Ranking the 10 Biggest Blunders of the 2013 NASCAR Season

We do a lot of top 10 lists at Bleacher Report over the course of a given NASCAR season. Some are lists that drivers and teams want to be on; some are lists that nobody wants to be on.

This list falls firmly under the second of those two categories.

Yes, this is what one could easily call the "idiot list." The following 10 moments are a compilation of poor judgment (or, at least, poor luck) exhibited by drivers, owners, sponsors and even NASCAR itself over the first few months of the season.

If you're on this list, it's because things didn't work out the way they were supposed to. Don't fret, though; it may not be your fault you're on here! (Disclaimer: It probably is. Sorry.)

10. Elliott Sadler Loses His Sponsor

Wrigley's has been a longtime NASCAR sponsor, its Big Red brand having aligned with Juan Montoya (and Ricky Bobby) and its Doublemint brand currently adorning the hood of Kyle Busch's car. But the company added Elliott Sadler to the family this year for a limited schedule as a way to promote the new Alert Energy Gum, which contains caffeine.

Here's the problem: Alert got pulled from the shelves as the FDA investigates caffeine levels in food and drink.

At Talladega, the No. 81 Toyota was quickly rewrapped to represent Doublemint, but the bad luck continued as Sadler failed to qualify for the race.

9. Ricky Stenhouse Wrecks Danica Patrick

It wasn't the most egregious error anybody made in last Sunday's Coca-Cola 600, but it was certainly significant. 2012 Nationwide Series champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr. wrecked girlfriend Danica Patrick and defending Sprint Cup champion Brad Keselowski off a restart.

Patrick admitted that the ride home had some "silent moments," but at least the couple appear to have patched things up. "We had a lovely day on the boat, on the lake, got a sun tan," Patrick told the Associated Press via the New York Daily News.

8. Brian France Downplays "The Double"

NASCAR czar Brian France had a lengthy question and answer session with the media in Charlotte in advance of the Coca-Cola 600, addressing topics from new tracks to television contracts. But not lost in the session was a comment that France made about the possibility of drivers once again racing in the 600-mile event and the Indianapolis 500 on the same day.

"It's not on our front burner" to work it out, he said via boston.com. 

That's too bad. With Kurt Busch now a licensed IndyCar driver, Tony Stewart a former IndyCar champion, and Juan Montoya a former Indy 500 winner, there are plenty of drivers who could represent NASCAR well on that stage.

In fact, A.J. Allmendinger led 23 laps and finished seventh in his first-ever 500. Either France doesn't take Indianapolis seriously anymore, or he thinks his drivers wouldn't be able to compete against IndyCar's finest, and both are miscalculations.

7. Ryan Truex Delays Cup Debut

For Ryan Truex, the road to Sprint Cup hasn't been quite as straightforward as it was for brother Martin. The younger Truex has bounced around with a couple of teams' development programs, thus far failing to put together a full-season deal in a national touring series.

But Truex had one thing going for him: a ride with Phoenix Racing at Richmond in April—until he fell off a motorcycle on Easter and broke his collarbone.

Truex wasn't healed in time to race at Richmond, or his rescheduled event at Dover, and time is running out for him to debut with Phoenix. (Owner James Finch is planning to shut down the team later this year.) Luckily for Truex fans, he's tweeted multiple times about a new ride on the horizon, so stay tuned.

6. Denny Hamlin Criticizes the Product

NASCAR has one rule about drivers speaking out: do not criticize the product.

Denny Hamlin broke it at Phoenix, and it cost him $25,000.

The sanctioning body didn't take too kindly to post-race comments where Hamlin compared the new Gen Six cars to "what the Generation 5 was at the beginning." Hamlin didn't take too kindly to the fine, saying via ESPN.com that he felt "severely disrespected by NASCAR" over "one sentence taken completely out of context." (Eventually, Hamlin dropped his appeal and his vehement stance against paying the fine.)

5. Tony Stewart Criticizes Blocking

Tony Stewart has been on an anti-blocking crusade all year. It started at Auto Club Speedway, when Stewart came to blows with Joey Logano after the race due to a perceived slight on a late restart. He spoke up once again after Sunday's race at Charlotte, saying via USA Today he'd "choke" Ricky Stenhouse Jr. for similar driving.

Funny that Stewart should be the one to speak out, though. Last October at Talladega, it was Stewart's sweeping move across the pack in the final corner that initiated a 25-car wreck and sent the three-time champion upside down.

4. RCR Crew Members Jump Nelson Piquet

After a Nationwide race at Richmond, tempers were hot between drivers Nelson Piquet and Brian Scott, who came to blows in the pits. Scott came at Piquet, who responded by kicking his rival in the groin.

That didn't go over well with two Richard Childress Racing crew members, who went after Piquet in the owners' lot after that incident. Two RCR employees were arrested and then suspended from NASCAR, while one of Piquet's crew members was reportedly injured in the incident.

3. NASCAR Overpenalizes Matt Kenseth

NASCAR doesn't like for its teams to mess with a certain few areas of the car, even more than it hates any other rules violation. Failing to meet code on the engine is perhaps the greatest no-no of all, and Matt Kenseth's Joe Gibbs Racing team won the April race at Kansas with an engine that wasn't up to spec.

But for an engine connecting rod that came in three grams light (the minimum weight is 525 grams), a part built by Toyota and not JGR, NASCAR attempted to prevent the No. 20 team from scoring any owners' points for the next six Sprint Cup races and take away the bonus points that Kenseth would have accumulated from the win if he makes the Chase.

An appeals panel struck all of those penalties, leaving only a 12-point demerit, as well as a $200,000 fine and one-race suspension for crew chief Jason Ratcliff. That race, at Darlington, would be won by... you guessed it... Matt Kenseth.

2. Jennifer Jo Cobb vs. Mike Harmon

Until this year, Mike Harmon was best known for being the driver whose crash in practice at Bristol tore his car in half and nearly killed him. Now, he's becoming more notorious for criminal activity: stealing two cars, five trucks and a race hauler from former business partner Jennifer Jo Cobb.

Harmon, who strongly denied the initial charges of stealing Cobb's hauler, was arrested for that incident and posted bail weeks ago. The stolen cars and trucks, meanwhile, were recovered on Tuesday night, though Harmon has not yet been charged for those thefts.

1. CAMCAT Malfunction in Charlotte

File this one under the "see it to believe it" department: a nylon rope attached to an overhead camera system failed about a third of the way through the Coca-Cola 600, injuring 10 fans and tearing up a handful of cars as it fell to earth.

Kyle Busch, Mark Martin and Marcos Ambrose were among those whose cars suffered damage after running over the cable. Busch's crew had to completely rebuild the right front side of the No. 18 Toyota after the event. As for the fans, luckily, none of them were seriously injured.

That being said, maybe it's time to reconsider the idea of these overhead cameras. Fox Sports, which broadcast Sunday's race, is currently reviewing the practice, with NASCAR waiting for those results before making a decision. (Somewhere, the folks who pilot the Goodyear blimp are likely getting excited.)

For more from Christopher Leone, follow @christopherlion on Twitter.