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Sand storm NASCAR could run off track if it doesn't consider changesPosted: Tuesday November 19, 2002 2:59 PM
It's over, another 36-race schedule is in the books and now all eyes again turn toward stock car racing's Super Bowl -- the 2003 Daytona 500. Isn't that just typical for NASCAR, to have the biggest race of the year at the beginning of the season? Not to bash the heads-in-the-sand governing body, but there were more forward-thinkers at Enron. Case in point: NASCAR missed a golden opportunity to cast aside -- even if momentarily -- the sport's naysayers by overturning the 25-point penalty levied against Mark Martin for having a spring 1/8th short of the rule. No one is denying that the spring came right out of the box not up to specs. No one is denying other springs were taken right out of the box not up to specs. No one is denying other teams may also have had sub-standard springs ... they just didn't get measured at Rockingham. (Two other teams -- Ward Burton and Jeff Green -- were nailed for similar spring infractions earlier this year.) More importantly, no one is denying that Martin did not receive a competitive advantage. This was another chance for NASCAR to step back and say, 'Hey, we can be flexible; we can split hairs when the need arises.' But you cannot make those assessments -- unless your head is out of the sand. Case in point: Tony Stewart is a potential PR nightmare for Winston Cup, but for at least one year he's the face that will be most recognized with the sport. As the defending champion, the demand on Stewart's time will be exponentially more than it has been since he broke in four years ago. Heading to Homestead last weekend, everyone wanted a piece of Stewart, all wanting an angle that wasn't forthcoming. Unbelievably, Stewart ran into trouble in the garage area again Saturday, bumping a photographer aside with a forearm. It wasn't Stewart's first run-in with the media, but what dumbfounds many is that car owner Joe Gibbs had been using security escorts for Stewart, but decided against it last weekend. "Part of the magic of NASCAR and NASCAR racing is the accessibility," explained Jim Hunter, NASCAR's vice president for corporate communication. NASCAR said Stewart apologized for what the driver called an accident, and the apology was accepted by the photographer. But how Gibbs -- and NASCAR -- could allow Stewart to go unaided remains one of the biggest head-scratchers of the season. Again, heads-in-the-sand syndrome. As NASCAR continues its drive into the sporting mainstream, there are a few things that should be addressed, beginning with that "magic" Hunter speaks so highly of.
Martin's crew chief, Ben Leslie, pointed out the 25-point penalty levied in the three cases involving springs should have been considered on individual merits. "We are being charged with the same penalty as teams that materially altered springs in order to obtain a performance advantage, which is completely unfair," he said. Still, the penalty was within the "interests of stock car racing and NASCAR." And it stood when team owner Jack Roush had his appeal denied.
Now that that has sunk in, it's not a new concept; Curtis Turner tried in 1961, Richard Petty again in 1969. Both knew what today's drivers rarely admit publicly: Independent contractors do not hold fate in their own hands. But without the drivers, NASCAR is nothing. With a drivers' union holding it accountable, NASCAR's increased safety efforts would be ratcheted up yet another notch -- and that's a good thing for everyone, if they'd just take their heads out of the sand. B. Duane Cross is a senior producer for CNNSI.com.
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