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February 20, 2006
I hate to have to agree with this posting, but I do
Yesterday's Daytona 500 was pretty much a joke. My friend Lou posted the following on slashdot.
Everything that is wrong with NASCAR in one race
Sunday February 19, @09:11PM
Today's Daytona 500 had a little of everything that is wrong with this sport. Earlier this week the 48 Team was caught blatantly cheating. They installed a winch on the rear window to lower it which gave them an aerodynamic advantage. This is a complete disregard for the rules. This is not a gray area interpretation. This is also not the first, second or third time the 48 team has been citied for cheating. As members of Hendricks Racing and "owned" by 4 time Champion Jeff Gordon the 48 Team has been given a wide berth by NASCAR where other teams have been heavily penalized. The 48 Team's penalty? The Crew Chief was suspended for this race. Of course considering all the other infractions this entire team should have been sat. However, for a "1st Tier Team" there are different rules. Had a "lesser team" been involved in such blatant rule violation you can be sure they would have not been allowed to race.
Tony Stewart 2 time and defending Champion railed against "bump drafting" early this week claiming "...one of us is going to get killed out there," and promptly went out and became the biggest menace on the track. First he did not give any room to Jeff Gordon which caused both of them to slap the wall at 180mph. While he is under no obligation to give Gordon any room his actions were simply stupid. Next Tony, apparently enraged that his car got loose next to 2003 Champion Matt Kenseth, dove left putting Kenseth onto the grass causing him to spin out and hit the wall. His penalty? He was forced to go to the end of the longest line.
NASCAR's horrible call further enraged Matt Kenseth, who is a driver so even keeled he has been branded boring by fans. In their infinite wisdom NASCAR Black Flagged Kenseth for driving next to Tony Stewart and passing him off of Pit Road. Had NASCAR penalized Stewart properly, with a 2 to 5 lap penalty, Kenseth would not have reacted the way he did. By the way, Kenseth had lead the most laps up to the point Stewart took him out. The great irony is, of course, that Stewart was the one complaining about the peril drivers were under at tracks like Daytona.
More irony would follow as the 48 Team went on to WIN the Daytona 500 forcing competitor Ryan Newman to comment, "This could be the first time for NASCAR to take away a win," Newman said. "We still have to see if he gets through inspection."
Everything detractors of NASCAR have to say about the sport were on display during today's Daytona 500. A long boring race of left hand turns. Hollow threats of penalties for "this week's" concern. Favoritism in levying of penalties. And a aura of "Sports Entertainment" showmanship - which is to say it's starting to look a lot like NASCAR isn't a real sport.
Posted by pmadsen at February 20, 2006 08:22 AM
