Kenny Irwin. Adam Petty. Dale Earnhardt. Three NASCAR drivers killed by impact with the wall. Little or nothing was done when it was Irwin or Petty. NASCAR rolled on as if "too bad, so sad". Earnhardt is killed at Daytona and massive effort is given to HANS devices, Safer barrier walls, and whatever else the money changers in the temple on Volusia Avenue could come up with.
There have been several instances of cars going airborne in the past couple years, most as the result of multiple car spins or just incidents that turned the car in such a position as to allow the infamous wing to lift the car. Not a good thing.
Last year at Talladega, Carl Edwards was trying to win the race and moved down to block young Brad. Brad, wanting to prove he was a top calibre race driver, did not lift and got into Carl. Carl is the one who got the "lift" in an horrifying and almost catastrophic accident while Brad won the race. We've seen the blocking move with Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch at Daytona last July. We have seen it since the inception of racing.
We have seen feud after feud in racing from the early days. We have seen bumping, rubbing, and doing whatever it takes to win the race. Even the phrase "rubbing is racing" has taken its place in the over used vocabularly of racing.
Let me be clear. I am, finally, a fan of all the drivers. I like some more than others, but I'm mature enough now (I think) to understand each driver out there is doing his or her best to win the race or at least to perform to the maximum capability of the team and car. Having said that, now please allow me to say this:
For NASCAR to give Carl Edwards a three race probation is an utterly absurd response to the actions of a driver who, running 156 laps down, chooses to deliberately turn into a car to spin it in front of the grandstands at 190 mph. Whether or not Brad failed to give Carl the "room" Carl needed earlier in the race is a matter of conjecture as it appears to have been a "racing incident" although to have happened that early in the race would seem to indicate Brad could use a little more patience. But a three race probation??? Even the edit from Daytona to "have at it" would seem to leave a little room for common sense when NASCAR is making such rulings. Think of the intensity and the tempers of Kyle Busch, Tony Stewart, and others out there. Does this ruling give them the incentive to think "he bumped me, I'm going to put his butt in the wall hard"? And Bristol is the next race????? Common sense is gone! My NASCAR was Curtis Turner and Joe Weatherly bumping and banging around tracks all over the country but partying together afterwards. This NASCAR seems to be intent on bringing action to the track and television at any cost, including the lives of drivers and, quite possibly, fans in the stands as we know for a fact these cars get airborne even without the assistance of Carl Edwards.
My prayer is for the safety of all the drivers and fans. My prayer is for some common sense to be introduced to those in NASCAR who make the decisions. I love Stock Car Racing. NASCAR was the ultimate of that sport. I wore NASCAR t-shirts, jackets, and caps for years. I am proud I was once a NASCAR driver, although it was at the lowest of levels. But, please NASCAR, wise up and handle such matters as the Carl-Brad incident with more intelligence. I do not want to see another driver leave the sport before his time. We have a good bunch of guys out there now. Which one are you willing to give up in your efforts to boost your tv ratings and atttendance? Think about it.
GREAT post, Tim! Although I was born too late to see "Pops" or "Little Joe", my thoughts are along the same line. I am a big fan of Carl's, and I have been from day 1 when he entered the sport. But what he did was wrong. No question about it, wrong. If that car had sailed into the grandstands, who knows not IF lives would have been lost, but HOW MANY.This is a sad day for the sport of NASCAR, and for all of us who know what real racing is all about. It's not about seeing how much you can get away with, or seeing who can wreck each other first.I hate to say it, but if that was the 88 car that Carl purposely flipped...he would probably be watching Bristol on TV just like millions of others. Perhaps Martinsville, too.NASCAR has pretty much given the drivers now, a lisence to kill, and that's something that makes me sick, to be bluntly honest.And then you have these talking heads on TV, like Jeff Hammond or Ray Evernham who say this is how it used to be. That's not true, and they should know that, they were THERE, or at least, Hammond was. They didn't use their cars as weapons in the past, when they had a problem with somebody, they made it known, sure...but AFTER the race was over, usually with their voices, at varying degrees of decibals, or in some instances, with their fists.It also makes me sad to admit that I am a modern-day NASCAR fan, when you have these clueless so-called fans saying "Brad Deserved it" or cheering when a driver crashes. Those people are NOT NASCAR fans or any sort of race fans. Perhaps boxing or Mixed Martial Arts fighting would suit those people better.
Tim,This is indeed a great post. The thing that baffles me about the powers that be at NASCAR is the inconsistency that is shown when they are handing out or NOT penalties for things that occur on the race track. Granted, I started watching this dynamic sport in 1997; therefore, I wasn't privileged to see the pioneers race; however, the time that I have been closely watching - there seems to never be a streamlined way of handling these "racing incidents." I have much respect for many of today's drivers; however, there are some actions that I don't condone especially when it could cause injury or death. As far as the verdict that was handed down by NASCAR - I guess it depends who you are and NOT what you did that serves as basis for punishment. It is my hope that this "feud" has ended and that we can get back to racing on the track. As I stated in my post on FB - if the need arises to confront another driver then they need to consider "hand to hand" combat not use a 3400 lb. vehicle to prove a point.
Well i think they need to take a leeson from the Bobby Allison and Richard Petty hand book both car`s make it back to the finesh line for year`s these guy`s put on a heck of a show that helped Nascar grow every body in Nascar need`s to take that corse
Well written and well said! By the way I posted this article on facebook, Legend.
I agree with you Tim. I was expecting a much heavier fine or punishment for Edwards. The incident was totally uncalled for. Carl was over 150 laps down. Yes Brad has made a lot of enemies very quickly in his short career. But you don't intentionally spin anyone at 190 m.p.h. There is better than a 50% chance that any of the cars approching 150-160 m.p.h. will have "lift off" any time they are not going forward and especially when they are going backwards or sideways. Blame it on the wing, the spioler, or air under the rear of the car. There is one part of the car (often overlooked) that causes all the crashes, That component is the steering wheel. As well as the "loose cannon" holding the steering wheel. These kind of crashes didn't happen as often years back. One reason is that the cars weren't going as fast. It seems like the "bump and run," and "I just wanted to rattle his cage", became popular in the late 70's and during the 80's and 90's. Prior to that, when it did happen, you usually got your butt whipped after the race. There are other ways to deal with an over aggressive driver. You just never give them a break on or off the track. You don't draft with them at "restrictor plate races. You don't participate in their fund raisers. Your pit crew doesn't help his pit crew on pit road. You block him in on pit road. etc....If all the drivers form an alliance against you, your chances of success are slim to none. Using a race car as a weapon is totally unacceptable and anyone who does so should have to buy a ticket to see the next race. I believe NASCAR should consider putting flaps on the rear deck lid similar to the ones on the roof. My next biggest safety concern is the tracks that don't have a wall between the front stretch and pit road. It is just a matter of time until a car spins and takes out a bunch of crew members. It reminds me of working the flight deck of an aircraft carrier, one of the 10 most dangerous jobs in the world.