July 4, 2011
By Matthew Pizzolato
Matthew Pizzolato
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One of the conditions that NASCAR instituted in the 'Boy's Have at It' policy was that they wanted drivers to police themselves on the racetrack. So what happened last weekend at Sonoma between Tony Stewart and Brian Vickers is exactly what NASCAR wanted.
Stewart admitted that he intentionally wrecked Vickers because Vickers was blocking him -- and wasn't angered that the No. 83 car retaliated.
"I probably had it coming because I dumped him earlier but I dumped him because he was blocking. If anybody wants to block all year that's what I'm going to keep doing so they can handle it however they want," Stewart said in a post race press conference last week at Sonoma. "It was payback, but I dumped him first and I dumped him because he was blocking.
"I've been complaining about the way guys have been racing all year. I like Brian, I'm not holding it against him at all. I don't care if it was Ryan Newman I would have dumped him too. If they want to block that's what is going to happen to them every time -- for the rest of my career.
"I don’t race guys that way, I never have. If guys want to block then they are going to get wrecked every time. Until NASCAR makes a rule against it, I am going to dump them every time for it. He did what he had to do, I don’t blame him, there is nothing wrong with it.”
This time however, NASCAR didn't get involved and neither Vickers nor Stewart was penalized. Yet how is this incident any different from the one last season involving Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski?
The simple answer is it is not.
The only difference is the results.
When Edwards wrecked Keselowski it caused a spectacular crash that could have resulted in fatalities. The Vickers and Stewart incident involved only their two cars and occurred on a road course where speeds are not nearly as high as on a speedway.
It would appear that NASCAR has a double standard in regards to the 'Boy's Have at It' policy because Edwards and Keselowski were penalized. Regardless of NASCAR's stance, they can be prepared for similar incidents in the future, especially if Tony Stewart has anything to say about it.
"I don’t care if they want to race each other that way, that’s fine. They can race everybody else in the field that way. I don’t race guys that way and I’m not going to race the way they want to just because they think it should be different now," said in a press conference at Daytona. "When I came in here I thought I was going to change how things worked too and Dale (Earnhardt) Sr. taught me how to do it, Dale Jarrett, Rusty Wallace, my teammate Bobby Labonte taught me and had to grab me and shake me beside a trailer one day and say, ‘Listen, you have to understand.’ Nothing like that happens in this day and age."
So there is a new self-appointed Sheriff on the track in NASCAR this season and his name is Smoke. He will dispense justice frontier style with the chrome horn. Drivers can cross him at their own peril because it just doesn't matter to Smoke.
"Honestly, whether they agree or disagree -- I don’t care. I’ve drawn my line in the sand and the next guy that blocks me, he is going to also suffer the same fate. It doesn’t matter who it is. That’s what it’s going to be.”
If you would like to learn more about Matthew, please check out his web site at matthew-pizzolato.com.
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