NASCAR: "Bring Back The Passion!"
Written by Hopper, Monday April 06 2009
In the old days, NASCAR was about nothing more than winning. It wasn't about the money, or the fame. It was about bringing home that trophy. Drivers would do anything to get it. They'd bump each other. They'd wreck each other. They'd even get into fist fights. Drivers were emotional, and NASCAR just sat back, and let it all happen. Ah, the good ol' days.
Nowadays, it isn't like that. It's all about points, keeping your car clean, and staying out of trouble. And, as far as emotions, well, NASCAR on Fox analist and 3-time NASCAR champion Darrell Waltrip had a little something to say about that during Sunday's prerace show at Texas.
In a segment called "D.W.'s Rant", Waltrip used his emotions to call out today's drivers' lack of emotions. "These young drivers just seem to be going through their emotions... with no emotions!" said Waltrip. "Today, all these guys worry about is being politically correct. Where's the passion? Where's the pride? Where's the drive?"
That's a good question. And D.W. had the answer.
"Are they being politically correct, or... are they worried about what NASCAR might do?"
Right on Darrell! The drivers show such little emotion for just that reason. They are indeed afraid of what NASCAR might do. In recent years, NASCAR races have become, well, boring, due to the lack of emotions shown during a NASCAR race. But, in the very rare cases of drivers showing emotion, stiff penalties have been given out. In fact, here is a chart showing nearly every penalty given out by NASCAR due to drivers getting emotional, dating back to 2002(forgive me if I'm missing any):
2007
Tony Stewart: Fined $25,000 and docked 25 points for using inappropriate language on a cable network after the Brickyard 400.
Kurt Busch: Fined $100,000 and docked 100 points after ramming Tony Stewart's car on pit road at Dover out of retaliation.
Kevin Harvick/Jamie McMurray: Fined 25,000 apiece for an altercation on the backstretch at Talladega on the white flag lap.
2006
Kyle Busch: Fined $50,000 for throwing his HANS device at Casey Mears' car at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
Jeff Gordon: Fined $10,000 for shoving Matt Kenseth on pit road after the completion of the race at Bristol.
2005
Kasey Kahne: Fined $25,000 and docked 25 points for ramming Kyle Busch's car out of retaliation at Loudon.
Robby Gordon: Fined $35,000 and docked 50 points for throwing his helmet at Michael Waltrip's car; using inappropriate language on-air.
Kyle Busch: Fined $10,000 after ramming another car after the completion of the race at Watkins Glen.
2004
Kevin Harvick/Kasey Kahne: Fined $10,000 apiece for a post-race altercation at Phoenix.
Rusty Wallace: Fined $10,000 after ramming Ryan Newman's car after the completion of the race at Martinsville.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Fined $10,000 and docked 25 points for using inappropriate language on-air after winning at Talladega.
Kasey Kahne's crew chief Tommy Baldwin: Fined $5,000 after a confrontation with Tony Stewart's pit crew after Stewart wrecked Kahne.
Tony Stewart: Fined $50,000 and docked 25 points after a post-race confrontation with Brian Vickers.
Kevin Harvick/Matt Kenseth: Fined $25,000 apiece for an on-track confrontation under caution at Pocono.
Jamie McMurray: Fined $10,000 for spinning Matt Kenseth during the cool-down laps at Bristol.
2003
Jeremy Mayfield/Tony Stewart: Fined $5,000 apiece for using inappropriate language on-air at Dover.
Kevin Harvick: Fined $35,000 after a post-race altercation with Ricky Rudd.
Jimmy Spencer: Fined $25,000 and suspended 1 race after punching Kurt Busch after the conclusion of the race at Michigan.
2002
Ward Burton: Fined $5,000 for throwing his ankle pads at Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s race car out of retaliation at Bristol.
Elliott Sadler: Fined $5,000 for throwing his helmet at Ryan Newman's race car out of retaliation during The Winston.
Kevin Harvick: Suspended 1 race after spinning Coy Gibbs out of retaliation during the truck race at Martinsville.
Kevin Harvick: Fined $35,000 after a post-race altercation with Greg Biffle following the conclusion of the Busch Series race at Bristol.
Robby Gordon: Fined $10,000 after spinning Dale Earnhardt Jr. on pit road out of retaliation after the conclusion of the race at Bristol.
It is also worth noting that Tony Stewart was reportedly fined $10,000 for comments made about NASCAR on his radio show in 2007. NASCAR denied that was the reason, but gave no logical reasoning for the fine. Also, the only acts of emotion not penalized during this time period were: Kevin Harvick and Juan Pablo Montoya's fight at Watkins Glen in 2007; Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart's Bud Shootout practice confrontation in 2008; Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch's confrontation following the conclusion of the race at Bristol in 2008.
Darrell, you hit the nail on the head this time. I knew it would happen eventually. You had the guts to call out NASCAR, something very few members of the mainstream media have done. NASCAR should let things unfold as they may, and drivers shouldn't have to live in fear. NASCAR is only televised in its entireity today because 2 drivers let their emotions get out of control at Daytona 30 years ago. Why can't you just let the drivers be themselves today?
I can only imagine how some of the founding fathers of NASCAR, and drivers who shaped the sport would feel about NASCAR today if they were still around. We know how Darrell Waltrip feels. The final words of his rant were, "Bring back the passion! I hope someone's listening."
We the fans were, Darrell. Now, it's time for us to rise up, and tell NASCAR what we, the fans, the heart and soul of NASCAR, want. We'd love for you to be our ring-leader! I hope you're listening.
Photo Credit: Jared C Tilton / ASP Inc / Icon
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