Tony Stewart rips NASCAR

I've long said NASCAR (suck it, NYT!) is but a step removed from professional wrestling. The stories are endless. The cautions. The abundance of poetic justice results. The dicking around with the restrictor plates. I feel somewhat validated in that believe that Stewart would reveal the man behind the curtain. This sort of thing is, in my estimation, the equivalent of rampant steroids in baseball. But then, I guess race fans know the race might be somewhat less authentic. They're just so mesmerized by the speed that they don't care.

 

Not only does he have a point, but this is certainly no revelation from out of nowhere, folks inside the sport have been murmuring this stuff anonymously/off the record for years. Stewart's just the first guy with the stones to publicly say it with his name attached. I'm not sure how doing that "sounds like a baby."

 

If it were strictly speed, the NHRA would have an even bigger following. That and the land-speed record attempts at the Bonneville Salt Flats would get a lot more coverage and be attended by more people.

Granted, the way NASCAR has been going, those other forms of racing and the World of Outlaws are more interesting. If nothing else, those other forms of going fast is what I prefer to think of when I think of good motorsports. NASCAR has been swirling around the toilet bowl for a long time as far as I'm concerned.

Rok, I beg to differ on your point about Tony Stewart. Some I've had the good fortune to talk to who work near the circuit say that Stewart is a pain in the butt (flaming prick, insufferable bastard, whatever ... point is, not pleasant). I'm not dumb enough to argue that point, but it doesn't mean the man doesn't have a point.

 

While I don't believe Junior's win at Daytona in '01 was rigged, nor do I believe Jimmie Johnson somehow has an unfair advantage at LMS, I think there have definitely been some suspicious moments in NASCAR...DW getting the outside pole at the Brickyard in '00, Petty getting the outside pole in his final Daytona 500, Kurt Busch NOT being suspended after his little row with Jimmy Spencer after Spencer WAS suspended, which allowed Busch to race his Sharpie Ford in the Sharpie 500 and win. Plus, events like Bill Elliott lapping the field TWICE UNDER GREEN at Talladega the year of the Million Dollar Bill and the fact NASCAR admitted to Darrell Waltrip that Brett Bodine's only Cup win should have gone to DW because Bodine was actually a lap down. France basically told Waltrip you've got your wins and championships and Bodine has nothing, so we're letting it stand.

Basically, I think some of the storybook endings have been just that: great endings. But there are definitely enough times in its history that NASCAR has had an active role in deciding the endings to races...

 

Oh, I agree. I think he does have a point about some of the seemingly arbitrary decisions being made on the track which are affecting outcomes, IMO

 

What's clear is that NASCAR is NOT in the business of car racing. It's in the business of advertising. NASCAR is going to do what it takes to keep sponsors happy and lining up to buy hood space. The question is, how far will it go?

 

Hey, no doubt Bill Elliott was a fan and NASCAR favorite in '85, but in his book (FWIW) Richard Petty believes the Elliotts were that much better and faster than everyone else that year. That he was able to make up about five miles under green-flag conditions in Talladega during the spring race could easily be construed as suspicious, but Petty theorized that the Elliotts were smart enough to use their power on the track only when needed. That is, they had enough brains not to run away and lap fields at will knowing that NASCAR wouldn't hesitate to take action to put that to a stop.

I'm prone to agree with Petty. After all, a caution or two would have been to Elliott's benefit. That he made up the ground in an almost caution-free race was doubly impressive. No wonder Ernie Elliott was busy throwing a cover over the engine bay anytime a stranger walked the car with the hood up.

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Bob Cook, NASCAR went too far on the advertising side a long, long time ago. Corporate people trying to be racers is looking dumber by the race.

 

The lucky dog rule makes a lot of these dubious endings FAR more likely. It is the dumbest rule in all of sports.

 

Any sport that values competing in and finishing each event rather than valuing winning lends itself to any number of conspiracy/pro wrestling theories.

 

Not new at all.

It was the same with Little E in 2001 - I had more than one well-placed, reliable source tell me he was being let through inspection with a marginally hotter car for much of the season.

 

The first I've heard of that one, Moddy. Thanks for the knowledge.

One of the better anecdotes Petty talked about was a car faster than everyone. Officials later found out it was built a perfect 7/8 scale. Small wonder, eh?