Case for Analysis on The Boys Versus Corporate Instructions:
For this discussion, you must first analyze the Case for Analysis: “The Boys Versus Corporate” found on Page 415, Chapter 10
of your textbook. Then, respond to the following questions:
Part #1
Describe the culture for race car drivers.
Part #2
How does NASCAR show social responsibility?
Remember to explain your responses in detail and support your findings.
Chapter Topics require at least three in-text citations (with quotes, MLA format). You may reference your textbook to support
your discussions or cite other scholarly work or nationally recognized news sources as you wish.
Textbook:
Daft, R. L. Organization Theory and Design. 12th ed, Cengage, 2015. eText
Columbia College: Organization Theory and Design
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PRINTED BY: mredens1@cougars.ccis.edu. Printing is for personal, private use only. No part of this book may be
reproduced or transmitted without the publisher’s prior permission. Violators will be prosecuted.
CASE FOR ANALYSIS | The Boys Versus Corporate
NASCAR fans expect their drivers to be smart, crafty, and calculating and, if need be, playing just this
side of the rule book—in the garage and on the track. Loyal fans “know” their drivers and can easily
picture themselves drinking a beer or spending an afternoon tinkering under the hood with a favorite
driver. In the wild, fast-paced world of NASCAR, drivers can joke and pal around with competitors one
day and trade word-for-word or, if necessary, fist-for-fist with a rival the next day. They defiantly wear
monikers like “Fireball” and “The Intimidator.”
And why not? The roots of the sport trace back to Prohibition when moonshine runners in souped-up
cars raced across the hills of Appalachia outsmarting and outrunning the “Feds” and “Revenuers,” taking
risks with life and the law to make deliveries. As reputations grew, the desire for head-to-head
competition to establish bragging rights resulted in informal races.
As the popularity of these races increased, one driver, Big Bill France, gathered drivers and set up a
meeting in Daytona in December 1947 to establish and standardize rules for the many tracks scattered
across the region. At that meeting, a new governing organization, the National Association for Stock Car
Auto Racing (NASCAR) was born. Two months later, drivers met in the first NASCAR sanctioned race.
Across decades, NASCAR has remained a “family business” with third-generation Brian France
named as CEO in 2014. Still headquartered in Daytona, with offices scattered around the country,
NASCAR has expanded into Mexico and Canada. “The Boys” became “Big Business” and the nation’s
second largest spectator sport with television coverage in over 150 countries and team sponsorships
attracting Fortune 500 companies.
By contrast, the majority of the racing teams remained based in the hills around Charlotte, North
Carolina, setting up an organizational tug-of-war. Drivers and the fan base remain faithful to traditional
stock car racing and to the traditional tracks, devoted to the notion of “let the boys drive,” including rulebreaking
to gain an advantage.
The outlaw image is cherished by NASCAR’s fan base, as one sports columnist warned: “If the
outlaw blood ever is completely drained, then NASCAR will be as colorless as the white flag that signals
one lap to go. And its popularity could be just as fleeting.”
From the beginnings to recent history, it would appear there are few worries about the loss of that
“outlaw image” and controversies are epic. In 1983, Richard Petty’s Charlotte victory was allowed to
“stand” despite over-the-limit engine cylinders. To the delight of fans, popular driver Junior Johnson
continued the wild ways of his youth running moonshine for his dad, sneaking in illegal car modifications
when he could, if it meant tearing down and rebuilding a car. He often got into trouble with NASCAR,
but stock car traditionalists were thrilled.
Two of the sport’s biggest scandals occurred in 2001 and 2013. In a NASCAR move overshadowed by
the death of Dale Earnhardt Sr. at the 2001 Daytona 500, eighteen teams were fined/penalized for rules
violations. At Richmond in 2013 leading up to the Daytona 500, another six teams were penalized and
fined. In that rules violation dragnet, Michael Waltrip made NASCAR history with the largest-ever fine
($300,000), a penalty of 100 championship points, and a penalty of 100 team points for the use of what
fans and the media have come to call “rocket fuel.” Year after year, drivers and crews get angry,
apologize, and then shrug off the controversies as they continue to search for the “winning edge.”
At the other end of the tug-of-war lies corporate NASCAR, the media, and sponsors concerned about
image and any hint of impropriety—a modern version of those chasing the moonshine runners. Their
focus is on safety, rules, fines, and penalties. The NASCAR rule book is in a constant state of growth and
revision. Along with pre-race inspections, the winning vehicle is stripped down and examined for any
evidence of tampering or cheating. There are currently six penalty levels for rule violations for drivers,
crews, and vehicles ranging from P-1 (minor infractions) to P-6 (suspension).
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Even the crucial area of driver safety enters into this cultural tug-of-war. Drivers claim that NASCAR
is more concerned with the crackdown on rules violations than on driver safety. NASCAR’s focus ranges
from assigning and revoking car numbers at will, and the strict enforcement of a no-communications ban
between crews/drivers and their rivals, to points penalties for drivers who refuse to talk to the media.
Teams point out the frequency with which serious issues such as safety regulations seem to follow highprofile
wrecks and deaths.
Fire retardant suits were required following the fiery death of Glen “Fireball” Roberts. The throttle
“kill-switch” came on the heels of Adam Petty’s death. Rules governing G-forces on drivers during
crashes came after a series of deaths in 2000–2001. And the relocation of the driver’s seat near the center
of the vehicle, along with the requirement for installation of HANS (Head & Neck Support Device) came
after the death of Dale Earnhardt.
Meanwhile, sport officials and sponsors appear to freak out over minute vehicle modifications that
can give a driver an edge. Those modifications are not unethical, say stock car traditionalists; they are
part of the culture—rivals and team crews discovering that undetectable edge that brings victory.
No one was prepared for NASCAR’s latest move. In 2014, new CEO Brian France and NASCAR
suddenly threw a monkey-wrench into tradition in a move that is both exciting for spectators and
dangerous for drivers.
