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By: Tom Luttermoser Disclaimer: Most drivers and teams have a different contract agreement so these may not count for each situation. Elephant in the room all week.. The Bubba Wallace suspension... just 1 race and people are absolutely losing their sheeeeet. Fans seem to think that Wallace deserved a longer suspension than he received and they're not happy with 1 race, but most don't truly understand the penalty. Now this article is not going to dive into that situation, but what it will look into is quite simply why even just 1 lonesome little race weekend suspension can have far greater effect on a driver than a monetary fine and a few points. To understand the suspension penalty, you first must understand how it has been used throughout NASCAR history. If you take a look at the chart below (it's not mine, there is a small mistake with the Kenseth/Logano 2015 run-in) 24 intentional, on-track incidents ranging from 2002 until this past weekend's Las Vegas race. Of those 23 situations prior to Vegas, only 4 times has a driver ever been suspended, 3 for a single race or race weekend. In English, NASCAR does not just suspend drivers. They have to feel that the offense is so outrageous that it is necessary. The harshest suspension penalty in the history of the sport for intentionally spinning or wrecking an opponent was the 2015 Fall Martinsville race where Matt Kenseth intentionally waited down the leader and Championship contender Joey Logano and with an already ruined race car, ran him directly into the Turn 1 wall in what was clearly retaliation for an earlier incident at Kansas. Kenseth was suspended for the next 2 race weekends in what is still to this day, the only time a driver has ever been suspended for more than 1 event weekend. Moving on, I've been seeing a lot of people out here saying that a 1 race suspension isn't a penalty... "it is nothing more than a day off." You couldn't be further from the truth. Most of these guys don't drive race cars for the money (I'm sure it doesn't hurt), they drive because they love what they do. So let's just say a driver continues getting paid in full for a suspended weekend.. (doubtful) They still have to sit back knowing that someone else is doing what they love and they are doing it in THEIR race car.
On the other side of that is what hurts a bit less in the heart and a lot more in the pocket book. As stated above, each situation is different so this may not be the case for one driver or another. A suspension could cost the driver their Salary plus any type of performance bonuses. Now todays drivers aren't raking in the dough like those in the age of 8 figure contracts like Gordon, Johnson and the Busch brothers, but it's not pennies either. The largest penalty for a like situation was on Jeff Gordon in 2012 of $100,000. The suspension of a weekend off could potentially cost a driver roughly the same if not more money focusing on just the salary and purse percentage. Next you have to factor in endorsements. These days, personal sponsorship endorsements can make up a very, very large percentage of their income in their careers with the shrinking of driver salaries. When spending millions of dollars in the sport, a sponsor expects to be on display as frequently as possible. So if a driver is not at the track or at an expected appearance for the sponsor, the sponsor could likely withdraw payment, or worse, cut ties with said driver. This could cost the obvious in sponsorship of the car and driver but also potentially even cost the driver a ride if that sponsor cannot be replaced. Not only could that sponsor pull the endorsement money due to absence of the driver, they could also look unfavorably on the fact a direct representative of their company... Their brand identity, has messed up in such a monumental way that it could have direct negative effects or thoughts toward their brand. Lastly, one of the biggest potential consequences of a suspension. For this, we go a bit back into the article and look at a fill-in driver. If the suspended driver has an average finish throughout the season of, I don't know, say 23rd and their fill-in driver takes their 1 off opportunity in their car and scores a finish of 17th. That could open up some eyeballs. If that fill-in out performs the original driver in their car, they could potentially open discussion within the race team to replace the suspended driver. So you may think that a 1 race suspension just isn't enough, and frankly, it may not be. But NASCAR does not just suspend drivers for intentional contact. They have reserved it only for situations they thought to be the most egregious situations in the sport. It may just be a single weekend, but it can have lasting effects on not only a drivers season... But their entire career.
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Tom Luttermoser"Being a NASCAR fan since the mid-90s, I've seen my sport go through immense changes, from Earnhardt to Gordon, Gordon to Johnson, Johnson to the "Big 3". Petty's 200 to Busch's 229*. I've seen 2 generations of racers and 4 generations of racecars. I've seen the peak of the sport, I've seen the loss of a legend. I can, in fact say.. This is the greatest time our sport has seen since its golden era and it will do nothing but grow from here. We talk about the Golden Era, The Modern Era. I think, We're entering the NEXT GEN Era." Categories
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