Brad Keselowski shared his opinion that NASCAR’s playoff should come to an end after the fiasco during the NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway.
Brad Keselowski wins Stage 2 at Martinsville Speedway in November 2024
In the wake of both Chevy and Toyota attempting to manipulate the outcome of the race and ensure that either William Byron or Christopher Bell locked into the fourth championship spot, Keselowski posted on X, “This should be the last straw on the camel’s back for the playoffs.”
Brad Keselowski on X
In the closing laps of the NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville, William Byron’s older tires were clearly fading and he fell into the clutches of both Austin Dillon and Ross Chastain. The two Chevy drivers formed a moving wall behind Byron to ensure that he would maintain a sixth place finish and stay at least one point ahead of Christopher Bell in the playoffs.
Radio communication for Austin Dillon and Chastain’s teams clearly indicate that both Dillon and Chastain were given instructions to block for Byron and manipulate the finishing order.
Radio comms between Ross Chastain and Austin Dillon’s crews.@AlwaysRaceDay pic.twitter.com/MLLFr6mBmi
— Mr Matthew CFB (@MrMatthew_CFB) November 3, 2024
Back in 2022, NASCAR penalized Cole Custer and Stewart-Haas Racing for race manipulation in the final laps of the race at the Roval that saw Custer faded on the last lap to allow Chase Briscoe to gain needed spots in order to advance into the Round of 8.
Custer was penalized 50 driver and owner points and fined $100,000. NASCAR also penalized crew chief Mike Shiplett indefinitely at the time.
In a blog post, NASCAR explained that “the team was penalized under Section 5.5 of the NASCAR Rule Book, which requires competitors to race at 100% of their ability and takes action against competitors who intend to “artificially alter” the race’s finishing positions.”
According to Racing America’s coverage of the penalty, Section 5.5 states:
A: NASCAR requires its Competitor(s) to race at 100 percent of their ability with the goal of achieving their best possible finishing position in the Event.
B: Any Competitor(s) who takes action with the intent to Artificially Alter the finish positions of the Event or encourages, persuades or induces others to Artificially Alter the finish positions of the Event shall be subject to a penalty from NASCAR, as specified in Section 10 Violations and Disciplinary Action.
C: “Artificially Alter” shall be defined as the actions by any Competitor(s) that show or suggest that the Competitor(s) did not race at 100 percent of their ability for the purpose of changing finishing positions in the Event, in NASCAR’s sole discretion.
It’s painfully obvious that Chevy coordinated with Byron, Dillon, and Chastain’s teams to artificially alter the finishing positions.
While Chevy clearly instructed Dillon and Chastain to block for Byron, Toyota instructed Bubba Wallace to completely tank his last lap in order for Bell to pass him and gain the one extra point he needed to tie Byron in the points. If the two were tied, Bell had the tie breaker with his second place finish at Las Vegas in October.
Bell was able to pass Wallace, but as he was doing so he drifted up the track and got too high and lost control and slammed hard into the wall. After making contact with the wall, he stayed in the gas similar to Ross Chastain’s Hail Melon move and was able to stay ahead of Wallace.
IS BELL IN OR OUT?!!
What do y’all think?
— Dirty Mo Media (@DirtyMoMedia) November 3, 2024
After a review, NASCAR decided to only penalize Bell for a “safety violation” and placed him in the 22nd position. That gave the Championship four playoff berth to William Byron and ensured that one of each of the manufacturers would have a car in the final four.
PENALTY: NASCAR deems the No. 20 car incurred a safety violation at @MartinsvilleSwy. He is placed in 22nd position, the last car one lap down.
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) November 3, 2024
NEXT: Nick Hoffman Trashes NASCAR’s Playoff System And Finish At Martinsville