Photo Credit: Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

After what just transpired at Richmond International Raceway, would you want to be a NASCAR official? Often times even when they get everything right, super-fans turn a blind eye to the facts and turn the tables on the men and women who enforce the rules of our sport.

By: Toby Christie @Tobalical
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On weeks like this past one though, the officials take much deserved heat for botched calls.

It’s a damned if you do, damned if you don’t profession, but what the upholders of NASCAR’s rule book need to understand — after a controversy-filled weekend in Richmond — is that you aren’t going to make everyone happy. Your job isn’t to make everyone happy. Your job if you’re a NASCAR official is to uphold the law. It’s the same reason so many people who drive 80-miles an hour to work end up cursing the police every day when they get to their desk 15-30 minutes later than they were expecting.

The issues for NASCAR in Richmond began in the Nationwide Series event on Friday night. Brian Scott led the first 239 laps, but he would fail to go on to win after NASCAR failed to black flag Brad Keselowski for infractions over the final two restarts. Scott would hang on to finish second, but his best shot at a first career Nationwide Series win was thrown away.

It was the latest instance of NASCAR ruling in favor of a bigger-name driver in a judgement call ruling.

Saturday night in the Sprint Cup Series Federated Auto Parts 400, there was more of the same thing. With ten races remaining Ryan Newman, who was out of contention for the Chase all evening long, had taken the lead from Carl Edwards, and was well on his way to a second victory of 2013. The win would lock Newman into the Chase.

Newman’s win would knock both Joey Logano and Martin Truex Jr. out of the Chase, but history was re-written a few laps later.

With seven laps left in the race, Clint Bowyer (Martin Truex Jr.’s Michael Waltrip Racing teammate) had nothing to lose while running near the back of the pack. His team radioed that the 39 (Newman) was about to win the race, and that it sucked that it was going to happen. Moments later his spotter joked whether his arms were getting sore.

Bowyer, who fought a tight racecar all night, then unexplainably broke lose and spun out all by himself. This would bring out the caution, which would re-rack the field. When all was said and done Ryan Newman found himself outside the Chase, while Bowyer’s teammate Martin Truex Jr. went on to make the field for NASCAR’s version of the playoffs.

In NASCAR’s defense, you can’t expect them to stop the race to investigate exactly what happened with Bowyer’s car, but what was very odd was the fact that NASCAR seemed to attempt a spin-gate type cover up.

After the race NASCAR’s John Darby said that the sanctioning body didn’t believe Bowyer would spin intentionally because he wouldn’t want to give up the regular season points lead. Excuse me? Try again.

With zero wins in 2013, and the regular season point standings being reset at the race’s conclusion, what incentive would Bowyer have to not help his teammate? Sunday NASCAR released a statement about the Bowyer controversy:

“NASCAR is reviewing Saturday night’s race at Richmond International Raceway per protocol and has no plans for further statement until that process is complete.”

I’m sure NASCAR’s investigation should yield some interesting information, but this isn’t even close to where NASCAR’s rule book shortcomings ended Saturday night.

On the race’s final restart Paul Menard was lined up as the leader, and Carl Edwards would roll from the second position. Just as Keselowski did the night before, Edwards beat the leader to the start finish line which is a clear infraction. Edwards would not be issued a black flag, and he would pull away to put the stamp on his second victory of the season.

“[Menard] took off, Edwards said. I waited until he went to go. As we were going, his car actually touched my door. I think it surprised him a little bit or something. He turned a little bit. I heard his engine speed up. He spun the tires.

“At that point, I mean, I really have a choice to either lift off the throttle and wait for him to try to gather it up  I’ve never seen a guy able to gather up too quickly when they spin that bad  or go and hope NASCAR understands that he spun his tires. In this case they did. They understand he came up and hit me and spun his tires.”

You can attempt to sugar coat it all you want, and I don’t blame Edwards for trying to church things up. It’s why guys in basketball execute flops, and why people in football act like they’re injured after a questionable hit. As long as humans are making decisions you can persuade them. But for NASCAR when the second place car had a car length advantage over the leader by the start finish line, something needs to be done.

When being an official, you have to take your emotions out of every call, and just use the rule book to make decisions for you — sure fans of certain drivers may be unhappy, but in the end at least you won’t have people questioning your integrity.

You can follow Toby Christie on Twitter @Tobalical