Straightening out the Penske Points
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Loading ...By Mike at Trouble In Turn 2 | December 17, 2007
Mike over at Trouble In Turn 2 write some good articles. Here is his take on the Penske Points Switch -
NASCAR needs to make a stand. Penske Racing officially moved their owners points from the #2 car to the new #77 car over the weekend. It solved one problem for Penske Racing, but opens a handful of problmes for other teams and NASCAR’s integrity as well.
To be clear, Penske is not doing anything illegal-they have NASCAR’s backing. The issue is not with Penske, but for NASCAR it’s another example of the trademark inconsistency fans have grown to loathe. Two years ago Penske disbanded the #77 team and relinquished the owners points associated with it. Now NASCAR is essentially allowing them to take back that guaranteed place. Penske is not deserving of any exemption. The team has never had a driver win a championship. Rusty Wallace won his under Raymond Beadle and Kurt Busch won his with Roush Racing. Neither should be credited to Penske, but that is what NASCAR is allowing to happen. A driver can’t take his top 35 position to a new team, but a driver can transfer a champion exemption. It seems like any season result, whether it’s first place or 35th place should be attributed as a team effort. The driver is only one part of that team.
Not only is the move unfair to teams outside the top 35 like Bill Davis Racing, Red Bull and Evernham, it could also affect teams with other past champions. The rule only allows for one provisional per race and priority goes to the most recent champion. That means that Busch would trump Dale Jarrett, Bill Elliott or Bobby Labonte if one or more failed to qualify on time or current points. Suddenly a sponsor like UPS or Little Debbie that had banked on making the first 5 or 6 races might have a change in plans. It’s doubtful Busch will struggle enough to fall outside the top 35 after race 5, but it could happen in one of the first five races.
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