NASCAR mailbag: Why did Tony Stewart get fined for Charlotte incident?

Between the Sprint Cup schedule undergoing a significant revision, a high-profile driver switching teams and oh yeah, a skirmish between two of NASCAR’s top drivers, there has been no shortage of news in recent weeks.

Those changes have brought a bevy of questions, which will we attempt to answer in this forum. And going forward if you have submission you can contact me at jordanmbianchi@gmail.com or on Twitter.

Without further ado, let’s get to your questions starting with the topic du jour in the past week.

Why the hell was Tony Stewart fined? All he did was back into “Bad Brad,” who hit him first and they weren’t even on pit road when it happened.

-- Doug

If NASCAR was going to fine Brad Keselowski for running into Tony Stewart and Matt Kenseth on pit road, then it had no choice but to take action against Stewart for the same offense.

In this instance, NASCAR can’t and shouldn’t discern intent in the kind of incident that unfolded Saturday night. Keselowski intended to hit Kenseth, just as Stewart intended to back into Keselowski, which means NASCAR had to respond. Thus, both were fined.

And technically, no, the contact between Keselowski and Stewart did not come on pit road. However, it did come off the racing surface and in NASCAR’s estimation, close enough to pit road where crews, officials and media were milling about to warrant a penalty. In neither instance, though, were the penalties egregious -- Keselowski got hit with a $50,000 fine, Stewart lost $25,000. They can afford it.

So Matt Kenseth attacks Brad Keselowski (who deserved it!) and gets nothing while Marcos Ambrose slugs Casey Mears and gets fined. So it’s OK to jump a guy from behind, but it’s not OK to hit someone when they’re looking?

-- William

Based on Tuesday’s penalties, that would seem to be the message NASCAR sent. Attack a guy when his back is turned and we won’t react.

In all seriousness, the difference between the two instances is whether a punch connected. Ambrose landed a blow to Mears’ face, while Kenseth didn’t connect. It seems a bit arbitrary, but isn’t that often the case whenever NASCAR doles out penalties?

Is it me or are fewer drivers changing teams this year?

-- Randolph

You’re right, with the exception of Carl Edwards going from Roush Fenway Racing to Joe Gibbs Racing, there certainly hasn’t been an abundance of prominent drivers switching teams.

But that’s almost to be expected, as these things are cyclical. Consider between the start of 2012 to the beginning of this season, Kahne, Kenseth, Joey Logano, Mark Martin, Juan Pablo Montoya, Kevin Harvick, AJ Allmendinger, Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman all found new teams (some multiple times).

Eventually there needs to be a year with a relatively quiet silly season featuring less jockeying around. As most everyone above are locked into multi-year contracts, while the other available rides of note are manned by drivers who aren’t leaving their respective teams anytime soon (i.e. Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, etc.) 2014 appears to be that year.

If Chase Elliott is going to be in Cup soon that means Rick Hendrick is going to have to get rid of one of his drivers because of NASCAR’s team limit rule. Doesn’t that obviously make Kasey Kahne the odd man out? Hendrick isn’t picking Kasey over Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon or Jimmie Johnson.

-- Stephen

Thanks to the NASCAR-mandated rule that no team can field no more than four, it would seem Hendrick Motorsports has too many drivers and too few seats. Especially if Elliott continues his career trajectory -- he’s on pace to become the first rookie to ever win a national series championship -- and Hendrick is committed to the plan of promoting the 18-year-old to Cup in 2016.

As for who would have to be jettisoned, the most obvious answer would be Kahne, whose contract expires after next season. The only caveat is if Gordon’s back issues flare up and force a premature retirement. In the instance Elliott becomes Gordon’s heir apparent, Kahne would likely be re-signed -- provided his 2015 campaign warrants it -- and Hendrick’s driver lineup is comprised of Elliott, Kahne, Earnhardt and Johnson.

I thought NASCAR was going to shake up the schedule and instead it’s all basically the same. What gives?

-- Aaron

It was thought with the advent of NASCAR’s new television deals with Fox and NBC, there would be an overhaul of a schedule in dire need of a makeover. That didn’t occur. Although restoring Darlington to its rightful date should be considered significant.

Call it politics why the remainder of the schedule went virtually untouched. To blow up the Sprint Cup calendar as many have clamored for would require International Speedway Corp. and Speedway Motorsports Inc., the two companies which control all but three tracks, to put aside the interests of their shareholders for the betterment of the sport.

There is simply too much money at stake for either party to concede one of its prized dates to the other. Nor is NASCAR going to start taking races away from one track to give to another, for fear of a lawsuit.

Also don’t ignore the fact there is only so much NASCAR can do when it comes to building the schedule. Because of weather and other factors out of its control, many tracks cannot host races at certain times of the year. The grandstands would be nearly empty if Chicagoland Speedway held its race in early spring or Las Vegas Motor Speedway was moved to the summer months.

Things could be improved, but there is something to be said for year-to-year consistency. For comparisons sake just look at the yearly fiasco IndyCar goes through crafting its schedule.

When Denny Hamlin broke into NASCAR racing with instant success, I told my wife that he would win multiple championships before his career is over. Now after 10 years I’m not so sure. Do you think Denny will ever win a Cup series title?

-- Jason

Chalk up Hamlin having yet won a championship due to the misfortune of racing at the height of Johnson’s dominance. Because Johnson has won six of eight titles it hasn’t allowed a whole lot of opportunity for anyone else, and when Hamlin did have his chance (2010) he failed to capitalize.

Hamlin isn’t alone either, as guys like Harvick, Edwards and Kyle Busch are still in search of their first Cup championship despite numerous victories. It’s really no different than how Michael Jordan prevented Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing and Karl Malone from ever winning an NBA title.

If you’re waiting Hamlin to break through, this may be your season. Although Harvick, Gordon and Logano are the favorites, don’t discount Hamlin. Beginning with the Eliminator Round, the schedule sets up very favorably for him. Upcoming races at Martinsville, Texas, Phoenix and Homestead are all tracks where he typically excels.

And NASCAR’s new format where a driver just needs a victory to stay in the Chase works to Hamlin’s advantage. He can still have that one bad race or two that has derailed his title hopes in years past and not be concerned -- provided he can win.

Why does NASCAR treat its fans as though they are idiots? Why does NASCAR behave as though they are idiots?

-- Alex

This seems like an appropriate time to wrap things up for the week. We’ll do this again soon, and if you have a question -- serious or not -- don’t hesitate to send me email at jordanmbianchi@gmail.com or on Twitter.