It's as simple as separating
the NASCAR "Haves" from the "Have Nots."The recent penalties levied on the Hendrick
Racing dynamic duo and their associated crew chiefs amounted to a soft slap on the wrist.I've known nuns that could swat harder.
Unless you have been
imitating an ostrich with your head in the sand for the last few days, you've heard and read all the news/debate/opinions
regarding said penalties against Jeff Gordon/Steve Letarte and Jimmie Johnson/Chad Knaus.
Gordon still sits on
top of the Nextel Cup points tree with a somewhat comfortable lead of 156 points over Denny Hamlin in second place.Jimmie Johnson is well within striking distance only 381 points back in fourth place.
Sponsor dollars flow
through the Hendrix coffers faster than a qualifying lap at Talladega.Crew chiefs, suspended
for six weeks, armchair quarterback from the comfort of the motor coaches parked quietly on chrome street not a stones throw
from the pit box.Rick Hendrick labeled the penalties, "Excessive," but from
where I sit they barely look like penalties at all.They look more like an inconvenience.
To any of these one car,
shoe string budget teams, the same penalty could be a death sentence.I know,
to be fair, NASCAR has to enforce rule infractions equally, but by setting the penalty bar so high with the Hendrick and DEI
infractions, equitable enforcement on a lower tier team could strangle the life out of one of the NASCAR "Have Nots," and
that's not fair either.
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So, what's the answer?Perhaps it's time to go back to stock car racing 101.You get in the race each week based on your qualifying time.The top forty-two
qualifying speeds get to race.You might allow two former champion provisionals,
but no more golden parachutes each week.If you break the rules, you park the
car for a week and the drivers pride and ego with it.A racer not racing is the
toughest penalty, I don't care who you are.
When the car is sitting
in the truck on Sunday afternoon, you can bet the sponsors will show the owner the meaning of the word, "Penalty."
2006 StockCar Review.
