{"id":287249,"date":"2025-10-08T19:08:10","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T19:08:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/287249\/"},"modified":"2025-10-08T19:08:10","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T19:08:10","slug":"dangerously-close-to-race-manipulation-penalties-at-roval","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/287249\/","title":{"rendered":"Dangerously Close to Race Manipulation Penalties at Roval"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last Sunday, Ross Chastain went for broke in a last-ditch move on the final lap of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval, a move that ultimately didn’t work out. In a desperate attempt to regain a crucial point, which would have allowed him to advance into the Round of 8 of the Playoffs, Chastain executed a dive-bomb move on Denny Hamlin in the final chicane, which spun both drivers and handed the final Playoff transfer spot to Joey Logano<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But there was a whole lot more that seemingly unfolded on the final lap of last Sunday’s race than Chastain’s act of desperation. That move seemed to be the culmination of a quiet team strategy in the form of subtle non-moves, executed by what felt like code speak on team radios.<\/p>\n

Leading up to Chastain’s dive on Hamlin, both Cole Custer (behind Logano) and Alex Bowman (behind Chastain) were told to “conserve tires.” In the world of the NASCAR Playoffs, that kind of radio chatter, especially when it comes from a team carrying the same manufacturer badge as the Playoff driver ahead of them, can easily be interpreted as “don’t pass our manufacturer mate.”<\/p>\n

Unlike last year’s Martinsville race, which saw a total of nine penalties dished out by NASCAR to Chevrolet and Toyota teams<\/a> for their hand in late-race manipulation, which ultimately led to William Byron securing the final Championship 4 position over Christopher Bell, this year’s alleged co-op was a bit more veiled. Still, NASCAR took notice.<\/p>\n

After reviewing video and audio from the closing laps of the Bank of America Roval 400, NASCAR concluded that teams didn’t cross the line last weekend, but on this week’s edition of the Hauler Talk podcast<\/a>, NASCAR representatives confirmed that what was seen and heard came awfully close to crossing the imaginary line in the sand.<\/p>\n

“If you talk about points and then have some actions that are questionable, you\u2019re going to be in hot water,\u201d said Mike Forde, NASCAR\u2019s managing director of communications.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not a message of \u2018You can\u2019t talk about points,\u201d added NASCAR\u2019s Amanda Ellis. \u201cIt\u2019s a message that if you\u2019re talking about points, it should be about your car, not others that are in play.\u201d<\/p>\n

With another Playoff elimination event looming in three weeks at Martinsville Speedway, the site of last year’s major controversial situation, NASCAR will reaffirm to teams that race manipulation will not be tolerated.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt a certain point during this week, we will just remind teams, \u2018Let\u2019s not put yourselves or ourselves in jeopardy here,’\u201d Forde explained. \u201cFans should be coming to the race track expecting a straight-up race where each position is fought for as hard as possible. If we do see something or hear something we don\u2019t like, we are going to step in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Additionally, NASCAR chose not to penalize Chastain for his move on Hamlin, but NASCAR made it clear that had he pulled it off, they would\u2019ve been ready to make a call in real time if need be. In this Playoff format, the margin between heroics and a headline-making penalty is razor-thin.<\/p>\n

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