unwritten
rules or unchallenged moves that seem to fly in the face of everything we’ve
been told about the “rules.” NASCAR has always been quite adept at “looking the
other way” when not wanting to deal with something that just looks plain wrong.
It used to be things like swapping car numbers and trading points… all on
paper, of course, but it got a lot of cars into races on someone else’s hard
work. NASCAR looked the other way.
There
was a rule in place for many years that said the first 5 races of each year
would be seeded on last year’s points. That was an effort to have the best cars
in the race, regardless of weather. Teams otherwise not included made great
effort to hire any previous Champion, regardless of age, because there was a
provisional for previous Champions. They would simply put someone like Terry Labonte
in the car until the 5th race was run, then revert to their regular
driver. NASCAR looked the other way.
Now it
appears that some teams are playing fast and loose with how their Charters are
awarded or assigned. The rules as given said that a Charter could be leased for
one year. Then it had to be used or sold. A Charter can only be leased once
every 5 years. That’s pretty simple… but it’s not what’s happening. I saw some
of this last year, but not as blatant. It’s confusing as all get-out, but I’ll try
to make some sense from it. On second thought, as always, Jay Adamczyk, aka Jayski, has done some of it for me. (Thanks
Jay!) I wish they’d use something but car numbers to delineate the Charters
because this is a mess… as intended, I’m sure.
Charters that were sold / leased
/ changed for 2017
#7-Tommy Baldwin Racing has sold Charter to #95 Leavine
Family Racing, #7 will run open car part-time
#15-HScott Motorsports has sold the Charter to Premium Motorsports, which goes
to the #98 team, but keeps the #15 and will use it.
#16-Roush Fenway Racing, Biffle leaves, team to lease the Charter to a 2nd JTG
Daugherty team, #37.
#32-Go FAS Racing, leases their Charter to #21-Wood
Brothers Racing and in-turn leases the #44 Charter from Richard Petty
Motorsports.
#33-Circle Sport, was leased to #95 Leavine Family
Racing, merged with #30 TMG, will run #33 Chevy.
#44-Richard Petty Motorsports leased their Charter to #32 Go Fas Racing which also bought 6
cars from RPM, RPM scales back to one car in 2017, the #43.
#46-HScott Motorsports, team leased Charter from Premium Motorsports who sold
it to Furniture Row Racing #77 new team.
#55-Premium Motorsports (ran #55 & #98 in 2016), leased to #46 HScott
Motorsports in 2016, then sold it to Furniture Row Racing #77 in 2017, a new
team.
#83-BK Racing sold their Charter to Front Row Motorsports who leased it to the
new #72 TriStar Motorsports team.
#98-Premium Motorsports, bought the #15 HScott Motorsports Charter and will run
the #15, dropping the #98.
And
that, gentle readers, is just for last year. Now, let’s look at what’s been
lined up for 2018.
Charters that were sold / leased
/ changed for 2018
#12-Penske Racing bought the #16 Roush Fenway Racing Charter (will use #37
owners pts)
#21-Wood Brothers Racing partners with Go FAS Racing #32 and obtains the #32
Charter
#32-Go Fas Racing retains their Charter from #21-Wood
Brothers Racing (cannot be leased)
#32-Go Fas Racing partners with #21 Wood Brothers
Racing, which will use #32 Charter
#32-Go Fas Racing partners with #33 Circle Sport and
obtains the #33 Charter
#33-Circle Sport partners with #32 Go FAS Racing, which obtains the #33
Charter.
#37-JTG Daugherty Racing, gives #16 lease back to RFR, buys the Charter from
the #77 Furniture Row Racing team (will use #77 owners pts)
#43-Richard Petty Motorsports leased their Charter to #51 Rick Ware Racing, #43
will use #44 Charter.
#44-Richard Petty Motorsports will be used by the #43-Richard Petty Motorsports
team in 2018 (cannot be leased).
#77 Furniture Row Racing sold their Charter to #37 JTG Daugherty team
Well
cut off my legs and call me “Shorty”, but a whole lot of that just doesn’t pass
the sniff test! Apparently, the lower echelon has figured a way to keep trading
back and forth, using someone else’s Charter to race on while leasing out their
own. Then something new and different enters the picture. “Partnering.” I look
at those numbers and I see a whole lot of the #32 and #33, dealing fast and
loose and everyone coming out rose-scented. The deal seems to be that if you
can’t lease a Charter because it was leased last year, you can “partner” with
another team and that somehow makes it OK. Not to my mind it doesn’t. Archie
St. Hilaire (Go Fas Racing)
seems to be partnered with both Joe Falk (Circle Sport Racing) and with Wood
Brothers Racing. Keep it up Archie and you’ll own a tiny bit of every team on
the grid.
NASCAR,
can you really, in good conscience, look the other way again? This nonsense
does nothing but devalue the very thing that was supposed to give a team value.
Isn’t it time that you took notice of what goes on in the sport you claim to
“sanction?” What you’re sanctioning here is nothing short of laughable and
diametrically opposed to the intent of the Charters in the first place. Nowhere
in the stated rules for Charters has anyone seen the word “Partnering.” Maybe
it’s in the “grey area” and not quite illegal, but shouldn’t it be outlawed,
just in good faith?
This
scribe has always been on the side of Charters, because I saw the benefit they
were intended to give to team owners. Two years ago, before the start of the
2016 season, I wrote an article extolling the virtues of the
Charters and explaining to my gentle readers how they worked and why I felt
they were a good idea. However, as too often happens, some have figured out a
way to play fast and loose with the numbers, to the detriment of all… and
NASCAR continues to look the other way.
Dear
gentle readers, I know that’s a lot of numbers and no doubt creates a response
akin to “TMI!” Just bear in mind, I didn’t create the mess; I am merely the
messenger.
One
last note:
This
morning I received my second “Invitation”, purportedly from NASCAR, to join the
“Official Fan Council.” Both have come to my email address, but the salutation
reads only, “Hello” and my name is never mentioned. There are two or three
places where it tells me I can “click here.” Um… no thanks! I honestly don’t
think anyone at NASCAR is sending out Fan Council invitations at 4 and 5
O’clock in the morning. These invitations have none of the look of what NASCAR
sends me as a media member. I’m not biting, and if you receive one, I’d advise
you to do the same. Be careful! It’s a jungle out there!
Time
now for our Classic Country Closeout. Sorry, no show today, but one of the
first albums Don and I bought after we were married. Please enjoy Marty Robbins
singing “Gunfighter Ballads.” Having listened now to this album in its
entirety, it’s quite different from the original vinyl, but it’s still Marty
and he is still great!
Be well gentle readers, and remember to keep smiling.
It looks so good on you!
~PattyKay