NASCAR says that they allow a driver who won in an illegal car to keep the victory because they want fans at the track to know definitively who won before they go home. That’s kind of an insult to race fans’ intelligence, in my opinion. I think most fans would rather see a legal car win, even if that means an altered result later — certainly, race fans are intelligent enough to understand why it happened, even if they wouldn’t be happy they witnessed it. If I were in the stands, I certainly wouldn’t feel cheated if I paid to see a race and the winner was changed a few days later – as long as the reason was made clear. But from a fan’s perspective, I would feel cheated every time the win goes to a driver in an illegal car.
The sanctioning body has said that there is no precedent for stripping a win, but that’s a falsehood, as any old-timer will tell you. In the very first sanctioned race in what is now the Cup Series, the first car to cross the finish line was driven by Glenn Dunnaway. But Dunnaway’s car failed inspection because the rear springs had been altered outside NASCAR’s rules, so Big Bill France did what he felt was the only thing to do – he gave the race win with its points and purse to Jim Roper, driver of the first legal car to take the checkered flag. Dunnaway’s car owner sued, and a judge threw his case out. NASCAR’s rule was law, a strong precedent that initially held up in almost any circumstance.
, I doubt you will ever see a win stripped at the Cup level because taking away 150pts is just as bad as taking away the win, plus his car chief and crew chief getting suspended.
