JOLIET, Ill. - Facing the biggest credibility crisis in its long history, NASCAR issued a stern warning to its drivers and teams Saturday and said it won't tolerate anymore attempts to alter the outcome of races.
After a scandal-filled week spent investigating teams and undoing attempts to manipulate its championship field, NASCAR came forward with a series of rules that will change the way teams have called races for years.
NASCAR Chairman Brian France told teams he expects them "to give 100 percent" at all times, meeting with them for nearly 20 minutes at Chicagoland Speedway on the eve of the opening race of the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.
"I think we wanted to be very clear and we wanted to reinforce the cornerstone of NASCAR, which is giving your all," France said. "We addressed team rules, a variety of other things, all designed to do what our fans expect, and that means that their driver and their team give 100 percent to finish as high up in a given race as possible. We were very clear about that. That's our expectations."
The warning came after an unprecedented week for NASCAR, which has been rocked by allegations of race-fixing since Clint Bowyer spun his car with seven laps remaining last Saturday night at Richmond, the race that completed the 12-driver field for the Chase.
NASCAR was forced to investigate when it became clear that Bowyer spun in an attempt to stop leader Ryan Newman from winning and give teammate Martin Truex Jr. one last chance to earn a Chase berth.
The investigation uncovered at least three instances of race manipulations and led to severe sanctions against Michael Waltrip Racing and the removal of unwitting participant Truex from the Chase in favor of Newman.
The central piece of evidence was radio communications, and the penalties against MWR set off a chain of events NASCAR never anticipated.
Next came allegations of a scheme to sell track position, and they triggered a new investigation involving deep-pocketed Penske Racing and tiny Front Row Motorsports.
It culminated Friday with France's stunning decision to expand the Chase field to 13 drivers to accommodate Jeff Gordon, who had been bumped out of the Chase by the shenanigans of three drivers.
Gordon was pleased with the ruling but uncomfortable with the way the week developed.
"The integrity of the sport has been put at question," Gordon said. "I think we have one of the greatest sports that exists. To see our integrity questioned is very upsetting to me, and I think we, along with NASCAR, have to solve this. I wish it had not happened under these circumstances."
NASCAR ultimately decided it couldn't prove Bowyer spun on purpose, but it did find that MWR manipulated the race to help Truex by having Bowyer and Brian Vickers pit late in the race. The idea was that Joey Logano would bump Gordon out of a Chase spot, and Truex would get in through a wild card.
But in singling out the MWR cars for pitting to help Truex, NASCAR threw into question the long-accepted practice of deal-making between teams.
Seven-time champion and Hall of Famer Richard Petty said none of the events at Richmond differed from what occurred a week earlier at Atlanta. But because of the stakes - 10 drivers vying for five Chase berths - he said the actions of a few were magnified and NASCAR had to act.
"If it had happened at Atlanta, nobody would have paid any attention to it," Petty said. "But, it was a perfect storm (at Richmond). That's what makes such a big deal out of it."
For NASCAR, the next step is getting back on track and putting on a good, clean race.
NASCAR-Sprint Cup-GEICO 400 Lineup
Sunday at Chicagoland Speedway
Joliet, Ill.
Lap Length: 1.5 miles
(Car number in parentheses)
Car maker abbreviations: C=Chevrolet, D=Dodge, F=Ford, T=Toyota
1. (22) J. Logano, F, 189.414 mph.
2. (2) Bra. Keselowski, F, 189.248.
3. (42) J. Pablo Montoya, C, 189.062.
4. (5) K. Kahne, C, 188.785.
5. (17) R. Stenhouse Jr., F, 188.772.
6. (24) J. Gordon, C, 188.541.
7. (16) G. Biffle, F, 188.515.
8. (99) C. Edwards, F, 188.357.
9. (48) J. Johnson, C, 188.304.
10. (20) M. Kenseth, T, 188.298.
11. (27) P. Menard, C, 188.298.
12. (18) Ky. Busch, T, 188.291.
13. (47) A J Allmendinger, T, 188.278.
14. (56) M. Truex Jr., T, 188.258.
15. (43) A. Almirola, F, 188.127.
16. (78) Ku. Busch, C, 188.075.
17. (29) K. Harvick, C, 187.957.
18. (88) D. Earnhardt Jr., C, 187.878.
19. (34) D. Ragan, F, 187.513.
20. (39) R. Newman, C, 187.207.
21. (31) J. Burton, C, 186.903.
22. (11) D. Hamlin, T, 186.812.
23. (10) D. Patrick, C, 186.774.
24. (15) C. Bowyer, T, 186.754.
25. (55) B. Vickers, T, 186.445.
26. (9) M. Ambrose, F, 186.085.
27. (1) J. McMurray, C, 185.88.
28. (30) C. Whitt, T, 185.778.
29. (14) M. Martin, C, 185.765.
30. (36) J. Yeley, C, 185.414.
31. (13) C. Mears, F, 184.445.
32. (40) L. Cassill, C, 184.407.
33. (83) D. Reutimann, T, 184.376.
34. (35) J. Wise, F, 184.344.
35. (38) D. Gilliland, F, 184.106.
36. (51) J. Allgaier, C, 184.08.
37. (93) T. Kvapil, T, Owner Points.
38. (98) M. McDowell, F, Owner Points.
39. (32) T. Hill, F, Owner Points.
40. (95) R. Sorenson, F, Owner Points.
41. (7) D. Blaney, C, Owner Points.
42. (87) J. Nemechek, T, Owner Points.
43. (33) T. Raines, C, Owner Points.
Up next
Geico 400
1:30 p.m. Sunday
TV: ESPN-25
Radio: KAKC am1300
Other - Motorsports
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