By: Walter Adams

Few people are surprised that a sport that has its roots in moonshine and bootlegging would have its fair share of controversies over the years. This year’s Chase for the Cup, however, has been especially controversial. Almost as soon as the cars crossed the finish line for the last race of the regular season, NASCAR began dealing with a nasty cheating scandal that eventually resulted in the largest fine in the sport’s history. Although, the brake dust is still settling, it appears that the 2013 Chase will probably end up being one of the top three NASCAR controversies of all times.

2013 Chase for the Cup

It all boiled down, as it often does, to Richmond International Speedway, the final event before the Chase. Going into the race, a number of drivers had a good chance at making the Chase, but in the end, it was Martin Truex Jr. and Joey Logano making the cut, and Jeff Gordon and Ryan Newman on the outside, looking in. At least, that’s what everyone thought.

But when NASCAR determined that Truex’s teammate, Clint Bowyer, had spun out on purpose and his other teammate Brian Vickers had pitted for no apparent reason — moves that negatively affected both Jeff Gordon’s and Ryan Newman’s chances to get into the Chase while helping Truex out — the organization decided to penalize their team, Michael Waltrip Racing, a record $300,000. NASCAR also docked all of the team’s drivers 50 points, which ended up dropping Truex out of the Chase while putting Newman back in. NASCAR then decided to allow Jeff Gordon to race as part of the Chase, making it the first year that the Sprint Cup playoffs would have 13 drivers instead of 12.

The Creation of the Chase

Ironically, the creation of the Chase, itself, has probably been one of the most controversial things to happen in NASCAR. Many diehard gearheads consider the Cup an artificial and unnecessary playoffs scenario created by NASCAR solely to lure in new fans and to make it more interesting for television.

The truth is that the Chase has made the final races more interesting. Drivers who once would have played it safe in order to amass a lot of points were suddenly having to drive hard every race in order to win the Cup. Because of this, fans were more apt to purchase bundle TV packages in order to watch every one of the Cup races.

The Earnhardt Split

Dale Earnhardt Sr. was one of the most iconic drivers in NASCAR’s history. In fact, some fans believe that the spirit of the sport died along with Dale in his fatal 2001 Daytona wreck. His death, unfortunately, also eventually led to a business split between his son, Dale Jr., and Sr.’s wife, Teresa.

The Earnhardt family split left many fans unsure of who to cheer for: DEI, Dale Sr.’s team, now owned by Teresa, or Dale Jr., who packed his bags to go to Hendrick Motorsports, one of his dad’s top competitors. It didn’t help that Teresa, who came off as a villain to many in the sport, fought Junior’s bid to take the number 8, which had long been associated with him, to his new team.

By: Walter Adams

Walter is a single dad who loves raising his two boys and writing about sports on the side.