You Have the Right to Remain Silent
Darrell Waltrip
Folks, I was watching the Blue Collar Comedy guys on TV the other night, and one of them said something that every driver ought to be aware of, if they're not already.
"You have the right to remain silent, but you just don't have the ability."
That's the way drivers are. When you put a camera and a microphone in front of them, it's their opportunity to express themselves and tell you how they feel. Sometimes, they're excited and happy. Sometimes, they're upset and disappointed. But it's live TV, and I love live TV. That's why I love doing the races. I don't like to see anything taped or rehearsed. I want it in real time, as it's happening. If you want everything to be perfect, tape the races, edit out all of the bad stuff and show them on TV.
Our shows are live sporting events, and when you're covering something live, you just never know what you're going to get. If it's a concert or a politician's news conference, sometimes things come out, and after they come out, it takes a lot of 'splainin' for others to understand what you meant and why you said what you said.
After watching three really exciting events — the Craftsman Trucks, Busch cars and the Cup cars Ć last weekend from ORP and Indy, I was so excited about the racing. But just like the race before when Tony Stewart won and made a comment about going out and having a few cold ones, he made another comment in an interview after the Brickyard. In no way do I condone foul language. It's not appropriate. But I had to kind of laugh when Greg Biffle got fined for not talking after the Busch race, and Tony Stewart got fined for talking too much. That's hilarious.
After every great weekend of racing, you have to wait until Tuesday to find out who will be fined for what. It's always the same old thing: Actions detrimental to the sport. Well, a lot of actions by non-competitors are detrimental to the sport.
NASCAR has to control everything, but it's almost to the point that not only are they trying to control everything, they're looking for perfection. The tracks and the cars have to be safer. The cars all have to be alike, and the drivers have to say the right thing. They can't be outside the lines in any way, shape, form or fashion.
Sanitizing the sport is not what it's all about. A lot of people love, care about and watch our sport because they get to see raw emotion. Drivers get annoyed with each other. Cars fly into the wall and catch fire. There's an element of danger and sheer excitement. If you try to control it, you end up hurting the sport.
I understand that NASCAR must enforce the rules, but I just get tired of hearing about drivers and crew chiefs being fined for ridiculous things. It's always much ado about nothing. I just hate to see my driver and crew chief buddies always walking around in fear and wondering, "Am I the guy that's going to get fined this week? Am I the guy that's going to be made an example of this week?"
We just need to be thankful and grateful for great racing. People have crash but haven't been seriously hurt. People are watching on TV and going to the races. We just need to capitalize on the positives and quit trying to make everything perfect. Striving for perfection is hurting our sport and the people in it.
Darrell Waltrip
Folks, I was watching the Blue Collar Comedy guys on TV the other night, and one of them said something that every driver ought to be aware of, if they're not already.
"You have the right to remain silent, but you just don't have the ability."
That's the way drivers are. When you put a camera and a microphone in front of them, it's their opportunity to express themselves and tell you how they feel. Sometimes, they're excited and happy. Sometimes, they're upset and disappointed. But it's live TV, and I love live TV. That's why I love doing the races. I don't like to see anything taped or rehearsed. I want it in real time, as it's happening. If you want everything to be perfect, tape the races, edit out all of the bad stuff and show them on TV.
Our shows are live sporting events, and when you're covering something live, you just never know what you're going to get. If it's a concert or a politician's news conference, sometimes things come out, and after they come out, it takes a lot of 'splainin' for others to understand what you meant and why you said what you said.
After watching three really exciting events — the Craftsman Trucks, Busch cars and the Cup cars Ć last weekend from ORP and Indy, I was so excited about the racing. But just like the race before when Tony Stewart won and made a comment about going out and having a few cold ones, he made another comment in an interview after the Brickyard. In no way do I condone foul language. It's not appropriate. But I had to kind of laugh when Greg Biffle got fined for not talking after the Busch race, and Tony Stewart got fined for talking too much. That's hilarious.
After every great weekend of racing, you have to wait until Tuesday to find out who will be fined for what. It's always the same old thing: Actions detrimental to the sport. Well, a lot of actions by non-competitors are detrimental to the sport.
NASCAR has to control everything, but it's almost to the point that not only are they trying to control everything, they're looking for perfection. The tracks and the cars have to be safer. The cars all have to be alike, and the drivers have to say the right thing. They can't be outside the lines in any way, shape, form or fashion.
Sanitizing the sport is not what it's all about. A lot of people love, care about and watch our sport because they get to see raw emotion. Drivers get annoyed with each other. Cars fly into the wall and catch fire. There's an element of danger and sheer excitement. If you try to control it, you end up hurting the sport.
I understand that NASCAR must enforce the rules, but I just get tired of hearing about drivers and crew chiefs being fined for ridiculous things. It's always much ado about nothing. I just hate to see my driver and crew chief buddies always walking around in fear and wondering, "Am I the guy that's going to get fined this week? Am I the guy that's going to be made an example of this week?"
We just need to be thankful and grateful for great racing. People have crash but haven't been seriously hurt. People are watching on TV and going to the races. We just need to capitalize on the positives and quit trying to make everything perfect. Striving for perfection is hurting our sport and the people in it.
