NASCAR – Clint Bowyer penalized after winning the Chase Opener

by Stephen Lars on Sep.24, 2010, under Motor Sports, Sports News

When it comes to car racing, be it the NASCAR Sprint Series, the Formula One series, the Moto GP, it has always been a matter of how far can you take the technical limitations that are set upon the car to the limit. It has always been a matter of how you can cut the corners inside the legal margins to, at the end, have the fastest car or the fastest bike out there. Let’s not forget that at the end of these 200, 300, 500 mile-long races, it all comes down to a matter of seconds and milliseconds between the winner and everybody else.

Don’t get me wrong here, I do realize this limitations set upon chief mechanics and team engineers are set to keep things fair and let the talent and driving skills of each driver be what makes the difference. Let’s not forget also that some of these limitations are also place to keep the safe being of the racers and spectators as the No. 1 priority.

So yes, if you do make changes that go too far, if you cheat (but that’s not the right word here) and break some regulations to make your car go faster, you and your team should be penalized. But I would go so far as to expect that if as a Driver and a team both Clint Bowyer and Richard Childress Racing should be penalized with such a harsh punishment, then NASCAR should have done so on Sunday, not wait for an extended review and give the punishment on a Wednesday afternoon.

Here is the thing, why did it take so long.  They have penalized Clint Bowyer with 150 points. Ok, Sunday night, after he won the race, Bowyer was 2nd in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Thursday Morining, that same guy now sits 12th over 180 points from the first place and basically without the slightest chance to win the Chase. For a single race infraction, 150 point must be up-to-date the highest penalization any NASCAR driver has received. The thing here is that, as of press time, Sprint Cup officials have yet to make an statement regarding the details of what was it that Richard Childress Racing had done wrong.

They, the evaluative commission who tested the car, have said that it was a matter of how the team mechanics and engineers had arranged the care body over the frame, giving it some sort of aerodynamic advantage. But here is the twist. If the infraction was really worth a 150-point sanction, why didn’t the guys who check the cars after the race noticed that anything was wrong?

Upon further review

NASCAR – Is Kevin Harvick the new favorite?

Kevin Harvick has become the first driver to clinch a berth for the 2010 Chase. He is the most dominant driver out there and his dominance over the rest of the field in this Sunday at Michigan should be enough to post him as the No. 1 Favorite to win the Sprint Cup Series.

As of press time, Harvick has managed to shadow the 4 consecutive-time winner Jimmie Johnson and company. Wit three races to go, on the regular Sprint Cup season, Harvick has cleared up a 239-point gap between him and the second place, and as if that was not enough, he has opened up a 400-point lead over Jimmie Johnson.

But not all has been said about this possible dwell. We shouldn’t forget that Jimmie has never been in the lead in any of his previous four Championship wins. He has not been the points leader by the time the regular season ends, but he has managed to show off beautifully once the Chase begins. But here is the thing, 400 points is a very significant distance.

If the sports betting industry had not already handicapped Harvick among the favorites, well, after this great performance over at the Michigan International Speedway has had to catch their eye. Harvick has been in the top 10 for most of the season, and he has had all but three top-20 finishes in this current Sprint Cup season.

There is an upside and a downside to the way this tournament has been deployed. The thing is that you are not winning the Sprint Cup because of your good performance year round, but because of what happens in the last 10 weeks. And, considering it follows with most of American sports competition formats, with a regular season and a postseason, what really matters at the end is what happens at the end.

Harvick, for instance, is well aware of his dominance over Johnson in the regular season, but he is also well aware of the fact that Johnson is still his number one threat. He has been in a similar position at the end of the season during the last 4 Sprint Cup Championships and yet he has managed to make the most out of the Chase.

Harvick knows that his team has to be very efficient in the postseason, otherwise, it would not matter what a great season they have had up to this point. After the race he said: