NASCAR: Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don't 8/19/2014 |
Happy Birthday Matt McLaughlin!
Monday, August 18
I bid
you welcome gentle readers, and of course, a warm welcome also goes out to our
assigned reader of all things NASCAR, tucked away within the confines of the
lovely Fan and Media Espionage Center in beautiful Charlotte, North Carolina. ("We
kid because we care." ~ Chris Myers)
Today,
we're going to talk a bit about that entity so many love
to hate, our sanctioning body, the National Association of Stock Car Auto
Racing, or NASCAR to its friends. This might sound strange coming from a scribe
that at times... well, OK, maybe a bit more than at times, has been perhaps
less than kind in assessing the actions of said sanctioning body, but today my
intent is to defend them. Let's proceed with the assumption that everyone
reading here knows of the events of the past week and has been kept somewhat up
to date on the ongoing words and actions arising from last week's tragedy at
Canandaigua Motorsports Park.
Part of
the immediate outcry from that group of renowned experts on every phase of
everything, everywhere, known as "race fans", was the need to keep
drivers in their cars when there is trouble on the track. Please keep in mind
that the tragedy had nothing whatsoever to do with NASCAR itself, though it did
involve one NASCAR driver, who was "moonlighting" at the time on a
Saturday night before the NASCAR sanctioned race at Watkins Glen.
On the
Friday following the accident, NASCAR issued a press release outlining procedural
rules for all drivers under its sanction, to be observed when the caution flag
rules the track. This scribe has been
asked many times over the past several days about my "opinion" of
drivers leaving cars after an accident. To date, my comment has been that I
"thought" there was already a rule against that. In the following
clip, Robin Pemberton, NASCAR Vice President of Competition and Racing
Development, confirms that though not "written" until now, the verbal
rules for this situation are and long have been covered in each drivers'
meeting before cars ever take to the track.
Now
gentle readers, for the record, I believed all along that this rule was in
place, and am pleased and grateful to NASCAR for taking a proactive step in the
name of driver safety. I see this as NASCAR taking the lead and thus
encouraging smaller series and tracks all over the U.S. and Canada to follow
their lead and make a firm rule if none now exists. We call that, "Setting
a good example", and that's never seen as a bad thing... until now.
First, I
want to thank all of those that come here to comment for the great respect most
show this board, without ever being asked. There hasn't been enough written
about this subject in the course of a week I guess, because first thing this
morning, (Saturday) I read an article which will get no link here, proclaiming
that NASCAR did wrong in offering a "knee-jerk reaction" to something
the writer claims was never a problem in the upper series. Well, OK... that's
his opinion, and though it is the complete opposite of mine, he is entitled to
voice it. What amazed and disappointed me were the
plethora of one-line responses that followed. Unlike the comments here, where
we discuss and attempt to come to resolutions for the benefit of the
sanctioning body, these comments appeared to be part of a contest for who knew
the filthiest words and could use those most often. I left.
Gentle
readers... race fans of all ages... what is the problem with folks that are
most likely of at least somewhat sound mind, when they find themselves behind a
keyboard? Do they exhibit that attitude towards their parents? Do they subject
their children to that vocabulary? (In my day, the appropriate response to such
language was, "Do you kiss your Mother with those lips?) If so, it is the considered opinion of this
scribe that the problem lies not within the sanctioning body but with those scattered
about the periphery that seek to rule by profanity and the court of public
opinion... their opinion, that is.
Now that
the rules of conduct under the caution flag have been clarified by NASCAR, what
you'll see going forward is pretty much nothing different than what you've
always seen. The sport of stock car racing will not suddenly cease to be
exciting. C'mon gang; they're not parking the cars, merely taking better care
of those that pilot them. The drivers will still have tempers and will continue
to occasionally make fools of themselves for your
"entertainment." If you look closer, most of the clips you've watched
this week took place on pit road, not on the track. Yes, there are exceptions.
Someone dug up a video of Robby Gordon actually IN traffic while seeking to
deliver a helmet to the window netting of whoever did the dastardly deed that
ended his afternoon. How long has it been since Robby raced in NASCAR?
No less
a personage than four-time NASCAR Champion Jeff Gordon opines that the
clarification of rules "Won't change the way I race." Of course it
won't, and it won't change the way the other 42 race either. Race fans,
"Boys have at it" never included loaded guns on the track, and you
know it. Please, don't make them clarify that one or I promise you'll regret
asking. It in no way threatens or cancels the "Have at it" mindset to
tell a driver to remain within the safety of his/her vehicle until the Safety
Crew is on the scene. They are there to assist the drivers and to insure the
driver's safety. It's their job! Please... let them do it.
This
scribe... a devoted Smokey Yunick fan... has preached driver safety for many,
many years. In that light, I beg and beseech you to stop stomping your feet and
dropping to the ground like a two-year old throwing a tantrum and instead,
thank the sanctioning body for caring.
When
something bad happens within the NASCAR jurisdiction, the first outcry is
always, "Where was NASCAR? Why didn't they do something to prevent
this?" In this instance, gentle readers, that is exactly what they have
done. Remember, this tragedy did not happen under NASCAR's jurisdiction, but in
a completely different series and at a non-NASCAR track. Even though your
scribe was correct in the thought that the rule against exiting a vehicle
stopped on the track already existed, the sanctioning body has put it in
writing to clarify it for all. Why? Because fans asked for
it. Then, when they do as bidden, those fans turn on them, claiming they
are damaging or taming racing in general. Oh POOH!
NASCAR...
Brian France, Mike Helton, Robin Pemberton et al, you got this one right and
this old lady says "Thank you!" Even when critical, we that care know
your job isn't an easy one, and some days it's downright impossible.
It's
time for our Classic Country Closeout for today and this one was easy. Saturday
marked 37 years since we said a very reluctant good-bye to the King... not
Petty, but Presley. Is Elvis classic? Having been one
of the millions of teen-agers that loved him from first listening to
"Heartbreak Hotel", he will always be classic to me. The first song
I've chosen is the last song Elvis ever sang. This is an earlier version, when
the words were clear and he remembered them all. Please enjoy, "Are You
Lonesome Tonight?"
So many
songs... so very many, and I love most of them... Might as well span the gamut
and since we began with the last, let's end with the first. Actually, this is
the first huge hit, as I believe "That's Alright Mama" was released
late in 1955; then in early 1956 came Mae Boren Axton's "Heartbreak
Hotel"... and the rest, as they say, is History.
My prayers and those of everyone here at Race Fans Forever continue
unabated for the family of Kevin Ward Jr. and for Tony Stewart. May God bless
and care for everyone affected by last week's tragedy.
Be well
gentle readers, and remember to keep smiling. It looks so good on you!
~
PattyKay