You know what they say, it only takes a few to ruin it for the many.
It seems that after a few incidents with Kyle Busch, NASCAR is pondering the “Boys have at it” stance, and trying to determine where the line should be drawn when it comes to letting the drivers settle things amongst themselves.
It wasn’t just Kyle Busch, but also incidents with Brian Vickers “fencing” Tony Stewart onto a pile of tires at Infineon an then again, Vickers raging vendetta against Matt Kenseth at Martinsville. (If you remember that race, that was a pretty piss-poor move on Vickers part… blatant and arrogant.)
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NASCAR Vice President of Competition Robin Pemberton feels that generally speaking, the self-policing policy is working. It would only be the intent of a few that are making headlines from the sport.
He also pointed out that he’s also aware of differences like retaliations at a small track vs a high-speed track, and takes everything into consideration.
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At one point, drivers weren’t sure where the line lay, as far as having gone too far with their need for retaliation.
Common sense says one thing, but in the height of competition, it can become an entirely different beast.
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The old-school way of handling things was a mix of on-track and off-track “opinion exchanges.”
On-track meant bent up fenders while off-track meant a one-time deal and a black eye. And to be honest, black eyes create much stronger memories.
But drives like Kyle Busch, while he used to be totally willing to send a driver into a wall or push an empty car down pit road, will never get out of his car. I think Richard Childress made that point clear when he “old schooled” Kyle that one day back in mid-2011.
But what has me wondering is why in 2011 is the sanctioning body now taking action?
In 2010 Carl Edwards inflicted a horrid amount of damage across multiple race series involving many cars, including when he sent Brad Keselowski flying through the air… but despite the obvious, was only hand-slapped. It just seemed oddly silent on actions that had much more heinous repercussions than what Kyle Busch did.
But it’s all still a learning curve, as far as when one steps in to break it up.
As things have progressed, I’m sure that a line will have to be suggested… and it will be a judgement call on NASCAR’s part. But it also rests in the hands of the drivers and teams. When you retaliate and how will make a big difference as to when or if NASCAR will need to step in.
But as is all media, even bad media is good for the sport, because it brings the lookee-loos out of their corners to check out the boxing match that broke out on the race track!
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Bruce,
I think that Robin Pemberton and Mike Helton need to review NASCAR’s lack of equality in handling these issues. The Carl Edwards-”Bad Brad” incident at Atlanta was a gross misjustice! What Edwards did to Keselowski was just as bad as the Kyle Busch-Ron Hornady incident! Vickers and Tony Stewart at Infineon was equally as blatant. Likewise, the Vickers and Kesenth incident at Phoenix was of the same ilk!
Therefore, it is my opinion that NASCAR has to take some ownership in this whole “over-the-line” movie that has been played out in the name of “have at it boys”! I believe that “have at it boys”s a good thing, as long as the penalties are handed out justly and evenly to all drivers when they have crossed the line!
It doesn’t matter if you are “Mr. Five-Time”, Jimmie Johnson, Dale, Jr. or Brian Vickers, it is called “equality under the law”, for a lack of a better term! Please do not return NASCAR to the sterile corporate America image! Let the drivers police themselves, and when their behavior crosses the line, then “realign their expectations”!
Make the penalty severe enough that it gets their attention, like it did for ol Kylie!!
Like what Leon Hammack said, Make the penalty severe enough that it gets their attention!!! That’s the best idea for this issue!