4th Manufacturer Ready to Enter NASCAR Amid Chevy’s $400,000 Loss for Race Manipulation

Does the current OEM partners have unnecessary power of influencing in how NASCAR races are run? This was the question that popped up after the Martinsville race produced Spingate 2.0-like scenes. Chevrolet and Toyota drivers tried to manipulate the finish of the race and were trying their best to get their respective drivers into the championship 4.

But NASCAR ruled with an iron fist, sending in a strong message to teams, OEMs, and drivers to stray away from using such antics on the racetrack. Moreover, NASCAR also said they will make changes in the rule book to fine and penalize OEMs from next year onwards.

Jordan Bianchi shared an update from NASCAR on how they felt about the Martinsville incident. NASCAR COO Steve O'Donnell said, "What I saw at Martinsville pi–ed me off. He says a during call with OEMs this week, NASCAR was very clear on its expectations, and a rule will be put in place over the offseason that allows NASCAR to directly penalize OEMs."

This was indeed a bold move, but what could've led to this massive shift in the way NASCAR dealt with its OEM partners? Well, going by the recent updates, the sanctioning body is close to onboarding a fourth OEM partner, but nothing is said to be certain at this moment. "Phelps says a fourth OEM is "close" to entering the sport, and negotiations are ongoing to make that deal happen. 'I'm cautiously optimistic.'" Bianchi shared further.

This is a developing story.