It always helps to sleep on it

I wonder what Joey Logano and Matt Kenseth woke up thinking this morning. No doubt Matt probably has a few pangs of remorse. While he is likely replaying and even possibly second-guessing his actions yesterday on the track at Martinsville, when he ran his race car into Joey Logano for payback for Logano's previous infractions, I imagine his feelings fall far short of regret. Justifying his deeds are probably more to the point. He may even have a few queasy moments about what NASCAR will do to him tomorrow. 

Logano on the other hand, probably woke up still seething, since Matt Kenseth ruined his day. He was going to win the race. He deserved to win the race after dominating and leading laps, not to mention winning the three previous races. He probably feels as if he was unfairly robbed of the win, not to mention earning the achievement of four-time consecutive winner during the Chase for the NASCAR championship. Logano probably thinks he was a shoe-in to win the Championship. Now, because of Kenseth he went from first to last. While he still isn't worried because he knows he can fight his way back in the next two races since he likely believes he is just that good. We'll see!

I woke up this morning still chuckling over the fact the incident happened at all. Personally, I like Matt Kenseth. Matt is a seasoned, respectable veteran that has paid his dues in the sport. He is skilled, he is usually even-tempered, and he is a credit to the racing community. I don't like Joey Logano. More than once I have called Logano reckless. He drives with no regard for anyone but himself. Granted, he has had some real success of late, but I credit that to the race cars he drives and not necessarily his driving skills. Penske cars have run upwards of five miles per hour faster than other competitors. Give that speed to any driver on the track and they could win too. I don't know what they are doing, but more power to them.

I see Joey Logano as immature. His actions insight anger in others, but he never follows through. Instead, he lets his father fight his battles for him. I'm sure that will change as time goes on, but for now, he needs to grow up and pay his own dues in the sport. 

That said, I'm not normally vindictive, nor do I believe in violence or retribution of any kind. Yet, I admit I was humored at yesterday's track melee. It wasn't just because of the personalities involved, although certainly that played a part. If Joey thinks about this, he may learn a lesson or two. I'm all for that. 

In addition, I hope NASCAR learns from this as well. They push the envelope every time they make an inconsistent call, which is most of the time. They don't treat drivers fairly. They have their favorites and it is very obvious. As much as I enjoyed seeing Jeff Gordon win at Martinsville because he is truly deserving, I predicted long ago that Jeff would win the 2015 championship as his last hurrah before he retires. That is what NASCAR wants. Who can blame them for wanting to have a decent guy like Jeff to be their poster child? And if that happens, no matter who wins in the future, they can always resurrect their shining example through carefully edited video. That is good marketing and NASCAR craves it. I believe NASCAR has and will continue to do whatever it takes to ensure that Jeff wins the title. There are enough rules on the books already to exercise some control over the outcome of races. And we have seen as recently as last week in Talladega, new rules are always forthcoming. 

"It all depends on whose name is above the door on whether or not you're allowed to do it," said Kyle Bush this morning. He added, "NASCAR is very consistent in being inconsistent on calls." I couldn't agree more. 

I think Matt Kenseth's actions against Logano told NASCAR that perhaps they can't control everything. Kenseth's actions were also a culmination of all the dirty things Logano has done to other drivers and gotten away with it. All actions have consequences. That is why I woke up this morning still smiling.

More tweaking needed for Chase field

NASCAR needs to reward winners over points

I read an article recently that just made such perfect sense, that I thought I would share it here. It was written by Bill Fleischman for the Daily News in Philadelphia. I happened to catch it on Philly.com.

Fleischman proposed that the Chase for the Championship include drivers in the 11th through 20th position who have won races. He said they should be automatically included in the Chase. That makes sense, since there are several drivers in the top 10 that have not won a race all year. Clint Bowyer, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Brad Kezelowski, and Kurt Busch have not won races this year. Yet, Kasey Kahne, Martin Truex, Joey Logano, and Ryan Newman, all outside the Chase as it now stands, have won races. Kahne has won two.

While NASCAR has tried to make the Chase for the Sprint Cup more geared to winning races, it is still conceivable that a champion could have a winless season. That just isn't right.

The way it stands right now, and of course this could change with the running Saturday night at Bristol, and the subsequent races at Atlanta and Richmond, four drivers, not including Tony Stewart who is out for the season, but who has won a race) there are four winning drivers in the top 20 that are not eligible for the Chase, and four winless drivers in the top 10 that are.

Fleischman pointed out the following:

"2010: Jaimie McMurray finished 14th in points, despite collecting three wins. Newman (15th), Juan Pablo Montoya (17th) and David Reutimann (18th) had one victory each."

2011: Clint Bowyer (13th), Kahne (14th), Menard (17th) and Marcos Ambrose (sic) (19th) all had one win.

2012: Kyle Busch (13th), Newman (14th), Logano (17th) and Ambrose (18th) each won once."

Fleischman contends that winners in the top 20 should be Chasers.

I agree, but would like to take it a little further. I would propose that all winning drivers be included in the Chase, since rarely are there drivers outside the top 20 that win a race.

Drivers that finished the season in the top 10 without winning a race all season include:
In 2010, Matt Kenseth, (5th); and Jeff Gordon, (9th).

In 2011, Dale Earnhardt, (7th).

In 2012, Martin Truex, Jr. finished in 11th over several other drivers who won races.

I like the way the points now determine the top drivers, but when the field is reset for the Chase, it should be focused on winning drivers first, and the highest number of points for non-winning drivers second. That is the opposite of the way it is now.

Once the field is reconfigured, the points should be set back to 0 for the Chase.

Winners need to be rewarded. Points for position don't take into consideration a bad break, having tire problems, or getting wrecked and not finishing a race. The positions should be based on driver's ability, not luck or points racing.

There really is no excuse for winning a race and not being in the Chase for the Championship. As Fleischman pointed out, a Chase run is good for sponsors and good for fans.

No fines by NASCAR--how consistently inconsistent

NASCAR failed to issue a fine following the California race at Fontana Sunday, March 23, 2013. This is surprising and totally inconsistent given that a fight broke out between Tony Stewart and Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin ended up in the hospital with a potentially serious injury.

With all that going on, NASCAR decided not to issue any fines. What?

Just after the race, Stewart got out of his race car and went after Logano, fists high in an obvious attempt to clean his clock. Then during a post-race interview, Stewart used some pretty colorful language in his criticism of the way Logano blocked him on a restart after according to Stewart, Logano spun his tires.

The more serious incident was the way Logano raced Denny Hamlin on the last lap sending Hamlin's car head-on into a concrete wall. There was no safer barrier where he hit, so his body took the impact, which has resulted in his cracking a vertebrae in his back. Hamlin is expected to be out of the car for the next six weeks, missing five races, at least.

Little would be made of this beyond calling it simply a racing incident, had it not been for the remarks Logano made after the race when he told reporters, Hamlin got what he deserved. To be fair, there was no way Logano knew Hamlin had suffered such a serious injury at the time.

No one will ever know if Logano hit Hamlin on purpose, following up on previous incidents and some sniping via Twitter, or if his car simply got loose and drifted up the track into Hamlin. I suppose as far as us race fans are concerned, it doesn't matter. Everyone will believe what they want anyway. What does matter is that Hamlin will recover, Stewart let Logano know how not to behave, and all is good.

In my opinion, NASCAR was right not to issue a fine to any of the participating drivers. But that is only because they have been wrong all the other times  they issued fines.

See the following headlines that have appeared in the last couple of years;

• Hamlin fined $25,000 for post-race comments
• NASCAR fines Jeff Gordon $100,000, docks him 25 points...
• NASCAR fines, penalizes Robby Gordon for New Hampshire temper tantrum
• Gordon, Keselowski fined, placed on probation
• NASCAR fines Kurt Busch $50,000 for behavior
• Keselowski fined $25,000 for in-car tweeting
• NASCAR fines Kyle Busch $50,000, warns of indefinite suspension...
• NASCAR fines Kyle Busch $25,000 for gesture
• Secret fines shrouded in mystery...Ryan Newman and Brad Keselowski were beneficiaries of these

These are not inclusive--they were obtained through a quick Google search. With all this fining going on, it is no wonder there were expectations that fines would have been announced in the way of fines after California. But that didn't happen.

If there is one thing NASCAR is consistent with, it is inconsistency!

I'd like to know where all those thousands of dollars in fines have ended up. The bucks have obviously not gone toward installing safer barriers around race tracks. Why is that, since NASCAR boasts about its keen interest in safety? At the California race track, NASCAR definitely has a corporate connection.

The California track is called the Auto Club Speedway. It is owned by the International Speedway Corporation, (ISC). Brian France, NASCAR's CEO and Chairman sits on the board of that corporation along with other family members. His brother James, also a NASCAR board member is President of ISC.

I can't help but wonder why members of the media haven't bothered to ask the France brothers why there are still places on race tracks they own that are not fitted with safer barriers.

At least one thing is known for sure. It is good to know that Denny Hamlin was not more seriously injured than he was, though a broken back is nothing to sneeze at. Ouch--I can't imagine that!

Related articles

• Auto Club 400 Ends With Denny Hamlin In An Ambulance And Tony Stewart Brawling With Joey Logano
• Hamlin has lower-back compression fracture
• Busch wins Fontana after Hamlin-Logano wreck
• Auto Club 400 Recap
• Denny Hamlin airlifted to hospital after NASCAR crash
• Angry Tony Stewart goes after Joey Logano after race at California
• Tony Stewart Punched Joey Logano At The End Of Today's NASCAR Race [VIDEO - UPDATED]

Ryan Newman vs. Joey Logano

I was starting to freak out as I read in numerous places that Ryan Newman should let Joey Logano have it at Bristol. The posts referred to the Michigan race when Logano first, got loose and hit Newman's car causing him to spin out, and then second, Logano was overly critical of Newman for racing too hard.

I'm a little more comfortable now as I see that both Newman and Logano are racing in the Nationwide series at Bristol. That would be the place for a little payback. Normally, I wouldn't condone such a thing, but if I was Newman, I'd want to provide Joey a little racing lesson. 

For some reason though, I don't see this happening either. I think Newman is bigger than that. He just won the Whelen Mod race. I doubt he is thinking about payback. Then again, if the opportunity presents itself, I say, what the heck!

It is called racing, Joey

While it was obviously hot inside the race car, at Sunday's Michigan race, it may have been a little hotter once Ryan Newman got out of the car. Newman went looking for Joey Logano, who finished 10th, at Newman's expense. Newman finished 23rd, despite having a good race car that ran laps as quick as the leaders for most of the race.

When it was all over though, there was an altercation between the two. Instead of telling Newman he was sorry about causing him to spin, Logano got an attitude. ESPN reporters caught up with Logano as he proceeded to bash Newman for not giving him some slack. What wasn't shown on camera was visible this video from Fox Sports.

Clearly, Logano crossed the line as he told Newman, "Give someone an inch, man."

To that, Newman responded, "No." It escalated from there.

Hello Joey, don't you get what you are doing at the race track? It is called racing. It is not a Sunday afternoon drive.

Newman had every right to be ticked off. Logano clearly got into him and spun him, nearly ruining his day.

Newman had so much more to lose than Logano, which Joey failed to take into account, apparently. Newman, is 14th in points and was contending for a Chase (for the championship) berth; the top 12 in points. It looked early on like he had a good shot to achieve it too, had it not been for Logano ruining his day. Logano had nothing to lose, as he is in 21st place, with no chance to race his way into the chase. Newman had so much more to lose.

I'm sure that if Logano had simply admitted that his car got loose and he didn't mean to hit Newman's race car, all would have been forgotten. But that isn't what Logano did.

Not only was Logano at fault for the incident on the track, according to the NASCAR video, but he had the audacity to call Newman out for his driving style. Logano got into Newman's face complaining that he isn't the only one to mention how Newman makes it hard to pass.

Well, Duh Joey! Newman gets paid to race. He gets points for passing people. He would have gotten three more points for passing you, which he did until you hit him. What don't you get?