General Motors WSCC Team Orders Controversy

The General Motors WSCC Team Orders Controversy, dubbed Passgate by the racing media, was a sporting scandal caused by General Motors leadership during the events of the 2019 Round of South Carolina, where Chevrolet driver Jay Orlov was ordered to allow Cadillac drivers Taylor Dawson and Ethan Galvin to pass him in order to improve Cadillac's position in the manufacturer's standings versus Audi.

On 28 September 2019, as the final round of scheduled pit stops were underway, Orlov exited the pits leading the two Cadillac drivers with what commentators called a "manageable cushion" of 1.5 seconds. With approximately fifteen laps remaining in the race, General Motors Director of Stock Car Racing Harry Vandermere radioed Orlov directly and ordered him to allow the two Cadillac drivers to advance past him. Orlov angrily refused over the radio and the pair had a heated exchange over the remaining laps of the race. Notably, the Cadillac team and the other Chevrolet driven by Billy Savage were not informed of this request.

The series announced an immediate investigation into the events, and on 2 October announced that Vandermere and General Motors were charged with conspiring to manipulate race and championship results and were to answer the charge by 16 October; the series formally cleared Orlov, Team LSR, and the Cadillac team of any wrongdoing by the 11th.

Orlov announced on 11 October that he would be leaving Team LSR and severing his relationship with General Motors at the end of the season; Orlov had driven for General Motors and Chevrolet in some capacity since 2007. Claire Gardner, Orlov's race engineer, announced her depature from Team LSR the next day.

By 15 October, General Motors announced that it would not contest the charges, and that Vandermere and two other officials (Chief WSCC Engineer Paul Gibson and WSCC Strategist Martin Vogel) had left the organization.

On 18 October, General Motors brands Chevrolet, Buick, and Cadillac were formally excluded from the Manufacturer's Championship, with a further suspended exclusion of three years handed down pending further rules violations. Vandermere was also banned indefinitely from all WSCA-sanctioned events, while Vogel received a three year ban; Gibson was given a suspended two-year ban due to his cooperation with the investigation.

Background

General Motors involvement in Stock Car Racing

General Motors cars have participated in the World Stock Car Championship since the series' inaugural season. The manufacturer found most of its early successes with Oldsmobile and Pontiac before languishing in the 1960's and early 1970's behind the dominance of Ford Motor Company and Chrysler Automotive. They would experience a resurgence in the late 1970's lead by Chevrolet, with Pontiac and Buick also enjoying successes in the 1980's and early 1990's. By the late 2000's, the Oldsmobile, Pontiac, and Saturn brands had been discontinued, and General Motors introduced Cadillac as its third chassis in the World Stock Car Championship; the brand had not competed in stock car racing since the 1950's.

GM began to take more active involvement in its motorsports activities in the 2000's; by the 2010's, the company was developing simulators for use by its drivers and directly providing engineering support to its three teams. This culminated in more dominant years, as GM-affiliated drivers won numerous championships in Eurocup, NASCT, World Stock Car Lites, and the WSCC between 2004 and 2019.

Billy Savage has been with General Motors for his entire WSCC career dating back to 2002. He won the series championship in 2015 and has finished runner-up six times. Jay Orlov raced with Chevrolet across multiple series as a development driver before his World Stock Car Championship debut; he is arguably Chevrolet's most successful recent driver, having won three series titles, including his rookie season. Taylor Dawson began her stock car racing career with Buick after racing for Chevrolet in Champ Car. After a short stint with Volvo, she joined the Cadillac team in 2018 alongside Ethan Galvin, who had been with the team since 2017.

Harry Vandermere rose through the engineering ranks at General Motors to become leader of the stock car racing program within the company's motorsports division, which he took over in 2018 after the retirement of Werner Hofman. Paul Gibson and Martin Vogel were both employed by GM following successful stints in stock car racing with Henderson Engineering, with Gibson leading the engineering team and Vogel working to develop race strategists.

2019 Round of South Carolina

The 2019 Round of South Carolina was the 26th race of the 2019 World Stock Car Championship season and took place of 28 September as the fourth night race. Orlov, Dawson, Galvin, and Savage all ran well during practice, and all four qualified within the top ten, with Orlov the highest among them in third.

Cadillac and Audi were locked in a heated battle for fifth in the manufacturer's championship; while the cars were evenly matched on road courses, the Audi team struggled on larger ovals. This was the case at Darlington, where the two Audi teammates barely cracked the Top 15. With the its cars running 2nd and 3rd late in the race behind Orlov and the race at Houston Superspeedway in November looming, Cadillac was in a strong position to secure its points position and challenge Mercedes for fourth.

Events

Initial Conversations

According to the later email leaks, Vandermere, Gibson, and Vogel developed this contingency plan midway through the 2019 season after noting how the Audi cars struggled on larger ovals and road courses where aerodynamic drag was a greater concern. The precise date the plan was developed remains unknown, as later testimony by GM engineers indicated that Vandermere often requested no notes be taken at meetings on the subject.

The plan began to take shape as the series entered its second half; Vandermere noted several times that the battle between Cadillac and Audi was close, and tasked his team with developing strategies to maximize their chance of winning the battle in the points standings between the two. Vogel presented the plan to Vandermere shortly after the 2019 Round of Pennsylvania, noting that Darlington and Houston would both present strong opportunities. In an email dated 17 September, an engineer advised caution for a number of reasons outlined in the email leaks.

Gentlemen,

I strongly advise that we discontinue this plan; there are several concerns that I fear you are all overlooking:

• What we are currently discussing is most certainly race-fixing. Even if we are careful about it, series officials are going to look for anything suspicious with the race results and we will not be able to defend these actions.
• Even if this weren't race fixing - and, for the record, I believe it is - this plan relies on too much going "right" for it to be a reliable course of action. We are relying on both Cadillacs to be up front, both Audis to be in the mid-pack or worse, and at least one Chevrolet or Buick to be able to run defense on behalf of the Cadillacs.
• Even if this weren't race fixing and all of the stars align, there's no guarantee our drivers or crews will agree to it.
• Even if this weren't race fixing, all of the stars aligned, and our drivers and crews agreed, it takes merely one event out of our control to unravel this plan. A problem - of our doing or not - makes this entire plan worthless. Be it a caution, a mechanical failure, a flat tire, rain...
• There are still six races left in the season after darlington [sic], so Audi will still have time to catch us; even if we assume that Houston will go similar, there are still five races that Audi will be on the same footing as us.

This plan is ethically and strategically questionable and I pray that you don't go through with it.

Regards,

[redacted]

During the Round of South Carolina, Vandermere was seen leaving pit lane to take a phone call; it was later revealed that he and Vogel spoke at length about the race unfolding and how best to execute the plan.

Radio Conversation

The radio conversation between Orlov, Vandermere, and Gardner was posted on YouTube under the title "GM TRIED TO FIX THE DARLINGTON RACE" by user Miles Parker on 31 October; Parker later provided a transcript which has been copied below.

Harry Vandamere [sic]: Jay, we need you to let the two Cadillacs by. Fall back to third and defend.

Jay Orlov: What? Why?

HV: The Audis are struggling, and the extra points that Taylor and Ethan can gain would help us immensely. Fall back to third.

JO: Is this a joke, Harry? I'm obviously not going to f***king do that.

HV: Yes, you are. Fall back to third and defend from there. I'm not joking.

Claire Gardner: We have a nearly two-second gap, we're not even going to consider falling back until they catch us.

HV: It's not up to either of you. Cadillac can open a gap over Audi in the manufacturer's title and I have every intention of maximizing that.

JO: So you'd screw us over just to secure Cadillac a fourth in the manufacturer's title? Are you insane? I'm going to continue trying to win the championship, Harry. I'll even throw in the overall manufacturer's title at no extra cost.

HV: If you do not fall back and let the Ethan and Taylor pass, I will personally revoke your access to the simulator and practice facilities. Keep trying to be smarter than you are and I'll pull all of the engineering support we at GM so kindly provide your team. Don't f**k with me.

CG: That's bullsh**t! You can't just f**king torpedo us because you're scared of the Audis.

JO: What the f**k Harry? Screw you, screw your simulator, and screw your orders. If you want me to fall back, you can come and make me.

HV : Just who the f**k do you think you are? You are under contract to drive for General Motors and you will do what we say is best. You think I can't go out there and find another monkey to put in your seat the second I want to?

JO: Who the f**k do you think YOU are? You rode Werner's coattails and you think that makes you qualified to tell me how to race?

JO: In case you didn't get it the first time, Harry: f**k you, f**k your simulator, f**k your tactics. I'm winning this f**king race and I better not see you anywhere near Victory Lane.

CG: Jay, Taylor is 1.8 back and starting to slip. Keep hitting your marks and we have this one locked up.

HV: Orlov, if those Cadillacs finish behind you I will be expecting your access cards on my desk first thing Monday.

JO: You can hire a monkey to get them from me.

HV: How about I fire you right here?

JO: Harry, stop pretending you have any f**king authority over me and get your ass off my radio.

CG: Jay, switching off the radios on the pitbox. Mike [Anderson, team spotter] will still have his on.

JO: 10-4 Claire.

Post-Race

Upon conclusion of the race, Orlov completed a single victory lap and pulled the car into Victory Lane. The celebration was notably muted, as a visibly angered Orlov and Gardner took a moment to converse among themselves before fulfilling their media obligations. No representatives from General Motors were present, a break from tradition that the commentators noted:

Logan MacDonald: We're not quite sure what's going on with the 23 team; evidently there was some heated radio chatter between the team and representatives from GM.

Ted Yost: It also doesn't appear that anyone from GM is in Victory Lane.

LM: That's odd, isn't it?

TY: Very. Folks, we'll get more information to you when we have it. Very strange situation in Victory Lane tonight.

Officials summoned Gardner and Orlov to the steward's office after media obligations concluded; it was here that officials were informed of Harry Vandermere's conversation with the duo. Orlov later stated that he and Gardner were already on their way to the office when they were approached, as the pair had decided to inform series officials of what transpired.

No immediate action was taken by any party; a General Motors press-release celebrated the 1-2-3 finish of its cars and praised the "brilliant driving and strategy" by the three teams. Some motorsports writers began to question the race, noting that Orlov and Gardner had an uncharacteristically sour demeanor, as well as noting the lack of GM personnel at any post-race ceremonies.

Later investigation revealed that Vandermere did - true to his threat - strip Orlov and Gardner of access to simulators, testing facilities, and the training grounds on 30 September; the next day he rescinded their company cars and sent an email threatening legal action if the cars were not returned within 24 hours. He also initiated a total communication blackout to the #23 team and removed all General Motors engineering support, rerouting it to the 22 team of Billy Savage.

General Motors Charged

On 2 October, following an investigation that began with the post-race conversation between officials, Orlov, and Gardner, the World Stock Car Association formally accused General Motors of interfering with the outcome of the race and attempting to manipulate race results. In a press release, the WSCA stated that the charges against General Motors included "a breach of the code of conduct, that the manufacturer attempted to manipulate the Darlington race to the detriment of its driver, Jay Orlov, team, Lauren Savage Racing, and brand, Chevrolet, with the goal of benefiting its Cadillac program in the championship standings." The manufacturer was called to a hearing scheduled for the 16th of October.

Representatives from General Motors declined to comment on the investigation, stating they would issue a statement after the hearing.

Leaked Email Conversations

On 7 October, Orlov and Gardner made a second series of statements to the WSCA; during the meeting, an employee working with the General Motors Stock Car program leaked a series of emails to both the Motorsport Daily News website and direct to the WSCA detailing the depth of planning behind the attempted manipulation. The leaks were published in the 10 October issue of the magazine.

The leaks contained emails as far back as the 2019 Round of New Zealand, where Gibson notes that Audi in particular was a threat to Cadillac's place in the top 5; the specific plans to manipulate the Darlington race appear to take shape in September, around the time of the 2019 Lime Rock Grand Prix. Vogel appears to have presented the plan as a series of options during a team meeting sometime after 16 September; several people weigh in with various levels of concern and support for the plan. Ultimately, Vandermere confirms that they will use "any means necessary to put the Cadillacs out front" and appears to threaten to retaliate against team members who spoke against the plan, stating that they should "consider their future in the sport if they choose to go against the team". Vogel questions how Vandermere will manage to "convince the other teams to participate"; Vandermere states in response that the other teams "need our support to be competitive; if they disobey, they'll have to go without it." When asked if they were opposed to firing a driver or race engineer, Vogel and Vandermere both replied that they were not.

Malcolm Michaels, in response to questions over the authenticity of the leaks, stated that the WSCA was "investigating all avenues to verify they were legitimate, but all indication shows they are."

Orlov, Gardner, and Team LSR were formally cleared of any wrongdoing on 9 October; the Cadillac Race Team was cleared two days later.

General Motors Takes Legal Action

Following the publication of the email leaks, Vandermere announced in an unprecedented (and, as later announcements would reveal, unauthorized) press release that GM would be taking legal action to find the employee responsible for leaking the emails. Two employees, Gabrielle Castillo (26) and Marc Colby (31), were later fired by the company for "leaking intellectual property"; while Castillo was identified as the original leaker, Colby was allegedly the one who suggested leaking the emails to the public as well as privately to the WSCA. The two obtained legal representation and announced a lawsuit against GM.

Gibson, Vogel and Vandermere Depart GM

Gibson and Vogel went to the WSCA to give their statements on 8 October; unbeknownst to them, the leaked emails had been reviewed by series officials. Gibson was reported to have been open about his role in the events to officials, and was offered a lesser punishment for his full cooperation, which he accepted.

Vogel reportedly attempted to shift the blame to Orlov and Gardner; when confronted with the emails, he reportedly confirmed their authenticity but denied that the plan was actually implemented.

Vandermere refused to answer requests for a statement from the WSCA, calling the investigation a "sham, born from a bitter pair of employees and a problematic driver which I will not legitimize."

On 15 October, General Motors announced that it was not contesting the charges and that the three men in question had been fired.

General Motors will not dispute the charges levied by the World Stock Car Association specific to the events of the World Stock Car Championship race at Darlington Raceway. GM has removed Director of Stock Car Racing Harold Vandermere, engineer Paul Gibson and strategist Martin Vogel from their roles with the organization.

— General Motors Statement, 15 October 2019

World Stock Car Association Meeting

The meeting of the World Stock Car Association took place on 18 October in New York City. After a two-hour hearing, WSCA officials imposed a disqualification on all GM brands for the 2019 Manufacturer's Championship, with a suspended ban in place through the conclusion of the 2022 season. This means that any further violation of this nature will result in complete exclusion of the manufacturer. The length of the suspended ban was not announced at the meeting; on 1 January 2020, WSCA officials stated that the ban would be three years. Vandermere was indefinitely banned from WSCA events, Vogel was given a three-year ban, and Gibson was handed a suspended two-year ban. Vandermere was further banned from managing drivers, with series officials stating that anyone associated with him in an official capacity will not be eligible for WSCA Super License renewal.

The WSCA came down hard on Vandermere due to his combative attitude and repeated denials of involvement despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Vogel, while initially evasive and denying, eventually admitted to his role and received a lighter ban. Gibson, who was noted to be "open, honest, and contrite" about his role was given a lighter sentence in recognition. WSCA officials commended General Motors for taking swift action to force Vandermere and Vogel to resign (Gibson resigned of his own accord). Motorsport Daily News stated that the lifetime ban on Vandermere was the harshest sentence ever imposed on an individual in series history.

WSCA officials took special care to commend the actions of Gabrielle Castillo and Marc Colby; in a statement, the WSCA noted that "without these two individuals, the task of ascertaining the truth would have been a long, drawn-out legal battle." On 13 January 2020, The Detroit Free Press reported that Skyactiv Motorsports had hired both Colby and Castillo to work as design engineers.

Reactions

The allegations sent shock-waves through the World Stock Car Championship racing community.

Parent company General Motors initially refused to comment, directing reporters to question the teams involved. On 15 October, GM held a press conference where CEO Beth Monroe and COO John Dickerson stated that "GM does not condone the actions taken by Harry Vandermere, Paul Gibson, and Martin Vogel, prior to and during the World Stock Car Championship race at Darlington Raceway on September 28. These men have been removed from their roles within the company, and GM is cooperating fully with the World Stock Car Association in its investigation of the facts." GM stated that it would evaluate its role within stock car racing at a later date. Monroe added that she did not want "the actions of the named individuals to reflect on the company, our racing teams, or our drivers," and called for calm, stating that the company would wait until all of the facts were fully established so it could "react with clarity."

Former racer and team manager Jack Parsons believed that the firing of Vandermere, Vogel, and Gibson was an effective admission of guilt; likewise, former series champion Tom McLellan, Sr. stated that while the leaked emails were "damning, the firing of the three engineers is certainly an admission without uttering the words 'we're guilty'". Commentator and former series champion Logan MacDonald called the incident "the worst scandal I can personally recall. This has the potential to be the most damaging incident to the series in recent memory. Certainly, GM has to be punished severely."

Orlov and Taylor Dawson both acknowledged having received death threats over the incident, with Orlov stating he was advised to cancel a fan appearance prior to the race in Texas due to what police described as a credible and imminent threat. Orlov stated that the threats made him seriously reconsider racing in 2020.

Jay Orlov and Claire Gardner Leave Team LSR

On 11 October, Orlov held a press conference in St. Louis, Missouri - he was there to watch Game 1 of the National League Championship Series - where he announced he was leaving Team LSR and General Motors at the end of the season.

Thank you all for coming on such short notice. As many of you may know, I have driven for General Motors for the full length of my professional racing career. It's no secret that together we have formed one of the most successful partnerships in modern stock car racing. I've called this press conference to announce that this will be the final season for our partnership. I will be leaving Team LSR, Chevrolet, and the number 23 car at the end of this season. By now many of you are well aware of the investigation into the events at Darlington. I want to be clear in saying that while I believe the sole blame rests at the feet of the individuals named by the series officials, the treatment I and other members of my team experienced during and after the Darlington race precludes me from racing for GM in good conscience. I have already discussed my decision with my team, and we will continue to pursue the 2019 series championship together.

The announcement sent a shock-wave through the series; pundits had been anticipating a rather mild offseason with few changes. With Orlov a free agent and several drivers on the last years of their contracts, several "safe" seats were quickly deemed to be unsafe.

Speculation of Claire Garnder's status began as soon as Orlov's press conference concluded; it was well-known that the pair had contract clauses allowing Gardner to leave if Orlov left the team and vice versa. On 12 October, the day after Orlov's announcement, Gardner sent out a simple press release:

At the conclusion of the 2019 season, I will be leaving Team LSR alongside Jay Orlov, whose departure was previously announced, in keeping with the mutual services in my contract with the team.

Sponsors Depart General Motors Teams

Sponsor fallout was severe for all three General Motors-backed teams. Following the announcement that General Motors would not contest the charges, several sponsors announced they were severing their contracts citing conduct clauses.

Valvoline announced that they would pull their sponsorship from all three teams immediately, effectively ending a partnership that had been in place since 2010.

Team LSR

Team LSR lost several sponsors as a result of the scandal:

• Amica Insurance, who signed with the team in 2018, announced their immediate exit from Team LSR prior to announcing a personal sponsorship agreement with Orlov for the 2020 season.
• Anova Culinary announced their partnership would end after the 2019 season.
• Coca Cola opted not to renew its decade-long partnership with Team LSR; reports later indicated that the two sides were set to announce a renewal
• Huntington Bank withdrew its sponsorship from the team after the Round of Jordan.
• The National Multiple Sclerosis Society announced it would be leaving at the end of the 2019 season to sign with Jay Orlov, citing their personal sponsorship contract.
• Republic Records announced the end its sponsorship contract with the team after the 2019 season concluded.
• Steak 'n Shake ended its five-year sponsorship of the team's third car after 2019.

Amazon, notably, stayed on with Team LSR, citing the existing contract; there is still speculation that Amazon will not renew its deal, which expires after 2020. Amazon added sponsorship of the team's #23 car via its Twitch streaming service, but terms of the deal were not released, leading to more speculation about Team LSR's financial status.

Buick

Buick as a brand lost the support of its team, TMO Racing. TMO announced that it would switch to Mazda beginning in 2020. With all other teams having their manufacturer contracts in place, Buick would be left without a full-time team for the first season since 1974.

A small number of Independent and one-off teams announced that they were exploring contracts with Buick, but no deals were signed prior to the start of the season.

Cadillac

SGE Cadillac lost numerous sponsorship and endorsement deals as a result of the scandal, similar to Team LSR:

• Sennheiser announced its departure from Taylor Dawson's team effective after the Round of Jordan; those races were backfilled by NAMI
• Kenneth Cole announced it would not renew its sponsorship contract for the #29 team in 2020.
• Allianz announced its departure from the #33 team of Ethan Galvin effective after the Round of Jordan, with no sponsorship filling their place.
• Barclays dissolved its partnership with the team effective at the end of the 2019 season.
• Ketel One Vodka announced it would not renew its association with the team.