I would like to introduce to you the newest member of the Stock Car Spin family, Dustin Rossell. Dustin is a Michigan native who appreciates some of the old-school drivers(he’s a Jeff Gordon fan). Mr. Rossell was kind enough to have a discussion with me about pretty much all things NASCAR. Consider this his introduction to our family, and give him a nice, warm welcome:

Dustin Rossell: I love NASCAR.

Ben Montedonico: I bet you’ve really loved it this year with Jeff winning twice.

DR: Yeah, that’s been nice. Haven’t seen that in awhile.

BM: I know, right? Last time he won multiple races in a year was 2007, and we know how that went for him.

DR: He had about 30 top tens that year I believe.

BM: Something like that. All he did was dominate. He had like 6 wins I believe and ended up second in points. Could have won it had it not been for the Chase. and Jimmie’s 5 straight wins in the Chase.

DR: That’s where that chase format can screw over drivers.

BM: It does. Personally, I don’t like it. It hasn’t added the excitement factor it was supposed to, even though last year’s finish was good. And the most deserving driver often doesn’t win.Basically, you have to be good for 10 races and decent for 26, when you really should be good for all 36

DR: And what you do in the regular season doesn’t account for anything. Except for wins. You can have a 200 point lead with 1 win but since another driver has 2 wins, you will no longer have that big lead going into the chase. Consistency means nothing anymore.

BM: Exactly. I think NASCAR overreacted when Kenseth won his title in ’03. That’s what got them wanting to change the format. But you’re right; what it did was result in an almost-worthless first 26 races.

DR: That is why I’d love to see Jeff win a championship in this Chase format since he’s already won in everything else. Different cars, different points system, different drivers. Just a different era. He’s pretty much won in everything throughout his career.

BM: That’s true. And that’s where I have to give Tony Stewart some credit as well. Say what you will about the guy, but he’s the only driver to win under both the previous format and this one.

Busch and his team were docked six points in the owners’ and drivers’ standings, marking the single lowest points penalty in NASCAR history.

It was ruled that Busch’s left-front was 1/16 inches lower than tolerance. Last September, Clint Bowyer was docked 150 points after his car was deemed to be off by the roughly the same amount on the left-rear at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Under the new points system, Busch’s 6-point penalty is the equivalent to anywhere from an 18-30 point penalty under the old system, still well under what Bowyer was penalized.

Now, about the exact amount of the penalty: Six points? Six? Seriously? What, are we in kindergarten? We can’t make it five or ten? Every penalty in the history of NASCAR prior to this one has had a docking of points that was divisible by five so that we could keep it simple and somewhat sane. Where in the world did they come up with the number six?

I figured if there would ever be a points penalty that wasn’t divisible by five, it would at least be 48. Because NASCAR was founded in 1948, of course. Not for any other particular reason.

My only guess is that perhaps NASCAR felt that five was too slap-on-the-wrist-ish and that ten, for whatever reason, was too harsh. So they decided to compromise, and in the end came up with a silly, inexplicable number.

A history-making, record-breaking, big, fat, ugly “6″.