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Burning Questions Taking issue with the rule book, a dream and retirement
By Stephen Thomas, CNNSI.com While Winston Cup drivers take the weekend off -- Mother's Day, you know -- it gives us a chance to catch up on three off-the-track issues: red flags and rule books; Tony Stewart's dream and primary responsibility; and Terry Labonte: Should he or shouldn't he? 1. Did NASCAR make the right choice in red-flagging Saturday's race? NASCAR's desire to have its races end under green makes perfect sense. Who among us, having ponied up a few Franklins to see a Winston Cup race live, gets all fired up at the prospect of a parade at the end? Fine, split hairs: Who among you, 'cause I haven't ponied up a Washington, much less a Benjamin, to see any of the races I've attended this year. Details notwithstanding, unless you happen to be grossly overweight and one French fry removed from your next coronary, who wouldn't prefer the blood-boiling excitement a final-lap duel presents? We can all agree that races ending under caution are less than ideal, and NASCAR is to be applauded for doing everything in its power to promote exciting racing. But if you're going to go to those lengths, at least apply the rules in accordance with your own rule book. According to Section 9, Subsection 7 of NASCAR's rule book: "A race may be stopped at the discretion of the NASCAR officials at any time they determine, in the exercise of their independent judgment, if the track is not suitable for competition." Fine. But when Dave Blaney hit the wall in Saturday's Pontiac Excitement 400 at Richmond with seven laps to go, only someone with a bizarre sense of "not suitable for competition" could have decided the race needed to be stopped. Moreover, whoever made the decision to red-flag the race didn't do so until after the pace car had already brought the field to a stop under the yellow. The issue here is not with NASCAR's desire to deliver an exciting race, but with its arbitrary application of its own rules. Unless and until NASCAR decides to codify the hows, whys and what-fors of halting every race such that they all end under green -- as the truck series does -- then it ought to at least adhere to the rules that are presently written. Given the current scenario and recent action, it becomes all too easy to imagine that NASCAR simply makes important decisions by the seat of its pants. 2. What is Tony Stewart's primary responsibility? At a news conference at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Monday, Tony Stewart announced he will compete in the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on May 27. Stewart said that by once again attempting the double he first tried in 1999 (when he finished ninth at Indy and fourth in the 600), he gives himself the opportunity to pursue a dream.
And what, exactly, is Stewart's dream? To win the Daytona 500? Nope. The Winston Cup title? Nah. He wants to win the Indy 500. Here's how Stewart quantified just what the 500 means to him Monday: "So to say that my racing résumé will never be complete ... I've had a great career to this point but there's a space that's at the top of that that only one thing can be added to and that's the Indianapolis 500 victory. So I can't express in words, to be honest, how much this race means to me." Hey, it's good to dream and all, but ... what the hell is he thinking? Were Stewart floundering in the standings, and not his current seventh thanks to Saturday's win and three other top 10s in the last month, then his desire to pursue such a selfish goal might be excusable. As it is, like it or not, Stewart is the only person who can fulfill the hopes and dreams of everyone associated with the No. 20 team. And if something unforeseen should happen May 27 in either the 500 or, perhaps as a result of fatigue, in the 600, it's on him. 3. Does Terry Labonte have anything left in the tank? Before this season began, there were rumors that two-time Winston Cup champion Terry Labonte wasn't long for the NASCAR world; it was whispered that, his performance declining and four years beyond his last Cup title, the 44-year-old was mulling retirement. That he suffered a bad accident last year that caused him to sit out two races, thus ending his consecutive race streak at 655, only heightened the opinion that perhaps he should step aside. But not only did Labonte assure the public that he would drive for at least a few more years, he went and signed a new contract with Hendrick Motorsports. Now, we're not saying Labonte shouldn't have signed that contract, but based on what's happened in 2001, Labonte and Hendrick might want to rethink their offseason decisions. Labonte currently is suffering through the most difficult stretch of his career. Though he has finished in the top six twice this year, he has finished 22nd or worse in seven other races and is currently 22nd in the standings. In his last 32 races, Labonte has no wins and only three top fives. Indeed, with just 12 top 10s in his last 77 races, it's obvious that if Labonte is to reassert himself as one of NASCAR's forces, he's going to have to look deep into his past for motivation.
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