Experts Weigh In On NASCAR Questions

By ESPN

Our experts weigh in on four of the biggest questions in motorsports as the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday for the second race in the semifinal round of the playoffs:
Turn 1: Should Denny Hamlin have been penalized for turning Chase Elliott as he did at Martinsville?

Ricky Craven, ESPN NASCAR analyst: No, I don't think they should. I think that it's important that the sport preserve the action on the race track being settled among its competitors. There will be exceptions, Sunday at Martinsville wasn't one of them. Denny already lost in the court of public opinion. The court of his peers may deliver the same verdict.

Ryan McGee, ESPN.com: No way, no how, not a chance. While it was not very popular, the one thing I always hear from people is that guys aren't willing to do whatever it takes to win. That's all Denny Hamlin was trying to do. Was it smart? That's a whole other debate. But I'm pretty sure that the "boys have at it" era is still in effect, is it not? Had the roles been reversed, and Chase Elliott had been the guy making that move, I don't think there would be this kind of uproar. In fact, it wasn't so long ago that Elliott did a move like this and I don't seem to remember a fine being attached to that.

Bob Pockrass, ESPN.com: No. Late in the race going for a win, fans want drivers to be as aggressive as possible. As long as it is drivers on the same lap fighting for position, leave it alone -- just as Chase Elliott wasn't penalized for dumping Ty Dillon to win a truck race at Canada in 2013. Situations such as Matt Kenseth-Joey Logano a couple of years ago are totally different.

Matt Willis, ESPN Stats & Information: A penalty for Denny Hamlin may appease some hurt feelings and unruffle some feathers, but it wouldn't be in the best interests of NASCAR. Put aside any thoughts of whether controversy and conflict help NASCAR get mainstream attention (they do), NASCAR can't do anything that would discourage drivers from going for the win. Before Sunday, the last time a non-restrictor plate race ended with a last-lap pass for the lead was April 2016 at Richmond (the only time that happened last year in a non-plate race). With wins being the prime objective in this system, I want to see drivers going for them, and save the punishments for the most egregious or repeat violators.
Is it a major mistake that Joey Logano crew chief Todd Gordon didn't get Logano to pit late with a tire going down with his teammate Brad Keselowski in the lead at Martinsville?

Craven: Very, very, very, surprising. I consider Todd Gordon one of the brightest and most articulate crew chiefs in our business. Was he asleep at the wheel on this one? As goes Penske so goes Logano's 22 team. If Brad Keselowski doesn't advance to the final four in Miami, it'll be hard to look past this decision at Martinsville which brought out the caution and altered the outcome of the race.

McGee: Yuuuge! There is a larger question here about team orders and noncontenders having their days tailored around actual contenders, but all of that aside, there is no question that at the Penske competition meeting the 22 team guys were getting the side-eye from their teammates, not to mention the boss.

Pockrass: Depends on your definition of major. It was major to Brad Keselowski. But the bigger question is does a driver who is not in the playoffs have an obligation to get off the track and not mess with the show? In this situation, it was a selfish move and while nice to see a team not thinking about their teammate, it's hard to justify it as the right move, teammate or not.

Willis: Yeah, it was time for big-picture racing. You weren't leading, you weren't in the playoffs, but your teammate was both of those, with a chance to punch his ticket to Homestead. I've never been a crew chief, and I hate to criticize a spur-of-the-moment decision, but it was time to play it safe.
Turn 3: Does Chase Elliott have a realistic chance to be one of the four finalists at Homestead?

Craven: He has a tough row to hoe as there are now all six drivers who have not secured a spot in the next round ahead of him. With his win at Martinsville, Kyle Busch is the only one safe. Elliott will have to perform like Martin Truex Jr. in all four stages remaining in this round of the playoffs and while he may not need to win, he will certainly need top-5 finishes in both events. Many people believe that he would have a bad weekend after losing the race at Dover the way he did earlier this year and that clearly did not happen. Therefore I would not suggest betting against this young man. It's onward and upward for Chase Elliott.

McGee: Yes he does. He still has not won a race, but even as painful as all the near misses have been, the consistency that he has shown still makes him a legitimate Homestead contender.

Pockrass: Yes -- because he has a chance to win. Elliott has driven well enough in the playoffs to earn a win. Making it by points will be tough, but a win is realistic.

Willis: He's a longshot, sure, but I think it's still within the realm of realistic. His best shot is to win a race. It's not so much the 26 points he needs to make up but the four drivers he needs to pass. But Elliott has finished fourth, second and second in the past three races on 1.5-mile tracks (like Texas this week) and led 106 laps the last time he raced at Phoenix (next week).
Turn 4: NASCAR made Dale Earnhardt Jr. change a paint scheme this week because the driver side was different from the passenger side. Is that a good rule?

Craven: It's a legitimate rule and I commend NASCAR for not making exceptions to certain things regardless of who's involved. You know one of the primary complaints I hear from fans is that they have a difficult time identifying their favorite driver because paint schemes change so often. I don't know what the solution is as each team seems starved for sponsorship. But we do need to maintain some sort of consistency in terms of team identity. Good on NASCAR.

McGee: Alternate paint schemes have never bothered me like they have always rankled some folks, especially when Dale Junior has always put so much research and homework into making sure he gets the old-school stuff right (See: the Grey Ghost). But you can't have a car that looks completely different from pit road than it does from the tower, even if you're an Earnhardt. Or Kasey Kahne. Or Batman.

Pockrass: Yes. Spotters and competitors have enough things to think about that they shouldn't have the additional hurdle of trying to identify a car that has two different paint schemes.

Willis: No, it's outdated and silly, much like my parachute pants. How many races this season have you been confused by drivers with continuously changing paint schemes and sponsors? If a driver sees a different color bumper one week to the next, he might be just as confused as if the cars had a different port and starboard side. The cars are now electronically scored, so I'm throwing that reasoning out the window. Much like we shouldn't be discouraging passing, we also shouldn't be discouraging sponsorship, if this is a make-or-break issue.