List of Ben and Toad's Contest controversies

This is a list of controversies in Ben and Toad's Contest. Many have occurred during the first weeks of the show's competition.

Ironman World Championship
None of the season 1 contestants participated because there were no celebrity participants. The teams discussed about last year's event involving Kanaan and Meira, both IndyCar drivers.

Apolo Ohno would eventually compete two years later, during the fifth season. Drew Lachey was named as his replacement.

Season 2's Hines Ward would compete next year's race in Kona, and Alessandro Zanardi the same year as Ohno.

Week 7 firing
The BATC season 1 week 7 firing was the biggest controversy of season 1 when title contenders Gilles Marini, Shawn Johnson and Apolo Ohno were sent home. Also eliminated in that week were Nicki Minaj and Team Penske driver Helio Castroneves, making it the biggest shock in the show's history until Fontana in 2014; when the Germans were accessed a penalty for pit entry violation.

1 Bahia to Many Sao Paulo
The 2012 Stock Car Corrida do Milhao saw many drivers come from the state of Sao Paulo comparing to how many came from Bahia.

Vita Semerenko knocking out Marini
Semerenko lasted longer in season 1 than Marini, in which is considered a controversy in BATC season 1. Serbia called Semerenko "one of the underdogs of the season", after the BATC finals airing February 2, 2013.

Two Germanys in Practice 1
At the 2013 Indy 500, IndyCar mistakenly put two drivers of the same European country, in case it went to Germany, which had a squad of 23 containing of some Pokemon and some of the season 1 contestants.

Death of Jiroemon Kimura
The oldest man in the world, Jiroemon Kimura, died June 12, 2013, at 116 in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. By the time Kimura died, he was picked by less of the point contenders because of his age, picked in the Drop Forty, and was one of the oldest picks to have died in the Derby Dead Pool; in IndyCar, the team from Germany had the points lead. Many contestants went to attend his funeral in Milwaukee, where the next week task will take place because it was still IndyCar. The season 2 week 18 task would have been likely moved from the Milwaukee Mile to Iowa Speedway if the death of Switzerland happened.

The 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup opening ceremony took place in Brazil three days after his death. Notable teams that didn't enter his funeral were Poland and Russia (failed to qualify for May 10 today's birthdays directly after hosts Germany made the list).

A Controversial Armwrestling Championship
The Canadian Armwrestling Championship happened on June 29, the week after the show was sent to Iowa Speedway and the week before Pocono. The other half was sent back to the United States for some task with the team from Ecuador, one of the weakest IndyCar teams participating.

Stock Car Brasil
Before the race, 's 1995 British Formula Three squad was heavily the favourites to upset another IndyCar powerhouse driver.

The Stock Car Brasil race at Ribeirao Preto was highlighted by UEFA team Germany, who was going for their first start since the 2012 Stock Car Corrida do Milhao. The Germans crashed hard in practice, allowing Argentina and Uruguay to take places from Germany and Croatia for Arm Melter 18.

Turkey replaced Germany during the Stock Car Brasil race. Turkey was a very good choice for the replacement for the driver in the three car for the Sonoma race if the Germans didn't recover. They also replaced the Germans in IndyCar's off events. BATC confirmed Turkey for the last five 2013 IndyCar races.

The crash is widely considered to be one of BATC's best controversies in history.

All of the season one contestants weren't cleared to participate in Arm Melter 18 by the Foundation of BATC.

Dario Franchitti's Threatened Ending Crash
The show ended week 3 of season 3 with the threatened ending of Dario Franchitti's racing career. Season 1's #3 contestant of Helio Castroneves would withdraw from the 2013 Ironman World Championship because of personal reasons; the season 1 cast entered the race with 41 contestants and a cast without Castroneves.

France and Italy were both originally one of the nations participating, but also had to withdraw.

Bosnia and Herzegovina was also forced to withdraw from the race due to the injuries of Franchitti.

Ecuadorians Shock Germans in Indy GP qualifying
At the 2014 Grand Prix of Indianapolis, scheduled to be held by Germany on May 10; In a massive upset, the Ecuador national IndyCar team, ranked lower than 20th in the world, shocked the BATC and IndyCar worlds by defeating Germany; the host country in qualifying round two.

First of all, Ina Meschik of Croatia had suffered a hand injury prior to BATC practice. Olga Fatkulina of Bosnia and Herzegovina was also checked by BATC Foundation for a hand injury, the same as Meschik.

Poland 2-0 Germany (Euro 2016)
In the fourth week of the competition, Poland, who had qualified for the 2014 World Cup fake map, upset the World Champions Germany by a score of 2-0.

The same week, Romania caused a big upset when they defeated Switzerland at the 2014 Ironman World Championship.

Season 6
Many BATC controversies of season 6 occured in the Indy 500 and the Indy part of the season.

Kyle Busch's Daytona Crash
Lots of teams did not appear in NASCAR because of the crash of Kyle Busch. He suffered a right leg injury (those injuries are usually the reasons why a tennis player signed up but ruled out of the tournament).

Olga Fatkulina came with the season 1 cast to become an alternate, replacing IndyCar experienced driver Helio Castroneves, who was originally playing but withdrew with personal reasons: no IndyCar driver racing at Daytona and a Kyle Busch injury.

See also: 2015 Kyle Busch incident

Three Bosnian Teams
In week 13, the Show made controversy when at the IndyCar race control for practice 1, there were three teams from Bosnia and Herzegovina and not one; expect the teams that are combined.

In the second practice results, Team Penske teammates and IndyCar veterans Colombia and Germany took first and second, but the two teams from Bosnia took 23rd and 28th.

This was the show's biggest controversy since the season 1 week 7 firing, also involving a Penske driver. The names involved were: an Olympic gymnast, an Olympic speed skater, an IndyCar race car driver, an actor and a rapper.

Coletti Advances to GP Indianapolis Second Round
The show made controversy when the unseeded Switzerland (Stefano Coletti) advanced to the second round of qualifying for the 2015 Angie's List Grand Prix of Indianapolis. The Swiss weren't favourites to advance from the first round earlier in the day.

Switzerland Unexpectedly Finishes in Top 10 at Indianapolis Road Course
During the fifth race of the 2015 IndyCar season, the national team of Switzerland unexpectedly finished in the top 10 during the 2015 Angie's List Grand Prix of Indianapolis.

Ueli Kestenholz, the team's captain, led the Czech Republic for the team's first top five in a lot of starts. Also during the Indianapolis road course, the season 1 team from Germany made their 300th start and finished 6th. The Bosnian team was led by Olga Fatkulina, and came close to the podium by finishing fourth for the season 1 teams.

Two Russian and Italian teams in Indy 500 practice 2
A day after the Swedish national team topped practice 1, there was big controversy when IndyCar's race control had two Marco Andrettis; and the same teams, Italy and Russia. The second practice was also topped by a UEFA nation, this time Germany.

Germany Penalizes 8 Points and UEFA is the losing continent
The IndyCar news reported that UEFA's Germany was penalized for hitting Ukraine, also of Europe, at the 2015 Angie's List Grand Prix of Indianapolis. Germany was the second team to lose points during the sixth season, the first was Slovakia after NOLA, also from Europe.

Airborne Germans
In an unexpected BATC result, the Deutschland national team flipped, went airborne and like a somersault during the third practice; and fans of the German national team begin saying "And Czech Republic only wants the Germans to fly.".

The Germans were OK after that scary crash and captain Lee Sang-Hwa reported that a crash from the representative of Romania was also affected; both Germany and Romania were OK.

In natural BATC history, the other teams would have given the Germans a penalty, and their first one since the season 4 finals in Fontana, California. The reason was hitting Ukraine, also in UEFA. But the Turkey national team wasn't happy with the Germans and decided to hold the "Not Very Effective" flag.

The Croatia Airbrone Incident
The day after fellow season 1 team Germany flipped, Croatia's team led by Ina Meschik did the same thing, and hit the SAFER barrier; two by the season ones.

Carpenter Hits Hard
The combined teams from the United States and Kazakhstan hit hard on the wall, allowing both of the two teams to do the same thing.

Hinchtown Hits Hard
Moments after their ice hockey team won the IIHF World Championship in the Czech Republic, the team from Canada hit hard in the wall, but suffered an injury to his upper left thigh, allowing Germany the win, and a book in the round of 16.

Australia/Germany crash at Detroit
At the second race of the 2015 Chevrolet Dual in Detroit, favourites and Penske teammates  and  made contact in turn two, making the season 1 crowd unhappy. Also happening in the race is the crash from the Ukrainian team, who were also favourites.

This crash prevented Viktor Ahn from the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada. He will be in the IndyCar series for Germany from the 2015 Firestone 600 until Sonoma.

Colombia 2-0 France
A BATC controversy happened in the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup when the Colombians defeated France 2-0, at Moncton Stadium. Later in the day, the Firestone Fast Six at Toronto contained of eight countries participating, including Paraguay who advanced after the Germans failed.

Paraguay Into Toronto Third Round
Moments after Italy advanced, the Paraguayans caused a huge upset in Toronto qualifying; Paraguay advanced to the third round after one of the most successful countries, Germany, failed to qualify. This was Paraguay's first Firestone Fast Six since Barber, when Colombia failed to qualify for Round 2.

Death of Jeralean Talley
Target announced BATC fans the death of Jeralean Talley at the age of 116 years, 25 days. She was a month short of Poland, who died themselves on June 12, 2013 at the age of 116 years, 54 days; the Polish national team died on the week gap between two oval races: Texas Motor Speedway and Milwaukee Mile, and the days after the men's and women's finals of the French Open. In 2013, Jiroemon Kimura died on that day and caused IndyCar tasks to stay (the BATC sponsor mistakenly put the death of Garbine Muguruza).

The death caused the week 21 task to stay at Auto Club Speedway. Week 22 was moved again, from Alberta to Auto Club Speedway. Week 23 and 24 remained the same locations, at the Milwaukee Mile and Iowa Speedway.

Poland Shocks Sweden
The Polish team, a less experienced IndyCar team, shocked the world by beating Karam-less Sweden on 22 June 2015 at Pasadena Stadium. The score was 2-1, with Polish goals scored by Aleksandra Krol and Sweden's lone goal scored by Tove Lo.

A Lap 136 Polish caution
At the 2015 MAVTV 500, the first caution came on lap 136 when the UEFA powerhouses Germany spun on the backstretch by underdogs Costa Rica and favourites Australia. During the caution, teams and contestants began saying "LAP 136? I Love Turkey! Bring out the Polish flag!".

Finishing 23rd was Germany's equal worst finish since Houston race 2 in the beginning weeks of season 3. That result put Turkey a BATC finals spot in Slovenia. The show confirmed that Iran will participate in the IndyCar series for Milwaukee to Sonoma due to this crash.

Scyther and Feebas came on
On lap 136, the lap known as the "Polish Caution" for the first caution flag involving Germany, two Pokemon characters, Scyther and Feebas came on the 2015 MAVTV 500. Scyther is a Bug type and has five weaknesses. Feebas is a water typed and only has two weaknesses, on electric and grass.

The two Pokemon are confirmed for every IndyCar race from Milwaukee to Sonoma.

Australia-Japan Lap 241 Crash
On lap 241, the red flag blew, for debris and contact between AFC members Takuma Sato and Will Power; their countries are Japan and Australia. this was considered to be one of the worst laps by the Slovenia national team since lap 136.

Lap 241 is widely regarded by many one of the worst laps for season 1 contestants. This caution held a BATC record for most countries involved in a crash from the same confederation.

Germany DNQ
At the 2015 ABC Supply Wisconsin 250, The Croatia national IndyCar team made history for their country as they shocked the BATC and IndyCar world by taking their first pole; they were one of the season 1 teams besides Germany to take an IndyCar pole. But one of the most successful countries, Germany, did not qualify and didn't even turn a qualifying lap; the team, captained by Lee Sang-Hwa, arrived very late. That result put Turkey in the race and Germany at the back of the pack.

Australia and Costa Rica
Contact between Will Power and Ryan Briscoe caused another caution at the Milwaukee Mile. It was the third time in 2015 that the Aussies failed to finish; tying the BATC record with Croatia and Argentina for the most DNFs with three.

This lap caused the flag of Poland to wave; the second time this happened in a BATC season 6 race. This scenario is similar to Lap 136 at the 2015 MAVTV 500. Scyther and Feebas were the only two Pokemon that liked this lap.

Lap 10 at Iowa
At the 2015 Iowa Corn 300, BATC said that Lap 10 of 300 at the track was not very effective because of the crash involving IndyCar points leader Juan Pablo Montoya. That caution caused the Polish national team and Turkey to appear on for the third time. Three Pokemon, Azumarill, Marill and Azurill; all Fairy typed, came on and made their BATC debuts.

Russia Talks 1995 Macau
A big controversy happened when the Russians talked about the Portugal-marred 1995 Macau Grand Prix Formula Three.

Romania discussed with Russia about it; and said "Who won against Portugal? Us or Russia? Do we know the answer?".

Lap 166 at Pocono
At Pocono Raceway, BATC fans made controversy when on lap 166 saw a caution seeing European contenders Germany and Serbia spinning out in turn 1. It also saw the return of Turkey for the first time since Iowa. It was the first IndyCar race for Scyther and Feebas since Iowa's lap 10 accident.

If Helio Castroneves' crash didn't happen and instead finish in the top ten, it would have likely sent Varvara Lepchenko into Uzbekistan's squad; but she decided to wait until the end of Sonoma.

Justin Wilson's Head Injury
Justin Wilson's head injury was one of the biggest controversies of BATC since Jiroemon Kimura's death at 116 and Helio Castroneves' Stock Car Brasil crash; both from season two. Justin Wilson suffered a head injury because of debris on his helmet. The injury allowed alternates Belgium in the starting row at Sonoma. Because Will Power and Juan Montoya made the final eight, Romania and Turkey will also start.

The participating teams at Sonoma decided to play the legacy of Justin Wilson. The Netherlands' team will also the Justin Wilson RIP in their jerseys.

Dutch Shock World at Sonoma
The Netherlands' team, who will host the Masters of Formula Three on the first season seven week, will have a chance to shock countries that are IndyCar contenders. Netherlands said "The first upset goes to us.... Over Portugal at the 1995 British Formula Three season. That's a long time ago. And some BATC contestants weren't born.". After the death of Justin Wilson, the Netherlands applied wildcards for the 2015 Sonoma race and the 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans.

At Pocono, the Netherlands upset the odds against Germany on lap 167.

The Netherlands produced some upsets in qualifying group 1, with an upset win over Germany. In group 2, they upset Bosnia and Herzegovina. This caused neither Takeuchi nor Li present for round two of qualifying. The Dutch advanced to Round 2 and saw lucky loser Paraguay. Despite Germany's absence, the Paraguayans (who entered Sonoma as the lucky loser) advanced to round three.

Greek 1996 British Formula Three
BATC had a controversy when Greece was talking about the Montoya 1996 season. Greece said "it was disaster for Colombia! Put Scott Dixon in NASCAR!".

The Greeks disliked the 1995 season because of Portugal's IndyCar driver and therefore lost the match 3-1 against favoured IndyCar team Germany.

Road America September 22
Ben and Toad's Contest had a big controversy when teams tested the new Road America course on September 22. Paraguay, Serbia and Sweden were invited to enter by the BATC Foundation because of host Colombia's success at the 2015 Dan Wheldon Memorial Go Karting Challenge Honouring Justin Wilson.

Iran, led by Allen Ford, said this might be one of Tony Kanaan's last racing seasons. They also recapped with Honduras, led by Scyther and Feebas, that this could be one of Hélio Castroneves' last IndyCar seasons.

The countries participating were:


 * (Will Power)
 * (Tony Kanaan)
 * (Juan Pablo Montoya)
 * (Josef Newgarden)
 * (Charlie Kimball)


 * (Simon Pagenaud)
 * (Simon Pagenaud)
 * (Will Power)
 * (Hélio Castroneves)
 * (Takuma Sato)
 * (Invited)


 * (Team Penske)
 * (Invited)
 * (Invited)
 * (Scott Dixon)
 * (Host country)
 * (Graham Rahal)

September 28 Road America
Sweden weren't invited to the test due to Eugenie Bouchard's ongoing concussion. It was reported that Slovenia attended the test instead.

Netherlands Euro 2016 failure
In a very big controversy, Netherlands, who finished third at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, failed to qualify for the UEFA Euro 2016, despite finishing fourth in Group A behind Iceland, Turkey and the Czech Republic; and a 3-2 loss against the Czech Republic.

Serbians at Ironman 70.3 Miami 2015
The Serbia national IndyCar team will return to the 2015 Ironman 70.3 Miami after missing last year's race.