Stop the Madness
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Pete Pistone
Managing Editor
Posted Monday, October 3, 2005
What was supposed to be one of NASCAR's shining moments turned out to be one of its darkest.
Sunday's UAW-Ford 500 at Talladega Superspeedway should have been an exciting bright spot in the "Chase for the NEXTEL Cup" championship race. But instead it will be remembered for another series of violent and terrifying accidents that thankfully didn't injure any driver.
When sportscasts around the country should have been showing highlights of exciting side-by-side racing, instead a barrage of crashes and flips were shown as the story from Talladega. "And by the way, Dale Jarrett won the race" was how more than one report ended.
Just as the opening round of this year's "Chase" drew more attention for the on-track retaliation and helmet throwing, round number three at Talladega will be remembered for its carnage.
This is not the way a championship season should happen.
The argument about restrictor plates is a tired one that has gone on for more than 20 years, since the horsepower-sapping devices were introduced in the wake of Bobby Allison's horrendous crash at Talladega in 1987 that came within inches of him sailing over the frontstretch fence and into the stands.
But as time marched on, the thought process to find a better alternative to restrictor plates has stopped.
There's been talk of using different gearing or other methods of keeping speeds in check at Daytona and Talladega, the two biggest and fastest tracks on the schedule. But nothing has been done.
Some schools of thought say the plates and the tightly-packed groups of cars they create aren't the cause for the multitude of accidents. The finger of blame should be pointed directly at the ****pit of the car and the drivers as the ones who are at fault.
I agree.
While I still think there has to be a better alternative than the plates, and tearing down banking or dropping Talladega from the schedule are unrealistic options, the guys behind the wheel need to shoulder a large portion of the blame.
In Sunday's race, one driver after another who got caught up in the numerous melees called out their fellow competitors.
"We've got three pedals in these cars and the middle one is the brake," said Elliott Sadler, who was taken out on only the 18th lap in the day's first "Big One" when Jimmie Johnson turned him around in the second turn. "As many times as he's been drafting here, he knows that you always stack up at the end of every straightaway. It's the way the draft works."
Mark Martin was also caught in that first incident, a blow that could be a knock out punch to his title hopes.
"It hurts, but what are you going to do?" Martin asked. "I'm like a mule - I can take it. This one is over with and we'll pick up and go on."
Greg Biffle was another title contender who was swept up into the crash.
"It's unfortunate," Biffle said. "We were right there racing with those guys, but I had a good race car. This is what people pay their money to come see and pay to watch television and listen to the radio is big crashes here at Talladega. Everybody loves it."
Not everybody.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pete Pistone
Managing Editor
Posted Monday, October 3, 2005
What was supposed to be one of NASCAR's shining moments turned out to be one of its darkest.
Sunday's UAW-Ford 500 at Talladega Superspeedway should have been an exciting bright spot in the "Chase for the NEXTEL Cup" championship race. But instead it will be remembered for another series of violent and terrifying accidents that thankfully didn't injure any driver.
When sportscasts around the country should have been showing highlights of exciting side-by-side racing, instead a barrage of crashes and flips were shown as the story from Talladega. "And by the way, Dale Jarrett won the race" was how more than one report ended.
Just as the opening round of this year's "Chase" drew more attention for the on-track retaliation and helmet throwing, round number three at Talladega will be remembered for its carnage.
This is not the way a championship season should happen.
The argument about restrictor plates is a tired one that has gone on for more than 20 years, since the horsepower-sapping devices were introduced in the wake of Bobby Allison's horrendous crash at Talladega in 1987 that came within inches of him sailing over the frontstretch fence and into the stands.
But as time marched on, the thought process to find a better alternative to restrictor plates has stopped.
There's been talk of using different gearing or other methods of keeping speeds in check at Daytona and Talladega, the two biggest and fastest tracks on the schedule. But nothing has been done.
Some schools of thought say the plates and the tightly-packed groups of cars they create aren't the cause for the multitude of accidents. The finger of blame should be pointed directly at the ****pit of the car and the drivers as the ones who are at fault.
I agree.
While I still think there has to be a better alternative than the plates, and tearing down banking or dropping Talladega from the schedule are unrealistic options, the guys behind the wheel need to shoulder a large portion of the blame.
In Sunday's race, one driver after another who got caught up in the numerous melees called out their fellow competitors.
"We've got three pedals in these cars and the middle one is the brake," said Elliott Sadler, who was taken out on only the 18th lap in the day's first "Big One" when Jimmie Johnson turned him around in the second turn. "As many times as he's been drafting here, he knows that you always stack up at the end of every straightaway. It's the way the draft works."
Mark Martin was also caught in that first incident, a blow that could be a knock out punch to his title hopes.
"It hurts, but what are you going to do?" Martin asked. "I'm like a mule - I can take it. This one is over with and we'll pick up and go on."
Greg Biffle was another title contender who was swept up into the crash.
"It's unfortunate," Biffle said. "We were right there racing with those guys, but I had a good race car. This is what people pay their money to come see and pay to watch television and listen to the radio is big crashes here at Talladega. Everybody loves it."
Not everybody.
