Matt Kenseth NASCAR, Matt Kenseth lost his appeal on Thursday but pushed his defense to a final hearing. At stake: a two-race suspension that would begin this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway.
Kenseth was punished for his actions at Martinsville, where he wrecked Logano late in Sunday's Sprint Cup race. NASCAR said his actions were intentional. Kenseth was not in contention for the lead at the time, having been involved in an earlier crash with Logano teammate Brad Keselowski.Kenseth and his handlers made their case before the National Motorsports Appeals Panel in Charlotte, N.C. That panel backed the two-race ban, so Kenseth took his last option. His final appeal will be heard by Bryan Moss, the National Motorsports Final Appeals Officer. That hearing was to begin at 1 p.m. ET.
In a release after the initial hearing, NASCAR said appeals panel members agreed Kenseth had violated two sections in the 2015 rule book. The three members, Ken Clapp, Bill Mullis and Dale Pinilis, let stand the two-race suspension and the six-month probation ordered by NASCAR on Tuesday.
Clapp is a retired NASCAR executive. Mullis operates a racetrack in Hampton, Va. Pinilis operates Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C. Moss, former president at Gulfstream Aerospace, has been the final appeal officer since February 2014."Based upon our extensive review, we have concluded that the No. 20 car driver, who is no longer in the Chase, intentionally wrecked the No. 22 car driver, a Chase-eligible competitor who was leading the race at the time," said NASCAR vice president Steve O'Donnell, via NASCAR.com "The No. 20 car was nine laps down, and eliminated the No. 22 car's opportunity to continue to compete in the race.
"Additionally, we factored aspects of safety into our decision, and also the fact that the new Chase elimination format puts a premium on each and every race. These actions have no place in NASCAR."
There are two races left in the Eliminator Round of the Chase for the Sprint Cup. The first is at Texas, the other next week at Phoenix.
Because of the crash, Logano likely must win one of the two races to advance to the Chase championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Keselowski is in a similar position. The only driver assured of making the four-man field at Homestead is Jeff Gordon, the winner at Martinsville.
Kenseth failed to make the Eliminator Round after his tangle with Logano at Kansas and his finish at Talladega.Kenseth was on a streak of 571 consecutive Sprint Cup races through Martinsville.
Speaking on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NASCAR chairman Brian France linked Kenseth's punishment to the sport's need to prevent a similar incident. He drew a connection to a 2013 race at Richmond, in which Michael Waltrip Racing was punished for trying to manipulate race results to get a driver into the Chase. That incident involved Clint Bowyer crashing on purpose to help a teammate make the 16-driver field.
Translation: The Chase's integrity is paramount.
"They're similar in many ways but they are very different because of the stakes that were on the line with the Chase," France said. "Going back to Richmond, we've been very clear when anybody in the industry, any driver or participant intentionally tries to alter the outcome of events or championships, that crosses a different line than a racing problem between two drivers. So obviously the significance of what was on the line had to be taken into consideration."
Kenseth was leading the Kansas race when he and Logano jockeyed for the lead. Kenseth was blocking Logano, who stood his ground and caused Kenseth to spin. Logano won the race, as he would all three in the Contender Round.
Kenseth was seething after the race but maintained a cool demeanor. It was clear he would get even with Logano at some point.
Out of the Chase and out of contention at Martinsville, Kenseth got his chance when he got behind Logano on Sunday. He drove his car into the backside of Logano's car, and then pushed Logano into the wall.
France saw that as the reason why Kenseth had to be penalized.
"I know there's a lot of discussion about consistency in our penalties and there should be and that's part of the equation," France said. "We issue penalties for two reasons: We've got to punish you for what we think you've done wrong, and we have to make sure that we deter somebody else from doing exactly what you did or worse.
"That's why we can't be consistent with every single penalty because sometimes we've got to up the ante with a penalty because we don't believe the current remedy is a deterrent."
Kenseth was punished for his actions at Martinsville, where he wrecked Logano late in Sunday's Sprint Cup race. NASCAR said his actions were intentional. Kenseth was not in contention for the lead at the time, having been involved in an earlier crash with Logano teammate Brad Keselowski.Kenseth and his handlers made their case before the National Motorsports Appeals Panel in Charlotte, N.C. That panel backed the two-race ban, so Kenseth took his last option. His final appeal will be heard by Bryan Moss, the National Motorsports Final Appeals Officer. That hearing was to begin at 1 p.m. ET.In a release after the initial hearing, NASCAR said appeals panel members agreed Kenseth had violated two sections in the 2015 rule book. The three members, Ken Clapp, Bill Mullis and Dale Pinilis, let stand the two-race suspension and the six-month probation ordered by NASCAR on Tuesday.
Clapp is a retired NASCAR executive. Mullis operates a racetrack in Hampton, Va. Pinilis operates Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C. Moss, former president at Gulfstream Aerospace, has been the final appeal officer since February 2014."Based upon our extensive review, we have concluded that the No. 20 car driver, who is no longer in the Chase, intentionally wrecked the No. 22 car driver, a Chase-eligible competitor who was leading the race at the time," said NASCAR vice president Steve O'Donnell, via NASCAR.com "The No. 20 car was nine laps down, and eliminated the No. 22 car's opportunity to continue to compete in the race.
"Additionally, we factored aspects of safety into our decision, and also the fact that the new Chase elimination format puts a premium on each and every race. These actions have no place in NASCAR."
There are two races left in the Eliminator Round of the Chase for the Sprint Cup. The first is at Texas, the other next week at Phoenix.
Because of the crash, Logano likely must win one of the two races to advance to the Chase championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Keselowski is in a similar position. The only driver assured of making the four-man field at Homestead is Jeff Gordon, the winner at Martinsville.
Kenseth failed to make the Eliminator Round after his tangle with Logano at Kansas and his finish at Talladega.Kenseth was on a streak of 571 consecutive Sprint Cup races through Martinsville.
Speaking on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NASCAR chairman Brian France linked Kenseth's punishment to the sport's need to prevent a similar incident. He drew a connection to a 2013 race at Richmond, in which Michael Waltrip Racing was punished for trying to manipulate race results to get a driver into the Chase. That incident involved Clint Bowyer crashing on purpose to help a teammate make the 16-driver field.
Translation: The Chase's integrity is paramount.
"They're similar in many ways but they are very different because of the stakes that were on the line with the Chase," France said. "Going back to Richmond, we've been very clear when anybody in the industry, any driver or participant intentionally tries to alter the outcome of events or championships, that crosses a different line than a racing problem between two drivers. So obviously the significance of what was on the line had to be taken into consideration."
Kenseth was leading the Kansas race when he and Logano jockeyed for the lead. Kenseth was blocking Logano, who stood his ground and caused Kenseth to spin. Logano won the race, as he would all three in the Contender Round.
Kenseth was seething after the race but maintained a cool demeanor. It was clear he would get even with Logano at some point.
Out of the Chase and out of contention at Martinsville, Kenseth got his chance when he got behind Logano on Sunday. He drove his car into the backside of Logano's car, and then pushed Logano into the wall.
France saw that as the reason why Kenseth had to be penalized.
"I know there's a lot of discussion about consistency in our penalties and there should be and that's part of the equation," France said. "We issue penalties for two reasons: We've got to punish you for what we think you've done wrong, and we have to make sure that we deter somebody else from doing exactly what you did or worse.
"That's why we can't be consistent with every single penalty because sometimes we've got to up the ante with a penalty because we don't believe the current remedy is a deterrent."
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