This teammates situation we saw in Richmond last week, is a relatively new phenomenon in NASCAR. Go back 25 years, and there were very few multi-car teams; much less 4-car operations with satellite teams.
The king of the multi-car team has been Rick Hendrick, and he has made it clear for years, that there are no team orders when it comes to winning races.
Was there a time, when drivers used to race back to the caution, that one guy may slow down so his teammate could get his lap back? Yes. But, those days are gone with the rule change.
Formula One has always been the poster child for team orders. But, there has been one big difference between that and NASCAR: sponsors. In F1, many team cars share the same sponsor; so they don't care who wins, as long as one of them does.
In NASCAR, team cars have different sponsors. Do you want to be the guy on the phone Monday morning explaining to Xfinity why getting Banfield to Victory Lane was more important than seeing their own investment there?
In all honesty, owners would probably much rather have to deal with upset drivers than upset sponsors. Maybe it's all about who is signing the checks!