I'm going to be 100% honest here and say that they worked within the rules. Jimmie and Dale, Jr. pitted right at the end of last year's Richmond race to help Jeff Gordon - I think it was a savvy move. Several years ago (when Roush had five teams) Roush Fenway Racing had all five of their cars in the chase and took advantage of a caution to get all five of their teams up front. Each took a turn leading a lap (more bonus points) while team members helped to block others behind them - it was an awesome strategy.
Deals are made all the time at restrictor plate races for pitstops. When Tony Stewart was in his last year at JGR, Kyle Busch let Tony take the lead for a lap at Watkins Glen (bonus points). How many phantom cautions do we have for debris? Denny Hamlin pitted late in the Richmond race last year to help Kyle, but the Hendrick teams did the same (as mentioned above) and that strategy failed. Hey, tough luck for the 18 team, but that is how it goes.
Do you really think the 48 team suddenly had problems the last five races? They have been on a roll this season. In those last five races, Jeff got five points by having Jimmie finish behind the 24. Hey, that is a savvy move. Well done.
NASCAR chose to put two Hendrick cars in the chase this week. Favoritism much? The Hendrick money runs very deep (I have no problem with that as long as it does not buy influence) and Chevy's ties to NASCAR do the same. The Bowtie has had this influence since the late 1970s and it always came at the expense of Team Blue Oval. Now the Toys are seeing it too. Big Bill France would be upset with his son and totally pissed at his grandson.
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