Which JRM candidate will have a better career?

Was the penalty given to Austin Dillon appropriate?

Mike Neff: It certainly is appropriate given the fact that he said the contact with Denny Hamlin was a reaction. The contact with Joey Logano was fine at the time because it’s now a regular part of racing. Judging from the aerial shot, it looked like Dillon was facing away from Hamlin when the contact happened. He would be arguing if he didn’t say the contact was a reaction.

James Kraus: No, but that doesn’t mean they were too strict or not strict enough. More broadly, NASCAR tied its own hands about the future with how it handled the results of the Richmond Raceway race. NASCAR didn’t completely strip Dillon of his win, so it’s OK, right? No, it’s not, because NASCAR said it couldn’t count in the playoffs. So the playoff format that shaped NASCAR (for better or worse) went from “it’s all about winning” to “it’s all about winning, unless winning means doing what Austin Dillon did in a week.” By being neutral about what to do about last week’s results, the league completely undermined the playoff system. Wins should have stayed or been completely stripped, with no in-between.

Amy Henderson: Almost, but not quite. NASCAR should have won. The playoff impact hurts Dillon, but the drivers who don’t make it or are eliminated have no reason to race other than to win 10 races. If you want to keep the trophy, why not race a race car? To Dillon, the penalty was well deserved. At least trying to move Logano and then resorting to pushing him onto the race track would be totally acceptable. Chasing with the intent to destroy is not so much, and hitting Hamlin is too much. Hitting the right rear wheel is never an acceptable move. Period.

Samuel Stubbs: Yes, NASCAR has managed to take away almost all of the benefits that come with winning races without taking away the (almost well-deserved) victories.

Phil Allaway: He should have been disqualified at the very least, suspended at worst. NASCAR is known worldwide as a sanctioning body that cannot or does not want to properly officiate their own races. It’s downright awful at times. I would have been adamant and told Dillon he needed another day off. Contact is not a bad thing, but you can’t intentionally wreck two drivers in order to win a race.

At the finish last week, Dillon’s spotter was heard saying, “Smash him.” If a driver did something similar after being told to do so, should that team member be subject to disciplinary action?

Henderson: Yes, the spotter was right to be punished. There was someone in the car who was emotional after losing the lead and winning the race before the caution, and he was already not easily able to think rationally. It was no good making him do something stupid in that moment. Furthermore, it’s hard to say it was unintentional when a member of the team directly instructed him to do it. Drivers may make choices they later regret, but it’s their job to make that decision, not the spotter’s.

Allaway: Yes. Brandon Benesch was rightfully suspended for three races. This is ridiculous and should never be tolerated. The audio that was aired on USA was not the reason for the suspension. Trust me, NASCAR would have known about it even if it wasn’t shown on TV.

Stubbs: Yes, but we need some context. As many crew members have said over the years, Benesh’s radio is clearly not something to be taken lightly.

Kraus: Yes. For decades, NASCAR has disciplined drivers who say they’re going to hit people on purpose. Just ask Kevin Harvick, who was pulled over in a 2002 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Martinsville Speedway for saying he was “going to get” Coy Gibbs. “The lesson is, ‘Don’t tell anybody you’re going to do that,'” Dr. Jerry Punch said on the ESPN broadcast. The same rule should apply to team members and owners, especially considering they’re making those decisions from the comfort of a pit box or spotter stand, not from a race car that could hit something at high speed.

Neff: The problem with the spotter’s comment is that Hamlin was already 45 degrees to the side of the nose of Dillon’s car. The driver is in control of the car and is responsible for how he steers, regardless of what anyone says in his ear.

JR Motorsports has two promising riders in Connor Girisch and Carson Kvapil. Who do you think will be more successful?

Stubbs: They’re both very talented young drivers, and Connor Girisch’s experience in sports cars will be very beneficial in driving a Cup car today, but both are capable of competing in the Cup Series.

Neff: Carson Kvapil has already had a great career at the CARS Tour level. He is poised to have a very successful career for many years to come. Girish has also performed well at the ARCA Menards Series level. He has a good chance of winning a championship in the future.

Henderson: This is an excuse, but they are both very talented young drivers with bright futures and JRM will need plenty of space to put a few more trophies on display in a year or two.

Allaway: If we focus only on NASCAR, this is a tough question. Both drivers are talented, but Kvapil’s resume tends to be more limited. He’ll be successful in NASCAR no matter what, but outside of NASCAR, his options may be a bit more limited. Girisch is a driver who has won in six different series across multiple disciplines this year alone (ARCA, ARCA Menards Series East, CARS, Mazda MX-5 Cup, Trans Am TA2, and the LMP2 class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship). In the context of NASCAR, they might be roughly even, but Girisch has already accomplished more than Kvapil outside of stock cars and has the potential to win more awards.

Kraus: From what I’ve seen from their runs in NASCAR, Kvapil could be an immediate contender if he were to race full-time. He’s started six times in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and has only finished worse than 12th once. He’s excelled on short tracks as expected, but has also been solid at Nashville Superspeedway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Girisch is a great road racer but will need a bit more time to be competitive on trucks and oval tracks at the Xfinity level.

None of the top 10 drivers in national ARCA Series points have won a race this season. Does this matter?

Allaway: To an extent. It shows that the drivers who are running full-time are either lacking talent or equipment, or both. But the main reason this is the case is that two-thirds of the races were won by part-time drivers (Girisch and William Sawalich) who were only running part-time because they were 17 at the start of the season. The rest were plate races and races by drivers who competed mainly in the Truck Series this year. I don’t see this situation continuing for long. In fact, a driver like Andres Pérez could win at Michigan International Speedway.

Henderson: No. The title is always legitimated by the driver who has scored the most points over a full season.

Neff: Not at all. It’s great to see the racing become so competitive and have talented riders competing for the top five instead of the win.

Stubbs: Yes, attacking ARCA takes away from the fact that it is a developmental series and takes away the luster of the championship.

Kraus: Yes. There are a number of factors at play as to why there aren’t many full-time ARCA drivers in the top echelon of the series. One of the biggest factors is the lack of a proper points race with title contenders competing at the front. The championship fight will always take a back seat to the up-and-comers of the week that Joe Gibbs Racing, Venturini Motorsports or Pinnacle Racing Group field each week. In a way, ARCA has essentially become the modern-day home of bushwhacking.