Does NASCAR now care more about marketing than racing?

For years, NASCAR has been accused of paying more attention to sponsors and marketing than its competitors and competition on the track.

Main sponsor Pepsi, in his hand, is who Jeff Gordon is committed to.(AP)

It has even been accused of stealing sponsors from its own teams.

And it is no secret that it often uses heavy-handed tactics to bully drivers and teams into walking the company line.

It should come as no surprise then that it is now fining drivers for not paying proper homage to sponsors in Victory Lane.

Don't stand in the proper spot so the TV cameras can pick up those sponsor products in the background and you just might get fined.

Or create your own spontaneous post-race celebration instead of following NASCAR's rigid Victory Lane procedures and you're going to hear about it.

In one of the silliest episodes in NASCAR history, the sanctioning body is taking a strong stand against and making a big deal out of drivers not respecting NASCAR sponsors in Victory Lane.

The issue arose when drivers sponsored by Gatorade or Pepsi began knocking oversize bottles of Powerade off their cars in Victory Lane. Powerade, of course, is owned by Coca-Cola and is the chief competition of Gatorade and Pepsi.

NASCAR took a strong stance on the issue July 25 at New Hampshire International Speedway when NASCAR president Mike Helton instructed drivers to stop knocking the bottles off their cars.

When Pepsi's Jimmie Johnson took another tack, using a Lowe's sign to block the Powerade bottles from TV cameras after winning at Pocono on Aug. 1, NASCAR fined him $10,000.

NASCAR fined Johnson and issued another stern warning to drivers who believe they have conflicts with NASCAR sponsors like Powerade.

Jeff Gordon then took matters into his own hands at Indianapolis Motor Speedway last week, skipping Victory Lane altogether immediately after his victory.