Handle Your Business, But Do It Wisely
Tuesday, August 22nd, 2006 5:21pm CDT
By Tim Spencer, Thunder Lounge
Published on Thunder Lounge.
[thumb:364:l:s=1:l=http://thunderlounge.com/articles/nascar/features/the-way-i-see-it/]With Bristol on tap for this weekend it is a fine time to make mention of this. Unfortunately Luke stole a little bit of my Thunder with his rant on the whole Edwards/Dale Junior scuffle last Saturday but my point goes deeper.
Before we dive too deep in this I want to make it clear that I am not saying it is perfectly ok to go out and dump somebody at will while throwing all caution to the wind. That isn’t what this is about. This is about how the “wise” drivers take care of business from time to time. It just so happens that an occasional spin into the fence is a part of that.
It has been a staple of NASCAR since its inception. The old “chrome horn” if you will, also called the “bump and run”. With the ever increasing closeness of the competition, it is becoming something that is seen more and more. Bristol is no exception. There are moves that simply move someone up a lane so you may proceed, and there are moves that crumple some sheet metal.
The nature and physics of NASCAR’s short tracks bring with them the ability to seek justice for drivers that feel they were done wrong in the past, and the ability for new personal resolutions at a later date as well. When someone gets in the fence or is spun out it isn’t always a payback. Sometimes it purely is a racin’ deal. After all, just like on the streets, accidents do happen. However there are those times that an opportunity presents itself to perhaps “do un to others, as they have done to you”, shall we say. In other words, “So and so” was a real jerk at [insert track here] and ended up wrecking me like an idiot, and “oops” it just so happens he got a little loose in the corner and I didn’t let up. Darn the luck.
It’s one of the many facets of short track racing at any level. NASCAR’s premiere series’ are no exception here, either.
But why? There are 30 other events on the schedule so why pick Bristol, Martinsville, or Richmond?
The answer truly is simple.
Drivers are not dumb. Far from it. They know that the risks on the big tracks are just too big to consider. They don’t want to hurt someone, they just want to make their point. Short tracks offer a “safe” opportunity to race someone a little harder and if they happen to end up in the fence, so be it. With today’s safety measures in place, drivers know that the risk of injury at a short track is almost nil.
At the same time, drivers don’t purely go out with the intention of wrecking someone. They know NASCAR is watching and has replay capabilities. However if the situation presents itself, a driver might be a little less forgiving on the driver in front of them if that same driver has earned their “target vision”. Oops, and there they go. It may be something as simple as bumped up a lane so that they get freight-trained back 20 spots. It might have them in a short stint with a pancake to the wall. It might be a spin down onto the apron. However, the driver on the receiving end will get the message. It’s the old “eye for an eye” routine.
Now here comes Bristol and along with it comes many a driver with a target on their rear bumper. Stewart has one, and not just from the incident at Pocono either. He’s been the subject of many a controversial accident this season. Remember the incident at Daytona with Kenseth? Matt does. Does that mean Kenseth will dump Stewart first chance he gets? No. You can bet though that if there are a handful of laps left and Matt’s running second to Stewart, all bets are off and Matt won’t be afraid to move Stewart out of the way. If he ends up in the fence, so be it. Bowyer has a score to settle. So does Newman and Edwards. With Edwards though, you can bet NASCAR will be watching. It’s been too recent of an event and Carl’s temper tantrum last weekend didn’t help matters. More on that in a minute.
How many other drivers have the old target on their bumper? More than we realize. There were plenty of close calls and things that most people are unaware of. What it boils down to is that short tracks present an opportunity to be less forgiving if the driver in front of you indeed has earned your attention in the past.
Not every accident at a short track is a payback. Many however are.
The whole point of this article is to handle your business, but do it wisely.
With that being said, it isn’t something to do where you got bopped last weekend so you take action the following weekend. The smart drivers wait. Let it roll out of the minds of people, and let the opportunity present itself. You most likely won’t see anything from Edwards in terms of Junior this weekend. Most likely not Richmond or Martinsville this year either. But once all the press calms down, and the incident is but a distant memory, there will come a time where the situation is reversed and Edwards will be unlikely to be forgiving.
Also, as we all know, Edwards made his point already. He did it like an idiot by first parking in front of the Earnhardt pit. Mistake numero uno. Talk about a red flag to NASCAR letting them know he was upset. The second mistake was being an idiot and driving off of pit road and right into Junior. Incredibly DUMB mistake there, and one that will “cost” Edwards in penalties this week. Dumb boy. Real dumb. But then again, we’ve all made bad decisions before. Have we not? The third dumb move was heading to Victory Lane, and “roughing up” Junior a bit. All these combine into a “how not to handle your business” lesson.
Kenny Wallace said it best on NASCAR This Morning the other day. Keep it in the back of your mind, let the memory of it fade away, and let an opportunity present itself. That’s the way it’s been for years, and most drives seem to grasp the concept. Edwards however, needs a little reminder. The points deduction from Busch points and a monetary fine will not really be a penalty. It’s procedure more than anything. The only thing that would have gotten this guy’s attention was parking him Sunday. They didn’t. In the end though, you can bet that Jack got his attention. Hopefully that will be enough.
Filed Under: Features, Guest Authors, Nascar, Nextel Cup, The Way I See It, Tim Spencer
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