Warped Wednesday: Let’s eliminate short tracks, they’re unbecoming of drivers
Welcome to Warped Wednesday. On this, we'll put out the rush to judgment mat, go a little too far and have a little fun. Will it be funny? Sometimes. Will it be crazy and largely unbelievable? Probably. Will not everyone get it? Definitely.
Can you believe the immaturity that we saw over the weekend at Richmond International Raceway in both the Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series? The actions that took place after both races were inexcusable and not fitting of professional drivers.
Let's start with Nelson Piquet Jr. and Brian Scott. Who spins another driver near the entrance to pit road and then kicks him in the groin? Though don't think for a second that excuses Scott, who angrily and unconscionably aggressively walked towards Piquet after the race to confront him about the incident.
At least Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch showed some brains and removed their helmets like dignified adults before they engaged in their childish shouting match over which baby stole the other baby's "A" block to spell out "Poopyhead" on the carpet. Men, if you have a problem with each other, you need to go sit down in the hauler over a relaxing beverage and talk it out with proper grammar and without foul language. You're getting paid like Downton Abbey stars, so you should probably start talking like them.
Because these men (and women) are professionals, they should be upheld to professional standards of conduct. What would happen if you kicked a co-worker in the private parts after a report didn't go over well at a meeting? I will let you ponder on that for a brief moment before you answer.
What's the catalyst in all of this? Short track racing. We've seen it time and time again and Bristol and it's spread now to Richmond. Who won Friday night's Nationwide Series race? Wait, you don't know? My point exactly. These callow displays of petulance are distracting from the real story of racing, and that should be the racing itself.
It's not a popular opinion, but if you want the focus to turn back to the racing and the product on the track, there's no better way to do it than to eliminate short-track racing altogether. That way, these drivers won't be at risk of embarrassing their sponsors with temper tantrums six times a year because of the inevitable contact that comes at a short-track.
If we replace Bristol, Richmond and Martinsville with intermediate tracks, the drivers will have room to spread out and this unsophistication will be minimized. Sure, it may happen from time to time at an intermediate track -- what we saw after the race at California was an outlier, and it's certain to not happen again anytime soon -- but these competitors will be put in the best position to please their sponsors like a vanilla air freshener.
It may not be what the puerile spectators who watch NASCAR want, but it's best for the image of the sport and the multi-million dollar sponsors who support it. Without them, there may be no NASCAR.
