That's cute, but I suspect that kind of boldly foolish move would not be the kind of thing a team would appreciate, since it implies they can never count on what their driver will do.
It was basically a Happy Gilmore hockey golf swing (which outperforms a regular golf swing when it works, but unfortunately is enough less reliable that it's not worth doing).
This is a one off thing. NASCAR is 100% gonna rule it out. And getting the car chewed up is pretty routine in NASCAR. I mean, it's not good to do it unnecessarily but this won't really raise eyebrows. The car was still driving and tracking fine afterwards, so it's probably just mangled body work.
The team was clearly celebrating in the pits. Their driver just put them back in the hunt to win the championship when they were otherwise a half-lap from being eliminated.
I think they’ll be plenty happy to put a new right side on it.
Sounds like the can count on their driver to understand a bit a damage to their car is well worth the championship points and press that comes from such a bold move.
Competitive motor sports are all about winning. There are so many rules and regulations and inspections, and cheating is. . . well, not condoned exactly, but part of the game. If someone else does it it’s an outrage, but if your driver does it and wins, ok.
It was basically a Happy Gilmore hockey golf swing (which outperforms a regular golf swing when it works, but unfortunately is enough less reliable that it's not worth doing).