Racing Without A Ruckus Works Just Fine At Shootout

(Originally published on Feb. 9, 2008)

It's election season, NASCAR fans, so why not take an informal poll? Raise your hand if you've been to a party with folks who said that they don't care for racing but do like watching the wrecks.

If less than 9 of 10 people reading this are at least symbolically throwing five fingers in the air, then somebody's lying. And weren't you disgusted that they did not recognize all the dimensions that make the sport great, but instead looked at NASCAR from such a shallow viewpoint?

That's why we have to be careful about defining excitement at the track as two guys banging on each other's cars or noggins with unbridled contempt. Many have waxed poetic about the Kurt Busch-Tony Stewart skirmish on Friday night during Bud Shootout practice being the kind of old-school confrontation that is so sorely missed.

And in reasonable doses, that's fine. But if violence is the only thing that can get a rise out of your race experience, then NASCAR might as well be the National Hockey League, where punches thrown provide a little sizzle but the balance of the sport is a wasteland because that one aspect has rendered it typecast.

Sometimes a great race between gentlemen will just have to do, and that's what we got Saturday night during the Shootout. Sure, it's a boost to the sport for Dale Earnhardt Jr. to win in his first race with Hendrick Motorsports. But it's even more important that NASCAR didn't need a Jerry Springer-esque free-for-all to send its fans home happy.

* Just wanted to add that after posting my most previous blog entry, "DEI's Insensitivity Training," I received a phone call the next morning from Max Siegel. He apologized for an incident I encountered with members of the company many months ago, which I won't go into again here. I do believe that DEI has a long way to go, but Siegel showed me a personal level of professionalism and accountability that has earned my respect.