Pondering this Thought: Are NASCAR Drivers ‘Professional’ Race Car Drivers? A commentary with questions to help clarify thoughts on the subject.
Be careful about jumping to a conclusion. Presented here are a few questions to help clarify your answer. In reality, however, the answer is totally up to the drivers and how they see themselves within the elite series of NASCAR.
Pondering this Thought: Are NASCAR Drivers ‘Professional’ Race Car Drivers?
Take a deep breath and just stop for a minute and think about what is happening within NASCAR to win races. The ‘bump and run’ move to win is becoming a weekly occurrence within the sport and it is acceptable by some within the media, the fans, and even NASCAR as an organization. The move is not new within racing. It is as old as racing itself.
NASCAR Looking for a Culture Shift
In January, NASCAR made it clear they are looking to redirect thinking about another age-old racing adage that ‘if you’re not cheating, you’re not trying hard enough.’ NASCAR has stiffened the penalty for teams caught working outside of the boundaries of their rules and regulations. They are taking on the parental role of keeping teams accountable.
And just like kids do, someone was bound to test the water. That someone this season is the No. 6 team of Brad Keselowski. The stiff penalty assessed by NASCAR is under appeal and the RFK Racing rebuttal appearance is this Thursday, April 7th. The complete details are sketchy to avoid any undue influence on the appeal process. However, Scott Miller, vice president of competition at NASCAR made it clear they are looking to change the culture within the sport.
“To make sure that all of those things stay above board, there’s going to have to be a culture shift from the way that the teams and NASCAR, for that matter, have done business,” NASCAR Senior Vice President of Competition Scott Miller said in January when announcing the new penalty structure. “So, this deterrence model has more meat in it, more meaningful penalties, but I think we all thought that it was time for this with the introduction of the new car.”
Several Questions to Ask
Ask yourself these questions. Do fans genuinely want to see someone win a championship by cheating more cleverly than their teammates? Is racing in NASCAR’s premier series about being cleverer than the others? Or is racing in NASCAR’s premier series about the talent and skill of the drivers and their teams?
The answers to these questions seem obvious yet, it took NASCAR many decades to decide to protect the integrity of their sport. The good news is that they made the right decision this year.
Is the ‘Bump and Run’ Acceptable?
Getting back to the ‘bump and run,’ that is commonplace in racing today, ask yourself these questions. Is it acceptable for your child to win a competitive foot race, swimming event, bicycle race, or any other race by bumping their competitor out of the way? Would you applaud your child for disrespecting themselves and their competitors with such a move?
Again, the answers seem obvious yet, NASCAR has left this decision within the drivers’ hands (quite literally). Why? Perhaps because they do not want to police the driver’s individual decisions on this matter. At least not yet. Do they hope drivers will want to protect their self-respect, respect for competitors, and their status as a professional race car driver?
Talent and Skill versus the Quickie Win
Here is another question to ask yourself. What is more exciting in racing? Watching talented drivers knock each other around the racetrack? Is that what anyone could do even without talent at your local bumper car event? Or would you find it more exciting to watch professional talented drivers skillfully outdrive their competitors?
Yes, the decision to ‘bump and run’ is a personal decision. Drivers often call it moving a competitor out of their way for a win. Why is it ok for professional race car drivers to be disrespectful of themselves and their competitors but you would not want your child to win an event in the same manner? What do you say to your child when they tell you, ‘Everyone else does it?’
More questions to ask yourself. Why do some professional race car drivers lack the confidence in their talent to skillfully pass a driver to win a race? Why does any driver ‘want’ their reputation to be that of a driver that lacks the skill to win without bumping their competitor out of the way? What highlights someone’s talent more? Knocking a competitor out of the way to quickly win or skillfully passing a competitor cleanly to win?
Professional Wins are Hard in NASCAR
Yes, winning is hard to do, especially at NASCAR’s top levels. It takes a lot of talent and skill inside of any high-level competition. Why would professional NASCAR drivers want to disrespect themselves, their competitors, and the elite status of their sport by resorting to bumper car driving to win at all costs? Is it because that is what fans ‘want’ to see despite their talent and skill? Or are professional race car drivers just too lazy or impatient to skillfully win a race?
NASCAR has left those questions up to the drivers. The drivers now need to decide are they bumper car drivers that anyone can do at their local facility or are they professional race car drivers that want to highlight their talent in the elite series of NASCAR?
Listen to our NASCAR Hot Topics Sound Off discussion on this subject at 10 pm ET Monday, April 4th