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Yellow fever NASCAR should follow the line or ignore itPosted: Monday April 07, 2003 3:15 PM
Two things. First, not to run this whole "NASCAR making up the rules as it goes along" thing into the ground, but ... This yellow line business has got to stop. NASCAR is now in the business of reading drivers' minds? That's the only way they can judge intention, which is what they said Dale Earnhardt Jr. was lacking when he went beneath the yellow line while passing Matt Kenseth. Intent is hard enough to prove in court, where lawyers can question all the parties involved, interrogate witnesses and employ behavioral scientists as expert witnesses. But proving it on the fly without talking to anyone? Not gonna happen. Clearly, this is no way to enforce the rules. So what to do? Well, this might sound callous, but how about nothing? The idea is that it's dangerous to pass below the yellow line. That in and of itself should keep drivers from doing it. If you put a moat out there, you wouldn't institute a rule penalizing guys for driving into the moat, would you? No, because no one would drive into it. It's a potentially dangerous move, I know. A kid learns a stove is hot by touching it; in this case, the kid isn't the only one potentially getting burned. If someone wants to risk their own neck diving onto the apron to pass, that's his business. If he takes out the rest of the field, however, it's a problem. But drivers know that, and if a guy carelessly causes a wreck he's going to have to answer to his cohorts. So either ignore the yellow line or enforce it with no exceptions. Second, on a far lighter note, how cool would it be if Ricky Craven challenged for the Winston Cup? I'm supposed to be objective, I know, but having a driver like that contend is great for the sport. He's like the Minnesota Twins or Marquette: a small-market/mid-major making waves. He's only 46 points out of third place and 104 points out of second. More on him next week, unless there's another rules controversy.
You know, my dad's name is Bob, and he's 60. Hey, Dad, thanks for moving to Harlingen, Texas, and not telling me.
1. John the country singing virgin (from the Real World LA). I saw him in a deli when I lived in Nashville. He had that great Hulkamania t-shirt and the cowboy hat. 2. Dom, the straight-out-of-central-casting Irish dude (from the Real World LA). A boisterous drunkard who looked a bit like Paul Young. The Irish-American anti-defamation league must have cringed when he was cast. Always good for a laugh. 3. Genesis, the Mississippi lesbian (from the Real World Boston). According to an Internet site (it must be true) she's going back to school to major in meteorology, which would make her very popular with Weather Channel fanatic Bobby Labonte. 4. Kaia, the self-absorbed exhibitionist (from the Real World Hawaii). There's a fine line between someone being so annoying you can't stop watching them and someone being so annoying you want to go to Wal-Mart, buy a shotgun and shoot your TV. Kaia walked that line with an Olga Korbut-like dexterity. Total navel gazer who couldn't walk past a camera without uttering something profound. The great part? She changed her name to Kaia ... from Margaret. 5. Montana, the redheaded minx (from the Real World Boston). I think I saw her at a bar in Manhattan five years ago. Gotta love someone who gets fired for drinking on a trip with kids then pretends not to know that was a bad idea. She didn't deserve her boyfriend, the mysteriously named Vaj, who seemed like a stand-up guy. 6. Kurt Busch. His interpersonal skills intrigue me. I could see him and Dom verbally sparring, and I could see him making Kaia livid by calling her Margaret. Or Maggie. 7. Humpy Wheeler. He'd keep things loose and help the show's ratings in the ever-important "delightfully loony" demographic. Yes, I believe I'd watch a show like that.
Shelly from Minnesota writes: "I'm tired of all the yahoo about Dale Jr. and a few others. I have only been watching NASCAR racing for a couple of years now so I really don't have a favorite driver, but I really do think that in this race at Talladega [that] Dale Jr. should have been black-flagged for going below the [yellow] line, like the driver Sterling Marlin and the other driver (not sure of his name). Jimmie Johnson even said that Dale Jr. went below the line and should have been black-flagged just like the other drivers. It seems like NASCAR is playing favorites with him. I know that NASCAR has gotten a lot of new viewers in last few years but they better be careful otherwise their going to lose them if they keep playing favorites. What's your opinion, Mark?" Well, Shelly, I already rambled on about the yellow line, but as far as playing favorites I don't know that I buy the conspiracy theory. I think their decision had more to do with not black-flagging the leader late in the race as opposed to not flagging Junior. If it would have been lap 25, they might have done it. And if it had been Dave Blaney leading the race with five to go, I think they would have let it go. Of course, it's entirely possible I'm wrong and that Mike Helton watches the races from inside a black helicopter.
Martinsville, the paper-clip. Gotta go easy on the brakes and take care of the tires. A fun track to watch, because there's so much slowing and accelerating -- also known as driving. Starting near the front is key (except last year, when Kurt Busch started 36th and won and Bobby Labonte won the fall race from the 15th spot.) In 98 races, the winner has started in the top 10 74 times. (But never ninth. Go figure.) Rusty Wallace is always racy here, and Lord knows he's due, but I've been burned picking him once already. I'm taking my boy Ricky Craven, who got his first win here two years ago. Last week, I had Junior, and the 185 points he brought home take me up to 1,019, which is good enough for fourth place, where I'd be the meat in a Young Gun sandwich, with Busch and Jimmie Johnson as the bread. Ick.
Mark Bechtel covers NASCAR for Sports Illustrated and SI.com.
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