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NASCAR should be ashamed over warning Keselowski for racing Chasers
The goal of a race is to win.
To win, you must run fast.
So tell me then, where does NASCAR find the nerve to warn Brad Keselowski early in the race at Kansas that he shouldn't race so hard against the Chasers because he is not involved in the title fight?
There's one word to describe that kind of ruling: Ridiculous. (Actually, there are others, but I won't repeat them here)
Despite the fact that 12 guys are battling for a title, it remains true that 31 other drivers are on the track. It is common sense that the non-Chasers will come in contact with the Chasers on a regular basis. Sometimes, the battles will be heated.
That's part of racing. You can't expect the other drivers to just pull over because they're not in the Chase. If that's what NASCAR wants, they might as well have two separate races.
Even more serious is that these kind of actions by NASCAR reinforce the conspiracy theories that they are trying to fix the races. I don't think that's true, but when they speak to a competititive driver like Keselowski in the manner they did when he was running in the top-5, I can fully understand why some people don't trust NASCAR.
Point blank: NASCAR needs to realize that they can't dictate how a driver races depending on whether the driver is in the Chase.
Unless a driver is being dangerous on the track, NASCAR needs to let them race. If they continue to try to dictate how the race is run like this, the comparisons people often make between NASCAR and wrestling may actually start to be accurate.
To win, you must run fast.
So tell me then, where does NASCAR find the nerve to warn Brad Keselowski early in the race at Kansas that he shouldn't race so hard against the Chasers because he is not involved in the title fight?
There's one word to describe that kind of ruling: Ridiculous. (Actually, there are others, but I won't repeat them here)
Despite the fact that 12 guys are battling for a title, it remains true that 31 other drivers are on the track. It is common sense that the non-Chasers will come in contact with the Chasers on a regular basis. Sometimes, the battles will be heated.
That's part of racing. You can't expect the other drivers to just pull over because they're not in the Chase. If that's what NASCAR wants, they might as well have two separate races.
Even more serious is that these kind of actions by NASCAR reinforce the conspiracy theories that they are trying to fix the races. I don't think that's true, but when they speak to a competititive driver like Keselowski in the manner they did when he was running in the top-5, I can fully understand why some people don't trust NASCAR.
Point blank: NASCAR needs to realize that they can't dictate how a driver races depending on whether the driver is in the Chase.
Unless a driver is being dangerous on the track, NASCAR needs to let them race. If they continue to try to dictate how the race is run like this, the comparisons people often make between NASCAR and wrestling may actually start to be accurate.
posted by Matt Myftiu at
12:21 AM
10 Comments:
the kid is a rookie that was pushing way too hard for 7th place early in the race. im all for hard racing but there is a point where it is just not smart to be so aggressive that early in the race for 7th place. nascar has been consistent with that that even before this nonsense of the chase began. i have seen earnhardt parked for a lap for being too aggressive. i have seen robby gordon sent to the tail end of the lead lap for the same thing.
how can you not grasp nascar's concerns? they invented this whol chase sham as a way to create an exciting and entertaining title fight. with that said you think they want one of the top 3 contenders taken out in a wreck for a meaningless 7th place spot on lap 50 or whatever lap it was?
i can understand why they would ask him to cool it. im surprised you don't get it.
In principle I believe you are right. However, I think the warning came more because Kesolowski is a rookie and kind of a loose cannon than simply because he was racing the Chasers. If Matt Kenseth or even Wild Thing Kyle Busch had been doing the same thing, I think NASCAR would have simply let them race. I don't trust Kesolowski myself and I can understand why the other drivers don't. NASCAR does a lot of stupid things, but reining in a rookie who is probably in over his head is not one of them.
This rookie has more potential than anyone that I see out there. He is more like Earnhart Sr. than Jr. is. Did he enter the race to race for 13th position? I still watch the races to see 43 cars start the race and race every lap for the win. Racing rewards agression and my ticket money is paid to see that. There is a natural selection process that punishes over agression. Let the drivers control each other like it was done in the old days. If I want to see polite drivers that never take a chance, I'll go to SCCA club events. Oh for the good old days before driver image was controlled by the sponsors.
Brad is not a loose cannon. He is a clean driver who has been wrecked by five (count 'em five) cup drivers. However, he will not just drive like a pansy. He enters races to win. It's called racing for a reason. Denny has caused far more wrecks than Brad has and called it "just trying to get to the front". He is the one who should get warned every time he goes on the track. Montoya had no problem with Brad, so why should Nascar even get involved in it. Your article is correct. Nascar wants a lily-white chase w/o complications. Next year just start the chase with 12 cars and be done with it.
BTW, I don't believe Reut got a warning for taking out Dale Jr while he was in 4th place. Reut was also up front racing with the chasers in a car so loose he said he couldn't control it.
Matt I think you are a bit naive here. Telling Special (in his own mind) K to back off is the least NASCAR does to it's drivers during a race. Hey now before you roll your eyes...back in the mid 1908s when I was with Race Hill Farms, NASCAR told Ron Bouchard to back off in the late stages of the Pocono race when he was fighting to move up somewhere from 8-6ish position as I recall. he was racing hard like K was too but it was a track with much much more room on it than Kansas; he wasn't pushing the envelope as much as K was; it wasn't the Chase--hadn't even benn invented yet; it wasn't even nearly a championship battle at that point in the season. It happened, I know it happened, Ron Bouchard knows it happened, and the team knows it happened. Sh.t happens when Mother NASCAR speaks. And their motives are really never known except for a very few. I am not saying they "fix" races at all...what I am saying is they can manipulate certain circumstances at certain times for certain reasons only known to them. Witness the ever rising instances of "debris cautions" the last 5-8 years. And I will even go further as to say Bouchard didn't win that many races back then--some due to bad handling race cars, but a lot to do with the fact that he didn't live in the South...That was an unwritten rule back then that if you were gonna be successful in Cup you had to live--or move--in the South. Bouchard didn't and his time in Cup was short. And I will even go further as to say the dear departed Bill Jr. had a hand in that. I know these facts to be true. I was privy to them. So this Kesolowski thing is lightweight stuff my man. And you don't have the words or following to shame them into anything. In fact not only are they not ashamed, if they are faced with the same thing this weekend they will do they same in a heartbeat...Better get over that Matt. And by the way NASCAR is in the wrong; I firmly believe that. But it will take a whole lot more above mine and your paygrade to change that one.
Very interesting on the Bouchard comment. The thing is...back then, they could do that kind of stuff and nobody would notice,as the sport wasn't very big...Now the whole can hear every word they say on the scanner to any driver. You would think they'd be more discreet about it, but it appears that's not the case.
That's the thing insn't it Matt? NASCAR is so arrogant they think they can do these things and no one will care or speak out. The way they run these races now, well they just don't engender feelings that they are running this sport like pros, on the up and up. For far too long their growth and reach out to "large media markets" has been their statement that they were big league sports like the NFL or MLB. I have my problems with those sports but I can tell ya that I don't think you see chicken-crap rulings in those sports like you do from NASCAR. They covet big time but rule small time...Although I must say that I was appalled a couple of weekends ago...long time ago I quit watching pro ball and paid little but some attention to collge football. I haven't watched a full game since I was a kid. And when I saw the "exessive celebration" penalty against Georgia in the LSU V Georgia game I was floored! America has gone just nuts about legislating behavior--from your bedroom to the football field. Which points to my point and really gets back to yours, NASCAR has legislated this sport to death. And by pulling K back they proved it royally. You know what used to happen is a tire iron would be used to take care of it amongst the competitors themselves...I don't advocate tire irons but somewhere between that and NASCAR's action is the answer.
Every year Nascar warns the drivers in the driver's meetings to be careful around the Chase drivers. They don't want anyone taken out because of an unitentional/intentional mistake, a settling of a score from earlier incident. BK had no business taking Hamlin out a few weeks ago. They probably did not want him to take out JPM and ruin his chances in the Chase.
Marybeth
you guys did see that montoya hit kesolowski right and montoya was driving too agressively driving in too deep and pushing up brad didnt hit montoya from behind or get him loose if anything penalize montoya or warn him its crap period this rookie has more wins than montoya jr edwards logano newman as many as hamlin and gordon shall i keep going
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