Cross Words- Atlanta

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Cross' Words: Atlanta
By Duane Cross, NASCAR.COM
March 19, 2007
03:22 PM EDT

type size: + -A week after winning at Las Vegas, Jimmie Johnson dominated again on Sunday at Atlanta, a track noted for its water cooler chat-worthy finishes. A week ago the storyline was NASCAR turned a blind eye to a wayward tire during a late pit stop, thus helping the No. 48 team's cause. This week the story is that he pinched off Tony Stewart. Can the guy win and enjoy it without being under the proverbial microscope?

After the race Johnson seems nonplussed, noting that he had the position and was racing for the flag.


Send Duane your thoughts
"Tony had a good run coming on the outside and when I heard he was there coming it was just too late for me to adjust and I certainly squeezed him in the wall and didn't leave him a lot of room," Johnson said. "It wasn't intentional.

"When I heard clear in the center of the corner, I opened the steering wheel and focused on my corner exit and really didn't think much of it until the last second when I heard that he had some momentum coming back into that tight spot off of [Turn] 2. I certainly apologize and have the utmost respect for Tony Stewart as a racer and I think we showed that in the laps leading up to that in racing side by side."

When did NASCAR turn into tennis, where manners and consideration for the foe are paramount? Fans cannot have it both ways -- old-school and All England Lawn Tennis Association. It's stock car racing at its highest level. Fenders (and feelings) are gonna get bent outta shape; deal with it.

If nothing else, take a cue from Smoke.

"To be honest whatever I say is probably going to be wrong. I even hate to answer that," Stewart said. "We're both racing hard with three laps to go. You don't know if his spotter told him he was clear so he just kept coming. You don't know what the circumstances are with that without talking to him. It is what it is. At the end he's in Victory Lane and we're here talking about finishing second."

more...http://www.nascar.com/2007/news/opinion/03/19/cross.words.atlanta/index.html
 
Stewart stated after the race that he thought the #48 was the fastest car and he's always wanting the fastest car to win so all should be right with the world.

TBH, Johnson always seems a little nonplussed to me...except for when he's rambling on about "the haters".
 
And they's a lot of 48 haters out there. To them I say keep hating, it just means Jimmie is doing good.
 
Tony should have no complaints. It was simply good racing by both him and Johnson. Jimmy had the better car at that time and deserved the win. actually, it was good driving by both.
 
It's the neo-fans that are turning this sport into a goodie two shoes type of comedy. Tony certainly is from the old school and doesn't appologize for anything and I don't blame him. What's happening is that the bigger the sport gets, the more money that is infused into the sport, and that means that you better do all you can to please those who are giving the money, including the fans. But the fans don't give nearly the same amount of money when it comes down to the teams and as such, NASCAR has to do all it can to please the sponsors.

An old promo for the old Benny Parsons radio show had this caller saying that we need to sit these guys down for a week or two and let them think about what they've done wrong. Yep, that guy needs to go watch a golf game instead. Hell, tennis is probably too physical for this guy. What made this sport what it is today is tough, emotional driving and the consequences of dueling side by side.

I've told this story before, but it's worth retelling again. When a new promoter took over the racing at Bowman Gray Stadium here in Winston Salem, he wanted to be pretty strict with his etiquette rules of racing. All the standard rules that are in place all over the country, but with a little more teeth. Any fighting, you're banned for life. Any retaliatory moves on the track and you're suspended for a number of races. AND any suspicious dirty moves on the track, causing a wreck will disqualify you from the race. This guy wanted nothing but clean racing from start to finish. One of the scorers for the track was an old vet from NASCAR and he told him that if you keep those rules that tight, you'll soon see less and less fans in the seats. There are plenty of things you can do to keep the ruckus down, but the fans want to see the emotions from the drivers and you can't shut that down. Today, the stands are full every Saturday night and there is plenty of controversy on the track. Now and then a few fights break out, but those are handled by the cops and if deemed bad enough, suspensions are given. Only one incident has happened since I've been going there where anyone was banned for life and that was not given out by the track, but rather from Daytona (NASCAR). Retaliation happens all the time, but if it's done under the caution, the car is then DQ'ed from that race. And talk about dirty moves, it's something these guys know and understand, but of course, if it happens to them, they are pissed. I can't tell you how many times I've watched cars go spinning coming off the last turn in the last race of the season and the better finishing car ending up winning the title. What happens? The crowd goes wild and a bigger crowd awaits the next race.

Of course, the big leagues are more concerned with safety and that's fine, but the last time I saw a driver get killed doing something that shouldn't have been done was when he was blocking for his son and another of his drivers. The cars today are so safe and they keep making them safer. Most of the time, serious accidents happen when something goes wrong, or an error in judgement is made by one of the drivers. Seldom is it the result of an intentional move.
 
Had it been MArk instead of smoke that saw Jimmy coming at such speed he would have pulled up a little and let Jimmy go.
The outcome was never in doubt. Unless by racing so hard smoke caused them both to get into the wall. It was nice to watch, thinking all the time they would both wreck.
Betsy:rolleyes:
 
I dont think Mark, Jeff, Matt, anyone would of just let him go with the race being that few laps to go. Jimmy did nothing wrong, and neither did Jimmy, just good racing.
 
Seems to me that the Johnson haters are no more rabid than the Johnson lovers. (no pun intended)

He sounds like some little kid who is complaining to the teacher that the other kids don't like him.

It's not like his fans don't dislike other drivers.

Grow up and get over it, Johnson...not everyone has to be a fan of yours.
 
Grow up and get over it Tony, I am a fan of yours but Jimmy just beat your butt. Plain and simple. Jimmy is making some believers out of his fans and non fans alike. :)
 
Right on mug.

No harm, no foul. Good clean racing. No need for whining or apologizing.

(maybe JJ just remembered Bristol is next week...haha) :cheers:
 
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