How much bad PR is NASCAR willing to foist upon itself?
The court of public opinion, for the most part, has not been kind to NASCAR in light of recent penalties waged on small teams. Jeremy Mayfield’s drug test, Carl Long’s fine and suspension along with Robby Gordon’s fines sure look like NASCAR is singling out the little guy. NASCAR is not admitting to any type of favoritism to its larger teams, but it is hard for the casual fan to wonder about all the suspensions and fines that were levied against Hendrick Motor Sports and their crew chiefs, Chad Knaus and Steve Letarte. HMS was on a two year run of fines and suspensions that were no where near the severity that has been levied against Long. NASCAR has not fared well in the fan’s perception of how they have handled the entire Jeremy Mayfield situation. From not having a list of banned substances to allowing Mayfield access to the race track after he was banned, NASCAR has looked foolish at times during this process. Mayfield may be guilty of what NASCAR alleges, but even if he is, NASCAR
