Bowyer hearing is today

Associated Press

CHARLOTTE, N.C.

John Middlebrook probably didn’t expect to become the central figure in a drama with championship implications when he agreed to become NASCAR’s chief appellate officer.

He’d yet to be called upon since his appointment in February to the position that’s selected by NASCAR’s board of directors and draws a salary of a whopping $1 per year. Now he’s finally got a case, and it’s a doozy.

Middlebrook will be the judge and jury today in Richard Childress Racing’s last avenue to have the championship-crippling penalty against Clint Bowyer overturned. NASCAR docked Bowyer 150 points because the car he drove to victory Sept. 19 at New Hampshire failed inspection, and a three-member appeals panel last week upheld the penalty.

“I bet he never thought he’d even get a case when he agreed to take the job,” joked Jimmy Makar, vice president of Joe Gibbs Racing.

Middlebrook, who retired after 49 years with General Motors in 2008, was hand-picked before this season to replace Charles Strang, who held the position of NASCAR’s “National Commissioner” for as long as anyone can remember.

NASCAR wasn’t able to pinpoint how long Strang held the position, and the only records officials could find began with the 1999 season. During that 10-year span, Strang heard a grand total of 12 appeals.

So nobody really knows what to expect out of Middlebrook, who seems to fall smack in the middle of the garage when it comes to his NASCAR relationships.

He was GM’s vice president of global sales when he retired, a position that put him in contact with everybody who’s anybody in NASCAR. Among the six people who honored him in his 2008 retirement ceremony were NASCAR president Mike Helton and Rick Hendrick, owner of NASCAR’s most powerful team.