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Foot in mouth disease Rumor-weary Park turns attention to off-track issuesPosted: Monday April 28, 2003 12:48 PM
There's sticking your foot in your mouth, and then there's what Steve Park did Friday afternoon in Fontana. After he put his Chevy on the pole, Park had some choice words for the media, who have been reporting for weeks -- nay, months -- rumors that he's going to lose his job. "That'll quiet all the critics and all the hogwash that I have to read," Park said. "You know who is going to look like a fool when all this is done? All the press people. "When I'm in victory lane winning races, everybody who has had a bad thing to say about this race team is going to bite their tongue. I'm going to put it in their face and show it to them that not only were they wrong, but if they expect Steve Park to be polite and honor their wishes now that things are going good, that is not going to happen." It was like Joe Namath before Super Bowl III. Park essentially guaranteed a win. So what did he do? Well, he lost about five positions in the first half-lap, then he wrecked Ryan Newman, who, God bless him, didn't punch a hole in a nearby wall. It was darkly comical. The head-scratching aspect wasn't: How did he inexplicably wreck Newman? It was: How did he get so far back in the pack so soon before inexplicably wrecking Newman? I, like many members of the media, feel badly for Park. He's been dealt a pretty brutal hand -- a freak mechanical accident that knocked him out of his ride just when it looked like his team was starting to gel. Ever since, something has clearly been wrong. The wrecks he's been involved in far outnumber the times he's been competitive. His teammates, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Michael Waltrip, dominate on restrictor plate tracks; he's an also ran. So it's not unreasonable to suspect that he might be in danger of losing his job. Nobody's hoping for him to fail. It's a tough spot to be in, to have scribes circling like vultures, and it's admittedly untoward for writers to engage in such behavior. But the fact of the matter is that his status as driver of the Pennzoil Chevy is news. Park needs to accept that, and realize that the last thing he needs to be doing now is looking for scores to settle. Trying to prove people wrong is no reason to be driving a race car.
Since it's a slow week for feudin' (that off week seemed to chill a lot of people out, what with it being Easter and all), we'll give you a Bechtel watch:
For fear of getting on anyone's bad side, we're not going to mention the Steve Park rumors, especially not the ones that have Jason Keller taking over his ride.
Several people wrote in asking about NASCAR's recent donation to a group with ties to Jesse Jackson. Here's what happened: NASCAR gave $150,000 to last year's Rainbow/PUSH and Citizenship Education Fund annual conference. (Jackson is, of course, the founder of the Rainbow/PUSH coalition.) A group opposing Jackson's political views, especially his anti-war statements, sent a letter to NASCAR chairman Bill France Jr. asking that all ties to Jackson be cut. They made the contents of the letter public, and NASCAR started getting some heat. Here's how NASCAR president Mike Helton responded: "While we have supported the Rainbow Coalition's work on diversity issues, we do not endorse many of Rev. Jackson's political views or any other political views." What? How do you expect a donation of $150,000 to an arm of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition to not be construed as an endorsement of its founder's policies? Where do they think the money is going? Who do they think is endorsing the back of that check? It's like giving $150,000 to the Catholic Church and expressing shock at being called a Papist. NASCAR wanted something they could point to and say, "See, we care about diversity." They didn't want everything else that came with the donation, namely the implicit association with Jackson. Granted, Jackson's credibility isn't at an all-time high, so you can't blame them too much for trying to backtrack here. Maybe their intentions were honorable with the donation and they got caught off guard by Jackson's anti-war rhetoric. I don't know. What annoys me, though, is Helton going on to state: "NASCAR does not endorse political views. NASCAR endorses diversity. NASCAR is truly an American sport and we want our sport to look like America. We continue to create opportunities for everyone to be a part of the NASCAR community." That's just absurd. NASCAR doesn't endorse political views? When George W. Bush was the Grand Marshal of the 2000 Pepsi 400, he was introduced as "the 43rd president of the United States" -- even though at the time he hadn't even received the Republican Party's nomination. You're telling me that's not endorsing a political view? It's more than that. It's endorsing a candidate in front of 200,000 people. There's also a prayer before each race, and I've heard pre-race prayers that sound like stump speeches at a pro-life rally. Look, I realize they do these things because the vast majority of NASCAR fans share similar views. And in that regard NASCAR is lucky -- they don't have to figure out what demographic they are attracting. But if they want to cross those demographic boundaries, it's going to take more than flashing cash. If Helton really wants to diversify this sport, he could take a few influential owners aside and say, "All right, guys, you're all going to implement programs to get minorities interested in the sport. I don't care how you do it, but do it." (One thing I give Tiger Woods credit for is his work in getting kids of all ethnic backgrounds interested in golf. It can be done. NASCAR has a diversity program, but it's not exactly paying dividends. They should take a lesson.) Race has long been the 400-pound gorilla in the corner of the garage. By claiming NASCAR has a stellar record on matters of diversity, Helton has acknowledged the gorilla exists. Now it's time for him to make it go away. And he has to know that any movement aimed at making the sport "look like America" is going to have to come from within.
I believe I've rambled enough, so I'll keep this brief. Richmond, a short track, which means I'm picking Rusty Wallace. He's still quite due.
Mark Bechtel covers NASCAR for Sports Illustrated and SI.com. opinions expressed here are solely those of the writer.
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