Team orders

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foehammer111

Guest
There was a good discussion about this on Windtunnel over the weekend, and was also their question of the week.

Here's a little background:

"Team orders" vary in their implementation based on the racing series, but they all have the same basic idea behind them: manipulating a race to benefit a teammate.

In NASCAR, this can be anything from the leader moving up out of the groove to let a teammate lead a lap (5 bonus points), to having a teammate block another driver who is racing for a Championship.

In Formula 1, team orders are probably more dramatic. The recent allegation against Renault ordering one of their drivers to crash to benefit a teammate is an example. F1 is also one of the few series that has rules in place outlawing team orders. This came about because of several races where Ferrari ordered Rubens Barrichello to pull over and allow Michael Schumacher to win.

NHRA has a long history of drivers throwing races to allow teammates to race a weaker driver. This just happened at the US Nationals where John Force was accused of throwing a race to allow his daughter Ashley to win her first title.

So my question is this: Should race teams be allowed to issue orders to their drivers, and if not how would it be enforced?
 
Although I would like to have team orders banned, and each race be a true and honest event, we don't live in a perfect world.

Even if you banned in-car communication (not going to happen because of safety) a team can always say to their driver before the race "hey, if so-and-so gets close to you, put him in the wall".

Thus the only true way to get rid of team orders is to have only single-car teams. But since this has already been allowed, it can't be un-done.

The only thing you can do is try to enforce it after-the-fact, which isn't always easy to prove. Like it or not, I feel team-orders will always be a part of racing.

This just doesn't happen in racing either. Intentional walks in MLB are an example of a "team order" in a non-racing sport. So are things like intentionally trying to injure a player in the NFL.

Manipulating sporting events is as old as sport itself. And there's no easy way to prevent it.
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
As long as the team orders are for Jimmie and Jeff to pull over and let Mark win the championship!:beerbang::beerbang: LOL
Click to expand...

I heard an interview with JJ last week. Johnson was asked about "team orders" in regards to getting Martin into the chase. I do not remember Johnson's exact words but he said something like " If I pull over to let Martin win he will get out of his car and kick my butt".
 
There is something about "team orders" that just doesn't seem right. That being said, these people are paying the bills for their teams. If John Force really did let his daughter win, I say good for him. If you wouldn't do that for your daughter then there's something wrong with you.
 
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