HERDING CATS.......

….is what it’s like attempting to make sense to today’s penalty bomb dropped on several key competitors in NASCAR. I’ve yet to be able to draw a logical line between question(a) and answer(b) without taking a detour into the bizarre. This will be an interesting journey in several parts. Care to join me?.....

Who got penalized?

Well, the obvious answer is “the cheaters!” But if we can’t define the difference between cheating and innovation – what’s the point? We’ve seen that we cannot discourage innovation unless we want to dump Chevrolet, Dodge, Ford AND Toyota (and their $$) and have a nice little 36-race IROC season. If I understand NASCAR history correctly (which I may not – and I’m up for correction) – past “innovations” were either handled by creating a rule after the fact to prohibit a repeat –OR- the innovation was deemed a “good idea” and it’s progenitor was forced to share it with the rest of the class. OK – this means that I know who was SUPPOSED to be penalized – but my question remains unanswered. Dead end. Let’s try another path.

Was the Crew Chief penalized?

OK, we see that the crew chiefs responsible for the infractions were hit the hardest. Stay home for 2-4 races and fined a chunk of change. Since I doubt “infractions” are going to occur WITHOUT the crew chief’s knowledge – I think we’re onto something here. BUT, past history tells me that it’s entirely possible to win the Daytona 500 and even the Nextel Cup while your wunderkind crew chief is at home in his recliner. Today’s technology can put pinpoint GPS in a car and broadcast it to my sofa, can install a high resolution camera on a 1000+ degree brake rotor on a vehicle going over 150 mph. Do we think a crew chief can’t “direct” remotely as well? Well, I think we’ve found a “cheater” – but did we really penalize him? And was he the ultimate source? A lone operator? Sorry – that road is still too bumpy to try.

How about the greenbacks? I’m not entirely sure on this one, but if I’m a crew chief – I’d make sure my contract had a clause that says “Team owner pays all fines.” No, this road is too poorly lit. No more answers here.

The Driver?

We ALSO see that the drivers have been penalized driver points. OUCH! Big question here: Did the driver know? If he did – could he have stopped it? Well, let’s give a couple of these poor drivers the benefit of the doubt, and allow them to KEEP their qualifying order position (in a field of 30 or so cars) during a non-standard, made for TV quasi-qualifying race for starting position in the REAL race -- but let’s TAKE away driver points (which, btw – he can take with him to an entirely different team/crewchief)! No – this isn’t even a ROAD – it’s the driveway at the nuthouse!

Mr. Owner?

Alas, the poor Team Owner also lost points. Now THAT’S gotta hurt (but it’s gonna hurt your crews, drivers, employees and fans – THEY’RE the ones who suffer from a loss in owner points by having to live with the “go or go home” monster). If you have a great team that consistently finishes well (without cheating) – are you really worried about falling out of the Top-35? If your team is truly good – losing 50 owner points is no penalty at all!

Isn’t the Team Owner ultimately responsible for the “infractions” of his employees? $50,000 is a drop in the bucket if Mr. Owner is covering recliner-chief’s fines – but that’s not even a wiggle in most owners’ bottom lines (unless your sponsor is ALREADY ticked off). No, if this road leads to a penalty – it only does so in certain circumstances. Not good enough for me.

OK – So we still haven’t quite reached our destination – UNLESS you ask:

Who REALLY pays this penalty?

I have found at least ONE answer: The Fans, that’s who.

Tomorrow, we’ll tackle the 2nd leg of our journey and see how much we’ve been fined. In the meantime, I’ll be cat-wrangling.