Fan's Eye View ~ When Is It Right To Fight?10/17/2014 |
First, let’s all admit to ourselves that in all cases of
love, war and otherwise, boys will be boys.
Somewhere ingrained in out feeble little cave man brains, there’s that
little controller, and it’s like a rheostat switch. You’ve all seen these. That little round knob on the wall that turns
and makes the lights brighter or dimmer, depending on your mood. That switch has certain degrees, and the more
your turn it, the higher the energy output.
Well folks, most men have that switch, and I’m sure some ladies have it
too. Saturday night at Charlotte, some
of those switches were, you know, turned WELL past the maximum setting. These were turned up to eleven, because
eleven is louder than ten. Yeah, so Saturday night…wow.
Action on the track and Matt Kenseth and Brad Keselowski, and then on
the cool down lap, Ol’ Brad K starts playing a some
bumper cars with folks on the track, folks in the pits, and reportedly, folks
in the garage. Car Wars, I believe he
called it. Then for those who have ever
watched professional wrestling (it’s okay…you’re allowed to admit it without
sounding like a weenie.) we had the very WWE –like produced view of Brad
“Killer” Keselowski walking between the trailers and then being attacked
perfect from behind by the done-wrong ex-champion Mad Matty
Boom Batty Kenseth. All Kenseth needed
was a chair or a sledge hammer...or a scepter…or some staff with a smoking
skull on it, to bash Keselowski across the back and make sure he can’t compete
in next week’s Pay Per View, “Doomsday At Dega.” Yeah…just a bunch of
shenanigans. So, now of course, we have “The Stink.” The Stink is whatever people get in such a
tizzy over that they have to call radio shows repeatedly, and tweet
incessantly, and make the best facebook posts every
seventh minute, and it’s all about The Stink.
The Stink right now is who, if anyone, should get penalized, and if so,
money, points, or both? Actually, as you
read this, The Stink will cease to be the aforementioned topics, but probably
more along the lines of “why did one get this penalty and the other got that
penalty.” I have to tell you, kids, if there are any major penalties,
other than cash for ye olde
“actions detrimental,” I’m going to be rather upset. Don’t make my NASCAR lame by deterring the
drivers from throwing a punch or two.
Not to bring up an old and over-used most famous moment in NASCAR, but
come on, some of the main viewership of the sport for the past 35 years was
created when the 1979 fight broke out on the backstretch at Daytona. Leave the fighting alone, and like I said,
boys will be boys. My problem with the whole situation, campers, was where it
all took place…well, not even all of it.
Parts of it, really. The parts that bothered me were the parts
that took place on the pit lane. The
front stretch, the back stretch…if you want to play bumper cars, or car wars, I
think all of that is fine, and the resulting damage to the car is going to be between
you and your crew. And if you want to
get out of your car and throw fists, go for it…I have no problems with that
either. However…the car as a weapon on
the pit lane or in the garage? No sir, I
don’t like it. Fight anywhere and however
you wish, but no car battles in the garage or on pit road, please. As a side topic, Kenseth apparently took off his protective
gear while still on the track, but I think that was his deal to do, and if
NASCAR feels there should be a rule against early equipment removal, go for it,
I support it…maybe there should be a rule.
No gear removal until the car is stopped on the pit lane, garage, or
victory lane. *UPDATE* Do I have a crystal ball or what? The Stink is now blowing in a different
direction, as I thought it might. Fines
were handed down, and Brad Keselowski was given the largest of the bunch, a
$50,000.00 fine and probation for four races.
Tony Stewart was given a $25,000.00 fine and four races of
probation. Matt Kenseth and Denny Hamlin
were not given any penalty at all. And there’s The Stink.
Wafting through the air and turning into a gloved hand to slap us all in
the face, just like in a cartoon from the 1970’s. Why penalties for some and not for the
other. Well, to me, and this is not
NASCAR’s position, but mine, it should have been that way because Kenseth and
Hamlin did not use their cars as weapons, where Stewart and Keselowski
did. If that were the case, fine with
me, but we know from past experience that that is indeed not the reason. At Richmond earlier this season, Casey Mears
and Marcos Ambrose got into an altercation where punches were thrown, and they
were fines $15,000.00 and $25,000.00, respectively. In the case of Hamlin, and especially
Kenseth, it is hard to determine if any punches were thrown. Sure, Kenseth attacked Keselowski from
behind, but what ensued looked more like wrestling than boxing. I guess NASCAR has reasons for doing what it does and to
whom in terms of penalties. The severity
may change based on the circumstances. Now, you may not agree with the
decisions, and I’m sure everyone who doesn’t will always have a suggestion on
how to better the situation, but at least we are beginning to see more and more
consistency when it comes to handling extracurricular activity.
Feel free to leave comments below, and be sure to follow me @RaceFansJim on Twitter, because sometimes I give stuff away!