Elton Sawyer warns NASCAR Cup drivers to avoid talking about points, playoff position ahead of Martinsville

Ahead of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race at Martinsville, Elton Sawyer has officially put drivers and teams on notice. At the drivers meeting, the Senior VP of Competition reminded everyone of what they should be discussing on the radio. There will be no chatter about points and playoff position.

While Elton Sawyer didn’t explicitly say teams couldn’t discuss points on the radio with their drivers, he heavily implied it. This is a new thing that NASCAR has started to do in these elimination races. They didn’t really tell anyone that until it came up at the Roval.

Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports summed up the warning that Sawyer gave the NASCAR Cup Series field for Martinsville. Again, heavy implication here.

“Drivers reminded during their prerace meeting by Elton Sawyer that their dialogue with their crew chief and spotter should be about getting their best finish possible and nothing else,” Pockrass wrote on X/Twitter.

Tonight’s race is going to decide the Championship 4. Back at the Roval, NASCAR let teams know that they should not discuss points and the cutline during the race. It was a strange request that was lightly policed. Some Xfinity teams were warned that weekend ahead of the Cup race.

With this warning from Elton Sawyer, it is obvious that NASCAR wants to avoid a repeat of last season. Officials are going to be watching very closely to see what cars are doing on the track.

Elton Sawyer lays out expectations for Martinsville

NASCAR wants to avoid any sort of “race manipulation” that it can. While some series like F1 have common team orders, drivers who drop to the side to let a teammate pass, etc., NASCAR does not have a strong history of that. It is not in the spirit of the sport to do those things.

Last year at Martinsville, it was a very strange race and finish. There was accusations of manipulation from Toyota and Chevy against each other. Chevy drivers appeared to block the track to benefit William Byron. Meanwhile, Bubba Wallace may have nursed his car to the finish a bit too much, and Christopher Bell did a bit of a wall ride as well. So, Bell was moved back after a penalty and Byron advanced.

Elton Sawyer is making it clear to the NASCAR Playoff drivers that they need to keep their eyes on their own work. Manufacturers need to avoid giving out orders and drivers should be racing hard for every position that they can possibly gain whoever advances, advances.