Your Turn: Media matters
It’s that time of week again – the time for you to sound off on all things NASCAR.
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If you’ve got an opinion you’d like to share – and the more diverse the opinion, the better chance you have of getting published – you can be a part of Your Turn by emailing us your rants right here.
We’ll kick things off with Brad Phillips of Lubbock, Texas, who thinks the media is overhyping Jimmie Johnson:
I wish people, some in the media, would stop talking about Jimmie Johnson and this “unprecedented” fourth championship. That is such a load of crap. It might be the fourth CHASE championship, but that doesn’t compare to the Winston Cup championships that Dale, Richard and Jeff won.
I dare say that most hard core NASCAR fans don’t even consider them in the same category, I know I don’t. Big difference in being the best for the last 10 races each year and being the BEST all year long.
I often wonder what Dale Sr. would think of this boneheaded points system that we now race under. Give me a break, four Chases in a row isn’t anything like four Winston Cups in a row. There is a reason that it was never done. Don’t even try to convince me that Jimmie is BETTER than Richard, Dale and Jeff. Please!!
David Tyce of Findlay, Ohio, calls out the media for not calling out NASCAR:
Slowly, the fans are beginning to speak … more and more empty seats and lower TV ratings. Now, it’s the turn of the media to speak up.
I’m tired of hearing Helton, Pemberton, et al making these inane, insulting statements (like “we’re satisfied with the way Sunday’s race went.”) without you bozos in the media actually doing your jobs and challenging them. You all act like they’re gods or something, and you don’t dare contradict them.
Nail them with the facts, and keep hammering at them until it finally sinks through their thick heads: They are killing this sport.
I’m a race fan. If it’s got wheels, let’s race it.
What we saw Sunday at Talladega, and, what we’ve been seeing more and more of, is NOT racing. It’s a parade. And, it’s boring.
The media needs to get of their lazy butts and start actually reporting and holding these idiots responsible; that IS your job.
Kenneth Howard of Bowling Green, Ky., has an interesting question about the late rule change at Talladega:
Let me get this right, NASCAR advertises they have the best drivers in the world, but they tell them how to drive ? I have seen some of these guys do some amazing things over the years and I think they can handle themselves on the track. They ARE gonna wreck; it’s just a matter of when. All NASCAR did was postpone the inevitable as we all saw at the end.
Marty Thomason of Horse Cave, Ky., thinks NASCAR’s issues start at the top:
It is time for NASCAR to be controlled by someone else. The France family has lost touch with reality. The Talladega race was boring. If they really want to save money why not turn all the races into 20 lap shootouts. With all the imaginary debris cautions this is what the races have become.
Cookie cutter tracks need to go away. Bristol needs to be resurfaced and returned to the way it was five years ago, a race of attrition. Restrictor plates need to go away. Let the drivers drive.
The France family needs to LISTEN to the fan base and the drivers. I can no longer watch an entire race. Boring is what they have become!! Yawn nap time. Wake me with five to go.
Roger from Chino, Calif., doesn’t think Talladega belongs in the Chase:
While I totally agree with all the folks calling Talladega a boring race, I also don’t think it belongs in the Chase unless something changes. Like Daytona, it’s one of those tracks where luck plays a much bigger part in winning (finishing) than any other track. Why should that be a part of the formula for crowning a champion?
Old schooler Phil Marshall from Church Hill, Tenn., needs to get something off his chest:
I went to my first race at Bristol Motor Speedway in 1967. I watched the sport grow and blossom with the daredevil drivers like Cale, Bobby, Darrell, David, Buddy, and of course the King
Richard Petty. There was Ford, Chrysler, Dodge, Chevy, and even a Madator. Great racing, not a caution every 10 minutes to sell something. Didn’t have to market the product. It sold itself.
Now what do you have? Drivers that should teach school and a Cot. BS. Thank you Mike [Helton] for giving me back my Sundays.
And finally, Dan Vance from parts unknown has found a way to tolerate the Cleveland Browns:
After trying to watch this race [Talladega], I could probably watch the Browns lose and not give it a second thought!!
