Tony Stewart undeserving of NASCAR Chase waiver

The NASCAR rule book has always been filled with great ambiguity with plenty of room for interpretation by teams and officials alike. And even when a rule may seem clear-cut, there is a term noted in the fine print that overrides any seemingly absolutes.

That term is “except in rare instances,” which is NASCAR speak for allowing officials to modify a rule on a whim or to best fit a scenario that may not have been envisioned when said rule was created.

NASCAR CEO Brian France infamously used “except in rare instances” a year ago when he inserted Jeff Gordon into the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

Citing the machinations that included Michael Waltrip Racing manipulating the outcome of the regular season finale at Richmond International Raceway, France expanded the playoff field to include Gordon. It was as controversial a decision as any in recent memory, called NASCAR’s integrity into question and fueled the offseason overhaul of its criteria for making the Chase.

Nearly 12 months later, NASCAR again has used “except in rare instances,” this time granting Tony Stewart a waiver to qualify for the Chase if he were to win one of the two remaining regular season races -- Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway or Sept. 6 at Richmond.

“When we announced the format for the ‘14 Chase, that announcement included some responsibility about the routine participation in the season in order to be eligible in the Chase,” NASCAR president Mike Helton said Friday. “Along with that importance of routine participation also came the asterisk, so to speak, about except in rare instances.

“This has been a very unique set of circumstances to Tony and to our sport. As the league, it’s our responsibility to try to make decisions that are correct and right. Sometimes we evaluate circumstances that are given us and then make those decisions as correctly as we can.”

When NASCAR restructured the formula for how a driver gains Chase eligibility, it allowed a provision stating a driver could miss a race and receive an exemption.

The thinking was it would prevent drivers from masking injuries or rushing back before they were fully recovered. Examples frequently alluded to were Brad Keselowski racing with a broken ankle in 2011 and Dale Earnhardt Jr. hiding a concussion the following year.

When enacted, few would envision the scenario which has unfolded in recent weeks where a driver was involved in an incident that took the life another, who happened to be out of his car and on foot. As Stewart processed his grief over Kevin Ward Jr.‘s death, he understandably decided not to compete, missing three races and two full weekends.

Is dealing with “quite a bit of grief,” as Stewart was described by a Stewart-Haas Racing executive, what NASCAR intended when it enacted the provision that a driver could sit out?

After all, Stewart chose to race in a non-sanctioned NASCAR event, and therefore accepted the consequences if something unforeseen were to happen. Just as it did a year ago when a crash in a sprint car broke his leg in two places and ended his year prematurely. And as SHR repeatedly stated in recent weeks Stewart sitting out three races was his -- and only his -- decision.

The line between what is an excusable absence and what isn’t is now blurred.

Two weeks ago, Martin Truex Jr. skipped practice and qualifying at Michigan International Speedway to be with his girlfriend Sherry Pollex, who was undergoing surgery for ovarian cancer. Had Truex not returned to race in the Pure Michigan 400, would NASCAR have provided him a waiver like it did Stewart?

Or what about the next time a wife of a driver is due to give birth, will that be permitted? NASCAR said in January the birth of child wasn’t cause to be granted a medical waiver, but Friday seemed to alter the precedent in place.

“Obviously they’ve set a precedent here with Tony,” Brian Vickers said. “One day I’d like to have kids. Does that mean I get to be at the hospital with my wife if she’s having our first child even if it means missing a race but I can still make the Chase? I think that’s the precedent that they’re going to set.”

Then there is the matter of a still ongoing criminal investigation.

Although Stewart still has to win in the next two weeks, NASCAR has created the possibility that its playoffs could feature a driver charged with a serious crime -- if authorities decide to prosecute Stewart. An unwanted public relations hit that would have been entirely preventable.

That is the situation NASCAR finds itself in thanks to a gracious, though misguided, decision, to approve Stewart a medical waiver. “Except in rare instances” can supersede many things, but a competitor implicated in the death of another competing for a championship is something NASCAR’s magic wand can’t even fix.