NASCAR Almost Always Wrong--or at Least Stupid
NASCAR. Why can't they get it right?
Saturday was the official beginning of the NASCAR season. Qualifying early and the postponed pole-winner race, the Bud Shootout, late. Qualifying became interesting when it took Hendrick Motorsports' entry, the No. 24 Chevrolet of Jeff Gordon several times through inspection before being approved. Eyebrows were raised when the No. 48 of teammate Jimmie Johnson started acting strange. After inspection, Gordon had qualified 2nd and Johnson 5th. But there was more to come.
Officals found nothing wrong with the Gordon car, but Johnson's car was found to have a trick rear window that could be adjusted for aerodynamic advantage. They sent crew chief Chad Knauss home for the weekend and announced other penalties after the Daytona 500, letting Johnson go to the back of the pack for the qualifying races on Thursday.
Why not disqualify the car. Knaus has literally thumbed his nose at NASCAR after seven rules infractions in the last three years. Among other things, the No. 48 has had illegal shocks (to be fair, they weren't illegal, but right on the edge of the rules) and now a no-doubt illegal setup for qualifying. His time is up. Knaus should be suspended for ten races or more and face being banned if other infractions are found in 2006. NASCAR should have also disqualified the car for the 500. Why didn't they? Lowe's. Lowe's Home Improvement Stores sponsors the car and we wouldn't want Lowe's to be punished, now would we? Balderdash! Until NASCAR takes a stand like this, cheating will always be present. They don't get it and never will.
That leads us to Sunday night's Busch Clash. Carl Edwards swerved left at pit road to avoid a wreck in front of him. They penalized him for going below the yellow line (which is a no-no at Daytona if you do it to advance your position). Trouble was, if Edwards had kept his line and not taken evasive maneuvers, a huge wreck would have been the result. No matter, Edwards was given the black flag and never was a factor again.
Kyle Busch drove wrecklessly all night. He hit eveyone but the pace car. His punishment? A stern "settle down" from the officials. Huh?
Finally, Tony Stewart, upset with the "bump drafting" going on around the speedway (bump drafting is a way to give the car in front of you a push to allow you to pass and get away from the other cars in a pack). Tony Stewart spoke firmly about the practice and although it has been going on for some time, NASCAR finally took some action. They'll "monitor" it. Sure, guys.
Why can't they do something proactive in the long off-season? Too many could care less. The fans love the racing just as it is and no one's been killed yet.
"We're going to kill someone one of these days, " said Tony Stewart.
Indeed they are. And until restrictor plates are a thing of the past, that fear will always be there. What is NASCAR doing? Nothing.
Saturday was the official beginning of the NASCAR season. Qualifying early and the postponed pole-winner race, the Bud Shootout, late. Qualifying became interesting when it took Hendrick Motorsports' entry, the No. 24 Chevrolet of Jeff Gordon several times through inspection before being approved. Eyebrows were raised when the No. 48 of teammate Jimmie Johnson started acting strange. After inspection, Gordon had qualified 2nd and Johnson 5th. But there was more to come.
Officals found nothing wrong with the Gordon car, but Johnson's car was found to have a trick rear window that could be adjusted for aerodynamic advantage. They sent crew chief Chad Knauss home for the weekend and announced other penalties after the Daytona 500, letting Johnson go to the back of the pack for the qualifying races on Thursday.
Why not disqualify the car. Knaus has literally thumbed his nose at NASCAR after seven rules infractions in the last three years. Among other things, the No. 48 has had illegal shocks (to be fair, they weren't illegal, but right on the edge of the rules) and now a no-doubt illegal setup for qualifying. His time is up. Knaus should be suspended for ten races or more and face being banned if other infractions are found in 2006. NASCAR should have also disqualified the car for the 500. Why didn't they? Lowe's. Lowe's Home Improvement Stores sponsors the car and we wouldn't want Lowe's to be punished, now would we? Balderdash! Until NASCAR takes a stand like this, cheating will always be present. They don't get it and never will.
That leads us to Sunday night's Busch Clash. Carl Edwards swerved left at pit road to avoid a wreck in front of him. They penalized him for going below the yellow line (which is a no-no at Daytona if you do it to advance your position). Trouble was, if Edwards had kept his line and not taken evasive maneuvers, a huge wreck would have been the result. No matter, Edwards was given the black flag and never was a factor again.
Kyle Busch drove wrecklessly all night. He hit eveyone but the pace car. His punishment? A stern "settle down" from the officials. Huh?
Finally, Tony Stewart, upset with the "bump drafting" going on around the speedway (bump drafting is a way to give the car in front of you a push to allow you to pass and get away from the other cars in a pack). Tony Stewart spoke firmly about the practice and although it has been going on for some time, NASCAR finally took some action. They'll "monitor" it. Sure, guys.
Why can't they do something proactive in the long off-season? Too many could care less. The fans love the racing just as it is and no one's been killed yet.
"We're going to kill someone one of these days, " said Tony Stewart.
Indeed they are. And until restrictor plates are a thing of the past, that fear will always be there. What is NASCAR doing? Nothing.
posted by Ronnie Flamingo at 10:24 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home