NASCAR going down same road as the NHL

Well, the inmates are in charge of the asylum at NASCAR today.

No, I’m not talking about “payback” on the race track, which earned Carl Edwards a tap on the wrist for sending Brad Keselowski on a parasail ride at Atlanta Motor Speedway last Sunday.

NASCAR wants that sort of stuff to happen all the time now (“have at it, boys”), so penalized Edwards the grand total of nothing (which is what probation for three races adds up to be).

What I am talking about is that the drivers can do anything they want to do now – such as driving the wrong way along pit road. Hey, maybe the next time some driver gets all out of whack about something, he might just drive the wrong way on the speedway and, when questioned about it later by NASCAR, will point directly to what Edwards did last Sunday, without penalty, as justification.

Anybody who’s ever been along a pit road anywhere knows traffic goes only one way. You don’t even think that somebody might be coming the other way – which is why, at Indianapolis in 1973, a fireman running to the wreck that eventually killed Swede Savage was hit and killed by a firetruck that was going to wrong way along pit road.

But that’s all out the window, now. Not one word was mentioned about Edwards’ thumbing his nose at NASCAR and at safety by going the wrong way when he was parked following the wrecking of Keselowki.

Yes, there is a very fine line when it comes to officiating a violent, contact sport. The National Hockey League is in trouble at the moment – and knows it – over hits to the head. What was once a hard-hitting, tough, contact sport has become – as a direct result of lax officiating – one in which some of the participants are deliberately trying to injure their opponents.

Watch any NHL game now and I guarantee that you will see at least one incident in which someone – usually a defenceman – will line up a forward waiting for a pass with his head down and try to kill him. That’s right, kill him. Some people will argue otherwise, but that's what's happening.

Which is why the NHL is in such a dither, trying to figure out how to curtail what its leniency has allowed to happen. This is the road that NASCAR is going down and it had better watch it.

Everybody understands the reasoning behind why NASCAR has asked the drivers to get more aggressive. It’s all about TV ratings and selling tickets, both of which have dropped off in recent years.

Auto racing, at one time, was an extreme sport. Not any more. There were more athletes putting their lives on the line at the recent Olympics (witness the fatally injured luger, the upside-down bobsled runners, the gymnasts-on-skis) than do in auto races these days and many people are finding it boring.

So, in saying "have at it, boys," NASCAR is looking to put the "extreme" back into its sport. Rubbin' 'n' racin', tradin' paint - that sort of thing.

But when someone does what Edwards did last Sunday at Atlanta – deliberately spinning out a competitor at 180 mph – it’s called crossing the line and an appropriate penalty has to be levied, which three races on probation is definitely not.

NASCAR has to have a rethink – for two reasons:

1. Le Mans, 1955. A car went into the crowd during the 24-hour race and killed the driver and 84 spectators and injured more than 100 other people. NASCAR has had two really close calls in this area – Bobby Allison and Edwards, both at Talladega. (Keselowski’s accident last Sunday wasn’t really that close.)

But at the speeds the cars are running, the “have at it, boys” mentality (as the direct result of NASCAR’s encouragement) will increase the grim possibility of this sort of thing happening and can you imagine the uproar if something as devastating as the Le Mans disaster was to take place at Charlotte or Indianapolis or Daytona?

2. The involvement of law-enforcement officials.

If Brad Keselowki had been killed last Sunday, Carl Edwards would be facing criminal charges today.

Guaranteed.

Does NASCAR want that?

 

 

Comments

[Bill Taylor]

The fact that Edwards was more than 150 laps down when he re-entered the race means this incident was utterly premeditated. He was on the track simply to wreck Keselowski. His comment afterward that he didn't expect Keselowski's car to get airborne is disingenuous at best. I'm wondering, too, who in NASCAR said what to Keselowski about the incident. In the pits after it happened, he was calling for Edwards to be penalized. But now I believe he's saying this soft tap on the wrist is enough. Perhaps someone reminded him of which side his bread is buttered on.
What's next, removal of the restrictor plates so this sort of thing can go on at even higher speeds with more spectacular results? Maybe move the first few rows of spectators back a bit to lessen the chance of carnage among the cash-customers? Or -- logical progression -- NASCAR could borrow that ever-popular standby of back-country dirt tracks, figure-eight racing. Keep the flying metal and body parts well away from the crowd but centrestage where everyone has a perfect view.

[Croozer]

NASCAR needs these manufactured "feuds" because the "racing" is puttng us all to sleep.
With the way cars are built and the SAFER barriers it's extremely unlikely any driver will be seriously injured or killed on the track. Earnhardt Sr. was the last Cup driver killed and that was 10 years ago. As long as debris doesn't get into the spectators there's no problem so NASCAR puts on Discipline Theatre behind closed doors down at the "Oval Office" where I'm sure the worst thing that can happen is running out of cold Bud. Drivers like Edwards get hit with "probation" and no Nintendo for a month and then fly home on the corporate Global Heater. Meanwhile the same few moneybag teams win every week while the same lame-duck field-fillers limp around the track and collect appearance money. Is it any wonder the fans are staying away in droves?

[Jimmy Whales]

NHL? Great idea...set up a penalty box! So, does this go on his nc auto insurance / driving record? It should! Then see if he can race again! SUSPENDED LICENSE FOR 36 MONTHS! The state should charge him with vehicular assault! "No...No..I'm sorry...I didn't mean to do it..." And for that he get a 3 race suspension. Sad.

[allenparkpete]

Er, I don't know what to say other than read my post from two blogs ago. Nailed it. Edwards is smart enough to know he got away with it. Come later in the season this'll all backfire.

I do agree with Norris that whether its the NHL or NASCAR or F1 or what have you, outside authorities will eventually step in if 'political' decision making overrides what is obvious. Time to see if the powers that be have hair on their Peaches.

Note to the leaders of Sport: Sometimes delivering the harsh hand of discipline is the correct means of explaining yourself; do it before others do it for you.

[Crusher]

As someone who volunteers in pit lane at Mosport for a car going the wrong way is horrendous. A driver strapped into their car can do five or six barrel rolls, drop the net and walk away. We in pit lane however have a radio and a little plastic helmet. Just for that he should have been suspended three races, fined 50k and loose 25 driver's points.

[exCARTRace fan]

Nascar is like F1..It's NOT about Racing anymore!!It's all about MONEY. Not punishing Edwards is absolutely WRONG...and YES...going the wrong way on Pit Road is suicidal..that should have been a major penalty on it's own.. I can hear the booing now!!

[Car Suspension]

Sports related to car racing are gradually developing. There is a lot of agendas in continuing this event such as for entertainment and gaining millions of dollars. It really dangerous but for money's sake, all are risked.