The NASCAR Struggle For Power Is Real. Can It Be Stopped?

Did You Notice? … As Will Ferrell once said in Anchorman, “Boy. That escalated quickly.”

It’s taken a little less than six weeks for the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season to turn on its lid following its most successful regular season in recent memory. Through the NASCAR on FOX portion of the schedule, television ratings had increased 6% year-to-year with healthy crowds seen at the racetrack. From the competition on the track to the innovation off it, people had every reason to be optimistic.

The debut of the sport’s Next Gen chassis exceeded expectations at its best on intermediate ovals that make up the bulk of the yearly schedule. Both parity and unpredictability returned to a top-heavy sport, producing 16 winners in 26 regular-season races. The battle to make the postseason was the best since an elimination-style format was introduced to the sport in 2014. New organizations, from 23XI Racing to Trackhouse Racing Team, found their way to victory lane and were making an impact within an ownership group looking to diversify.

All of a sudden, that progress is threatened, a sport climbing the ladder now teetering on the edge of a cliff.

Just look at all the punches NASCAR’s absorbed since the start of the playoffs in September. To review:

• At Darlington Raceway, multiple cars caught on fire for no reason, including top-tier championship contender Kevin Harvick. Harvick led the way in speaking out against the Next Gen chassis, blaming issues on “crappy parts on the racecar.” Safety concerns led to in-season rule changes in order to keep the rocker box from spontaneously catching fire.
• Safety concerns increased as drivers openly complained about a number of hard hits. At Texas Motor Speedway, they peaked, separate incidents injuring both Alex Bowman and Cody Ware. Bowman has missed the last two races, taking him out of championship contention, just a few weeks after Kurt Busch’s crash at Pocono Raceway forced him to give up a playoff spot. None of the trio started Sunday’s race (Oct. 9) at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL, the first time in 20 years three full-time drivers were sidelined.
• In that same Texas race, William Byron intentionally spun championship rival Denny Hamlin under caution. NASCAR responded by docking Byron 25 points for the infraction, preventing him from potentially advancing in the postseason until the sport’s appeals process rescinded the penalty. (Yet it increased Byron’s fine to $100,000 ……