Saw a funny article about NASCAR's worst decisions (mention Robby twice)

Worst decisions in NASCAR (In no particular order)

1. NASCAR goes Corporate America- NASCAR sold it’s soul (and fans) by striking deals left and right as “the official ---fill in the blank – of NASCAR. NASCAR’s front office and sales team took sponsors away from teams to sign deals as sponsors of the sport. NASCAR include exclusive rights, even forcing companies like AT&T, Alltel, and more out of the sport. The corporate greed hit some teams hard, forcing teams to sell and close up shop. End the end the fans lost.

2. Car of Tomorrow – NASCAR’s knee jerk reaction to tragedy due to car safety and effort to create parity. The C.O.T was a huge, ugly car with a Indy looking wind on the deck lid and shovel looking aero cutter called a “splitter”. It was car that driver’s couldn’t drive, engineers couldn’t figure out, and manufactures couldn’t relate to. It was so bad cars crabbed sideways down front stretches in order to turn. Fans and drivers hated it.

3. “Cookie Cutter Tracks”- NASCAR’s greed didn’t just hit the teams and fans, NASCAR went out of their way to crush municipalities, states, history and tradition. NASCAR thought they found a perfect money making design for a new track. Gone are Rockingham, North Wilkesboro and other tracks full of history and DNA of NASCAR. NASCAR even destroyed Bristol and Atlanta and other by reconfiguring tracks and surfaces. The end result, 3 hour snooze fests, decreased ratings and empty seats.

4. Teresa Earnhardt – the widow of the late Dale Earnhardt inherited one of the most dominate and popular teams in the garage. Her pride and stance watched as DEI, Inc. crumbled before her eyes. DEI was a kingdom and Dale Earnhardt Junior was the Prince. Instead of embracing Dale Jr and counting the millions, Teresa couldn’t get out of her own way and ended up watching Dale Jr walk away and watching DEI fold.

5. Robert Yates Racing – Yates was approached by a sponsor to add a third team and Yates declined. A few short years later, Yates watched his sponsors jump ship to larger teams and ended up closing the doors to his race team.

6. Junior Johnson’s Affair – Junior Johnson had one the top teams in the series with huge sponsors like Budweiser and McDonald’s. When Junior’s affair went public, his wife lawyered up. Junior was forced to get out of racing and close shop on one the best teams in history.

7. Brad Keselowski left out – When Hendrick Motorsports started filling the roster (and faced with a four team limit), the driver left out in the cold was up and coming star Brad. Brad went on to sign with Penske Racing and won a Championship
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8. Bobby Allison leaves DiGard – a team loaded with history making members was destined to be one of the greatest teams of all time and their driver was one of the greatest drivers of all time, Bobby Allison. Even after winning a championship, they couldn’t agree and Bobby walked out. Fans were left with only imagining how good it could have been. The members of DiGard went on the create history at other teams.

9. Top 35 rule – NASCAR tried to protect it’s corporate sponsors and current stars by implementing a Top 35 rule. This rule guaranteed the Top 35 teams a spot in the following race, no matter how slow their car was. It left many teams looking from the outside in and made teams wanting to break into the sport, very difficult.

10. Goodyear – BAD year – blame it on the car of tomorrow, the tire compound or the air pressure. It didn’t matter what excuse you came up with, NASCAR faced a year where tires were coming apart and exploding at almost every race. The worst was The Brickyard 400, where drivers figured out they could only go 12-16 laps before having a tire issue. NASCAR implemented mandatory cautions to keep other teams from using the tire tragedy into race strategy. It was painful for NASCAR, Goodyear, the tracks, the TV networks and most of all the fans.

11. Robby Gordon leaves RCR – Robby Gordon is one of the most talented and versatile drivers, but his biggest enemy was himself. Robby was a winner in many forms of racing including off road, Indy cars, and had 3 wins in NASCAR with RCR. Robby’s desire to “do it my way” lead to him walking away from an extension to drive for RCR and start up his own team. Robby had several close calls to reaching victory lane, but in the end he closed his NASCAR team due to lack of sponsorship. RCR continues with 3 teams.

12. Ward Burton Declines JGR – When Dale Jarret informed Joe Gibbs Racing he was leaving for Robert Yates Racing, JGR offered Ward Burton the seat in the #18 Interstate Batteries ride. Ward declined knowing his departure would leave his team in a tough situation since the sponsorship was only there if Ward was. Looking back, Ward would have had a lot more resources and better equipment and Joe Gibbs Racing.

13. Bill Davis Racing’s Secret Toyota Deal – Bill Davis began sharing secrets and information with Toyota in hopes of being the flagship team. When his secret dealings surfaced, Bill Davis lost all factory support and more than that, his integrity among his peers.

14. MWR Spin Cycle – Trying to secure a spot in The Chase, orders were given to MWR drivers to assist in helping driver Martin Truex, Jr enough points to make the cut off. The outcome was seen a manipulating the system and ended up costing MWR the Chase birth, huge penalties and even worse sponsorship. NAPA pulled sponsorship citing media embarrassment for MWR’s actions.

15. Junior Nation Expectation – when Dale Junior announced he was leaving DEI, Inc. everyone had him already in a seat at Richard Childress Racing. The #3 Budweiser for RCR was a solid lock…except Dale Junior had other plans. Junior went on to sign with HMS and the famous “He changed his number” commercial began to run as a laugh with Junior Nation.

16. Mark Martin In the Pits - In 1994 Martin became known for a mistake he made at Bristol. Mark Martin would lead the field to a white and caution flag to win. When coming back by, Mark Martin went down pit road thinking it was over but he did not take the checkered flag. David Green took the win, and in victory circle Green would say "I feel bad for him. A tough way for me to win, but I will take it." Martin finished in 11th; afterwards he stated that the mistake was "the stupidest thing I've ever done".

17. Ford Let’s Jeff Gordon Walk – Up and coming star Jeff Gordon was getting a lot of looks from team owners and Ford didn’t protect their young superstar. Jeff Gordon’s talent was enough to get signed by Hendrick with Chevrolet. Ford and Bill Davis had huge plans for Gordon, they just forgot to sign and protect Jeff. Ford paid the price for many years as Gordon became the hottest driver on the circuit and the face for Chevrolet.

18. Fire in the Hole – While pacing the field with a huge lead at Watkins Glen, driver Robby Gordon’s in car telemetry supplied by NASCAR erupted in flames. Robby had to abandon the lead and get out of the car. It was discovered the backup battery pack over heated and burst into flames. NASCAR had no explanation as to why the unit caught fire.

19. Kurt Busch Explodes – Kurt Busch began to explode on reporters, cursing and losing his temper. The temper tantrums became national headlines which lead to Busch and Penske parting ways. Busch entered anger management classes and is working to repair his reputation.

20. Mayfield Madness – Driver Jeremey Mayfield was suspended from NASCAR for substance abuse. Mayfield challenged NASCAR publicly and in the court room. The legal and media battle went on for years with accusations of conspiracy, theft, illegal drug use and evidence tampering. The end result was never clear on who told the truth, but fans will always wonder did NASCAR force Mayfield out adding fuel to years of racing conspiracy theories or did Mayfield never find it inside to just be honest with his fans and himself. Either way, the media slugfest damaged both parties.