Bob's Opinion
THE HAMMER DOESN'T HIT AS HARD AS IT USED TO
Posted On Mar. 19, 2008)
In today's politically correct age when any moron can start a federal case, if you actually point out that they are a moron, fewer and fewer people have the guts to point out acts of stupidity or incompetence since the hassle associated with speaking out makes it easier to stay quiet and let things be. Despite our constitutional right to free speech, the folks at NASCAR have always kept most drivers mouths shut with their "You need us, we don't need you" attitude. The growth of stock car racing and the corresponding public recognition and multi-million dollar incomes of its drivers are taking away alot of the impact of NASCAR's "You need us" hammer. A case in point would be Tony Stewart's comments about the rock hard tires that Goodyear took to the spring Atlanta race. Stewart basically said that the tires were the worst he had ever driven on during his professional career and Goodyear should be embarrassed to bring them to the track. If someone like David Ragan or Brian Vickers had made the statement, nobody would have paid it any attention. But Tony Stewart has two NASCAR championships, and Indy car championship, multiple national dirt track championships, road racing wins, oval wins, Rookie of the Year awards, etc. When Stewart says that they were the worst tires he ever drove on, it means something, or it at least SHOULD mean something. Well, as expected, Goodyear had a hissy fit and NASCAR called Tony in for one of their little "talks". I'm sure Mr. Stewart nodded his head and threw in a "yes sir" or two, but in reality he had every right to his comments, even if he didn't deliver them in a soft and fluffy corporate manner. More important, he really doesn't need to kiss anyone's ass. Stewart has proven with the earlier listed accomplishments that he can win in any series and people will pay him more money than he will ever need to do so. It's true that NASCAR doesn't need any one driver to continue to do what they do, but for today's top drivers, many of them could get along just fine, be rich, and win races in a variety of series while being treated like royalty for the status they could bring to that series. It's not like the old days when it was back home to the local dirt track if you didn't make NASCAR happy. Now the relationship between the sanctioning body and the racers needs to be a mutually beneficial business relationship. In other words, the drivers deserve to be treated as skilled professionals and not like temporary employees.
