Word: nascars
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Gossage felt NASCAR made the right decision. His friend was perplexed. If two games for a punch seems lenient, how can you justify no punishment for attacking an opponent with a potentially deadly race car? "The rule in basketball is, you don't get to punch another player in the face," says Gossage. "The rule in racing is that this is O.K. There are just different standards and codes and things like that." But Gossage admitted, "I understand how outrageous this appears to folks who don't follow the sport." (Read a Q&A with Jimmie Johnson on breaking NASCAR...
...about asking for a refund for all my penalties!!!" Former racer and current SpeedTV analyst Kyle Petty said, "That was a blatant, flagrant foul and I'm telling you, [Edwards] needs to be sitting at home and watching it on TV ... two Sundays from now." On March 9, when NASCAR announced its ruling, Petty told the New York Times, "This is one of the saddest days I've ever experienced in the sport." This is a man who knows sadness on the race track: Petty's son Adam was killed during a 2000 NASCAR practice run. (See pictures...
...Edwards case crystallizes the harsh dilemma facing NASCAR. After the death of Dale Earnhardt Sr. during the 2001 Daytona 500, NASCAR officials put a premium on safety. Energy-absorbing walls were installed on the tracks, and new head-and-neck restraints were introduced for the drivers. A new car design, the so-called Car of Tomorrow, offered more protection. Some of the longer tracks mandated the use of restrictor plates, which place speed limits on cars...
...problem is NASCAR's policing, claim some racing insiders. "They were micromanaging the sport to death," says Fox NASCAR analyst and 1989 Daytona 500 champ Darrell Waltrip. "We weren't at a crossroads - we were on the wrong road. We went from race cars to safe cars, and it was turning people off." NASCAR admitted as much, and in January the circuit announced that it was loosening its grip. "Boys, have at it," said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR's vice president of competition...
...Edwards had at it. Since he was just following NASCAR's edict, how could the circuit punish him? "You know, you can't tell kids to go in the candy store and help themselves," says Waltrip, "and when they're in there, say, 'Oh my gosh, y'all took a lot more than I thought you were going to." NASCAR may regret the "have at it" declaration. "In January, I told [NASCAR president] Mike Helton, 'I love what you're doing,' " says Waltrip. " 'But I don't love that you said that. You should have let it happen...