The topic of self-policing has come into the spotlight with Denny Hamlin giving his thoughts on the subject after a couple of bust-ups added sparks to the race at Chicagoland. 

One of the battles was between Zane Smith and Carson Hocevar, while the other was an ongoing feud between Shane Van Gisbergen and Austin Hill. While Zane Smith intentionally drove Hocevar into the wall and ended up there himself, RCR felt SVG was looking for payback on Austin Hill for San Diego. 

Hamlin believes there are too many restrictions and repercussions on drivers looking for payback either on or off track. The championship leader suggested that NASCAR should allow drivers to police themselves so that they can get payback, which in turn provides entertainment. 

NASCAR’s COO Ben Kennedy looks at that from a totally different angle. Speaking on the Rubbin is Racin podcast, Kennedy laid out his thoughts and said, “No. The last thing we want to do is compromise anyone’s safety. I want to make sure that everyone’s safe and secure.”

Kennedy's concern is safety. If drivers keep hitting each other, it risks not just their races but the safety of everyone on track. 

While he was against self policing, the rivalry aspect for entertainment and the value it brings to the sport is one Kennedy acknowledged. 

Kennedy said, “At the same time, you think about some of the viral moments, and I had a conversation with someone last night that handles one of the sports leagues we’re having this conversation about, ‘What makes a star? What creates followership? It’s success, but it’s  a lot of rivalries.”

Kennedy recognizes value of unmanufactured rivalries

Ben Kennedy spoke extensively on what makes sport exciting, and while he was adamantly against allowing drivers to police themselves, he understands the value that rivalries bring in terms of viewership creating storylines in the sport. 

On the same podcast, Kennedy said, “Think about some of the greatest moments in NASCAR: it was rivalries between two teams, two drivers, two manufacturers, different brands that are racing. Those are all the stories that people continue to talk about, make documentaries.”

While he is all for rivalries, he also revealed how NASCAR approaches them and the limitations beyond the safety measures taken. Kennedy also alluded to the impact of such rivalries on the fans. 

He said, “We’re the league; we can’t necessarily tell them, ‘Hey, create a feud against each other, have rivalry.’ I think you hope that naturally fans will gravitate to certain drivers, and over time they're going to rub fenders, they're going to get into each other's way, and naturally you're going to create some of these rivalries.”

The COO also said that while these rivalries exist, it’s a beautiful thing in NASCAR that people come down and cheer for different drivers on the grid.

Often each driver and each team has their set of fans, so while there is a sense of community, there is also something more for the fans in the form of the side they choose between feuding drivers. 

Where do you stand on the ‘self-policing’ subject? Let us know your thoughts.

Read more at RFK Racing Digest.

Written by

Debrup Chaudhuri

Edited by

Suyashdeep Sason