After receiving a few lectures about the negativity of this column, I’m now faced with my thoughts on the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard.
It was a lovely day and Daniel Rodriguez sang a stirring rendition of our national anthem. After that, everything sucked.
First of all, let’s throw away the stupid comments that it was the track’s fault. How come Firestone can produce a safe and fast tire for the Indy 500? Do you know there has not been a tire problem in the 500 since Jim Clark’s Dunlop tires failed in 1964?
Goodyear furnishes tires for all three of NASCAR’s main divisions. That’s around 100 races a year. Certainly a lot of $1,800 sets of tires.
NASCAR, in its over-the-top way, suspends crew chiefs, docks points and issues fines for “conduct detrimental to racing.”
Yet, Goodyear’s tire fiasco, which certainly was detrimental to everybody in racing, saw no action at all. Goodyear will continue to sell scores of its dubious tires. Remember, Indy wasn’t the first bad tire race this year.
What angered me even more NASCAR/Goodyear was the “spin” some people tried to put on it. Rusty Wallace said on TV that he praised the competitors for not complaining. Rusty has a short memory. Just a few weeks ago, they were told by NASCAR President Mike Helton to “shut up and drive.”
I think it’s time to toss this NASCAR regime out. They are ruining what was both the most successful and competitive race series ever. Since 2001, it’s been deteriorating.
When Dale Earnhardt died in a crash, NASCAR blamed safety expert Bill Simpson. The sanctioning body hesitated to install SAFER barriers until Tony George, without fanfare, erected them at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It let Nextel talk it into The Chase format, which has been a failure. NASCAR forces the TV announcers to overhype The Chase and the only year it was close was because of a phony yellow flag at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
NASCAR took the traditional Southern 500 away from Darlington (S.C.) Raceway and replaced it with a California Speedway race that has more empty seats than sold. NASCAR began Gestapo tactics of fining, suspending and terrifying its competitors for mundane rule violations.
Then of course there’s the CoT, a car which can neither race side by side or follow. Virtually, all Nationwide and Truck series owners are losing money. Let’s not forget NASCAR letting Toyota have the run of the place.
This is not the NASCAR which Bill France, Sr. started. I wish they’d go back to racing and not homogenized TV shows. They need new people running NASCAR and I mean today. Humpy Wheeler knows racing, is a showman and is a gentleman who would treat the competitors like people, not cheap labor.
I was told by someone who has been at every Brickyard that this was the first time there were empty seats. I feel for Tony George. He was screwed by Michelin in the F-1 race and now by Goodyear.
The Brickyard was a total PR failure. All week, sportscasters who hardly cover racing had an opinion, usually unfavorable, about racing. NASCAR is dragging down all segments of our sport.
Meanwhile, race fans are paying big bucks to see very ordinary racing. Don’t expect things to change. If you want to send them a message, stay home. Only the bottom line matters to them.
Helping Brett Favre with career choices at 25 Emerson Place, Valley Stream, N.Y. 11580. E-mail to Racewri771@AOL.com.