October 21, 2003

Ah, Mike Helton trying his best to explain away NASCAR's middle of a race rules change. Sounds like the same old record with another verse added. NASCAR has again shown its "brilliance" and shows the racing fan why it should no longer be taken seriously by any true racing fan.

I can see the "Powers That Be" in conference now. Brian says to Mike, "Let's change the pit entering rules after the 5th caution flag, and hey, let's not tell anyone." "Won't that be a hoot!" Mike says back to Brian, "Even better, let's not tell the Normally Blockheaded Crew on the TV. Then I can go out and make some goofball explanation and they will accept it hook, line, and sinker, cause they are such dweebs! And hey, the only ones that will catch the flak are the officials in the pit of whomever doesn't pit, but gee, that's why they get paid the big bucks!"

Is it time for NASCAR to grow up and play like the big boys or is it time for NASCAR to just fade away and let another racing group become the "stock" car racing organization? Has NASCAR become a parody of itself?

Real racing organizations have their rules set up at the first of the season. If you have a car or driver that is fourteen times better than the others under the same rules for all, then so be it. Don't try to "equalize" everyone during the year. Next year, change the rules to make everyone the same. They would be equal until some engineer, driver, or worker somewhere finds a better way to make his car go faster under a set of rules.

Just take a look at our public education system to see the effects of trying to make everyone the same. Really smart students are brought down to the level of the lowest common denominator and new ideas and thoughts are processed as not needed frivolous fluff.. NASCAR's attempts at equalization are just the same.

When everything is equal, there is no need to try to do better. If you do better, you will just be knocked down to the LCD level again. Oh, before any of you educators get your drawers in a wad, education and teaching in my family go back over 100 years (if any of you want my credentials, I will be glad to send them to you).

Back to NASCAR and equalization. NASCAR has made its rulebook purposely obtuse and changable, because it is becoming politically correct and is afraid to make anyone mad. It might cut into their profits, which after all is what NASCAR is all about anyway. Racing is just a come on to get the gullible public to spend its Kopeks in a manner to make the France family #1 in the fortune 500.

Am I anti-capitalist? Heck no, I would pay a million in taxes if I were able. Capitalists make this country go, I just wish NASCAR would forget trying to present itself as a racing organization and truly present itself as what it truly is. What is it truly? A money making machine for the France family.

As for changing rules on the fly, what a crock of caca. Why change in the middle of a race? What is the purpose of such a decision? What other "Professional" sports organization changes its rules in the middle of an event? There is one you know? If you don't know what it is, I'll give you a hint: It has big sweaty guys seemingly beating the crap out of each other and half-dressed "Divas" trying to show off their "Puppies" to a group of adolescents and adolescent acting "adults".

Is NASCAR really ready for the big time? It is my humble opinion that they were ready for the big time twenty years ago. But the big time was not ready for a racing experience.

Today NASCAR is past its prime. It has ceased to be a racing organization and has become a purely entertainment organization. The only thing NASCAR needs is the cajones to admit that racing has no place in NASCAR any more.

Oh, before I go, there is one thing NASCAR could do to redeem itself to the racing fan. It can throw it's present rule book in the fire and write one that is really about racing and the ability to be better than the next guy. Don't stifle competition, give us more of it.

You can send feedback to Rob at: Insider Racing News

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