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Sprint Cup
SPENCER: Another Molehill, Another NASCAR Mountain
Drivers should be allowed to speak their mind and be themselves without fear of penalty...
Denny Hamlin drew the ire of NASCAR for making comments deemed critical of the Gen-6 car. (Photo: Getty Images)
NASCAR has done it again. They’ve overstepped and made a mountain out of a molehill, and the whole world knows about it.
Unfortunately, the $25,000 fine NASCAR slapped Denny Hamlin with last Thursday is the story of the 2013 NASCAR season thus far. But it’s one they need to close the book on as fast and as quietly as possible. If you could wish something away, this would be it.
NASCAR lost a lot of credibility in fining Hamlin for harmless remarks about the new Gen-6 race car that he made after the Phoenix race. Hamlin had indicated he planned to appeal the fine, but ultimately decided against it.
This is censorship of the drivers, and it really sets NASCAR back years and years. I’m afraid this move will cost the sport a lot of fans who want to root for drivers who speak their minds honestly and openly, and appear to be real people – not robots. The biggest problem in this mess is that NASCAR drew a lot of attention to something that really was nothing, and in doing so, they’ve made all NASCAR fans question what comes out of their favorite drivers’ mouths going forward.
How do you know a driver is telling the truth or simply trying to avoid a fine? How do you know what he or she really thinks during an interview? You don’t and you can’t.
Compounding this problem is the fact Hamlin simply gave his opinion, and like he said last weekend, it wasn’t a bad one. He didn’t criticize the car – he simply implied it’s a work in progress. Heck – that’s what NASCAR has been preaching for months! So, where is his sin?
Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch, just to name two, have said far more “detrimental” things about the cars and racing in past years than Hamlin did. In Victory Lane at Bristol in the Car of Tomorrow’s 2007 debut, Busch declared on national television that the car “sucked.” Ouch. But he wasn’t fined. And in TV gold, Stewart, after being involved in a Talladega wreck, entertained us with his suggestions for not stopping the race until at least half the field was wrecked, even if it involved resorting to running a figure-eight race. He wasn’t fined either, although we all got a good laugh out of his comments.
Look at those comments and then look at what Hamlin said at Phoenix. They’re not even in the same solar system. I understand NASCAR trying to protect its product, but the sanctioning body shouldn’t tell drivers they can’t speak their minds and be their own person. That’s part of what this sport was built on.
At least Hamlin doesn’t subscribe to four-time champion Jeff Gordon’s theory, which he explained to the media is to simply bite his tongue at times so he can keep playing in NASCAR’s sandbox. Well, now the fans all know Gordon won’t shoot them straight. Drivers need to be able to speak their minds without fear of repercussions, but I don’t see that happening anytime soon.
This won’t just go away, but NASCAR needs to do the next best thing. Come out, admit they went too far and made a mistake with the penalty. Tell the drivers and fans they want the competitors to feel free to speak their minds in public within reason, and maybe, just maybe, begin to slowly regain some credibility with the fans. In short, NASCAR needs to basically apologize and do its best to retract the penalty.
If NASCAR leaves the penalty in place, however, they back every driver into a corner from this day forward. Fans won’t believe anything positive that comes out of any of their mouths from here on out. And I wouldn’t blame them.
Bill France built a great sport by telling us what we did wrong and what he expected out of us drivers. But he never aired it in public like this.
It’s time for NASCAR to do the right thing. Let the fine go. Let the hypersensitivity go. Let the massive control go. Just let the drivers go and let them be.
Jimmy Spencer calls it like he sees it on NASCAR Race Hub on SPEED. He retired from driving with two NASCAR Sprint Cup, 12 NASCAR Nationwide and one NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory, putting him in an elite group of drivers who have logged wins in all three of NASCAR’s premier divisions. In 478 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts, Spencer amassed 28 top-five and 80 top-10 finishes. He won back-to-back NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championships in 1986 and 1987 on the heels of 15 victories, becoming the first driver ever to earn consecutive titles in the series. He earned the nickname “Mr. Excitement” for his flamboyant and aggressive driving style early in his racing career.
The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEED.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or SPEED
Unfortunately, the $25,000 fine NASCAR slapped Denny Hamlin with last Thursday is the story of the 2013 NASCAR season thus far. But it’s one they need to close the book on as fast and as quietly as possible. If you could wish something away, this would be it.
NASCAR lost a lot of credibility in fining Hamlin for harmless remarks about the new Gen-6 race car that he made after the Phoenix race. Hamlin had indicated he planned to appeal the fine, but ultimately decided against it.
This is censorship of the drivers, and it really sets NASCAR back years and years. I’m afraid this move will cost the sport a lot of fans who want to root for drivers who speak their minds honestly and openly, and appear to be real people – not robots. The biggest problem in this mess is that NASCAR drew a lot of attention to something that really was nothing, and in doing so, they’ve made all NASCAR fans question what comes out of their favorite drivers’ mouths going forward.
How do you know a driver is telling the truth or simply trying to avoid a fine? How do you know what he or she really thinks during an interview? You don’t and you can’t.
Compounding this problem is the fact Hamlin simply gave his opinion, and like he said last weekend, it wasn’t a bad one. He didn’t criticize the car – he simply implied it’s a work in progress. Heck – that’s what NASCAR has been preaching for months! So, where is his sin?
Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch, just to name two, have said far more “detrimental” things about the cars and racing in past years than Hamlin did. In Victory Lane at Bristol in the Car of Tomorrow’s 2007 debut, Busch declared on national television that the car “sucked.” Ouch. But he wasn’t fined. And in TV gold, Stewart, after being involved in a Talladega wreck, entertained us with his suggestions for not stopping the race until at least half the field was wrecked, even if it involved resorting to running a figure-eight race. He wasn’t fined either, although we all got a good laugh out of his comments.
Look at those comments and then look at what Hamlin said at Phoenix. They’re not even in the same solar system. I understand NASCAR trying to protect its product, but the sanctioning body shouldn’t tell drivers they can’t speak their minds and be their own person. That’s part of what this sport was built on.
At least Hamlin doesn’t subscribe to four-time champion Jeff Gordon’s theory, which he explained to the media is to simply bite his tongue at times so he can keep playing in NASCAR’s sandbox. Well, now the fans all know Gordon won’t shoot them straight. Drivers need to be able to speak their minds without fear of repercussions, but I don’t see that happening anytime soon.
This won’t just go away, but NASCAR needs to do the next best thing. Come out, admit they went too far and made a mistake with the penalty. Tell the drivers and fans they want the competitors to feel free to speak their minds in public within reason, and maybe, just maybe, begin to slowly regain some credibility with the fans. In short, NASCAR needs to basically apologize and do its best to retract the penalty.
If NASCAR leaves the penalty in place, however, they back every driver into a corner from this day forward. Fans won’t believe anything positive that comes out of any of their mouths from here on out. And I wouldn’t blame them.
Bill France built a great sport by telling us what we did wrong and what he expected out of us drivers. But he never aired it in public like this.
It’s time for NASCAR to do the right thing. Let the fine go. Let the hypersensitivity go. Let the massive control go. Just let the drivers go and let them be.
Jimmy Spencer calls it like he sees it on NASCAR Race Hub on SPEED. He retired from driving with two NASCAR Sprint Cup, 12 NASCAR Nationwide and one NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory, putting him in an elite group of drivers who have logged wins in all three of NASCAR’s premier divisions. In 478 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts, Spencer amassed 28 top-five and 80 top-10 finishes. He won back-to-back NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championships in 1986 and 1987 on the heels of 15 victories, becoming the first driver ever to earn consecutive titles in the series. He earned the nickname “Mr. Excitement” for his flamboyant and aggressive driving style early in his racing career.
The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEED.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or SPEED
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