Safety Concerns or Not, NASCAR Races Shouldn’t Finish Under Caution
NASCAR is under the gun once again. And while, after last weekend’s finish, they ought to be, this time it’s for all the wrong reasons.
The first race of the 2009 Chase for the Cup ended under caution on Sunday. But, as you may have gotten by now(and if you haven’t, you don’t know NASCAR’s mainstream media), that’s not why NASCAR journalists are all fired up.
NASCAR media members are having conniptions because they say NASCAR did not throw the caution on the last lap of Sunday’s Sylvania 300 fast enough. They claim NASCAR sacrificed safety in an attempt to “Have an exciting finish”.
Really?
For once, NASCAR let the drivers continue to race even after an accident had occurred. Sort of. NASCAR threw the caution flag, but apparently, not early enough for media members.
It’s alright. I agree that NASCAR should not have thrown the caution when they did.
I don’t believe NASCAR should have thrown it at all.
Yes, there was a car sitting in the middle of the track. Yes, it would have caused for a messy finish, and may have had an impact on the overall standings. So what? It’s the freaking Chase for the Sprint Cup! If these guys can’t figure out how to avoid a stopped car on a straightaway, why are they in NASCAR’s top series? These drivers are called “The best in the world”. How come NASCAR has to nurse them to the finish in order to avoid a big wreck?
I also understand the safety issue. I don’t like seeing people get hurt. But come on! What are these guys getting paid to do? They’re driving cars around in circles at 180(or 140 at New Hampshire) miles per hour. There has to be a little safety risk involved. If there isn’t, then how come the guys that finish last make 10 times more than the guys that won races back when drivers were scared for their lives?
Is NASCAR fake…
The fans in New Hampshire paid to see a race. What did they get? Certainly not a race to the finish. But apparently the mere thought of the fans getting to see a finish was too much for the media to bear.
I don’t understand why the heck every time a car wrecks on the last lap, we have to watch the cars coast back around to the start/finish line and wonder what could have been. We’re forced to swallow the results and pretend like nothing ever happened.
But I have one more thing to add to this subject. It’s more like a question, and if somebody out there has an answer, I’d love to hear it.
How come if a race were to not end under caution, and several cars wrecked and were to be piled up in one giant heap, we’d never hear the end of how it affected the outcome of the championship standings. And yet, if a NASCAR race does end unnaturally(under caution), and the drivers technically never have a chance to finish the race, it has “no impact” on the final standings?
In my opinion, if safety becomes such a big concern that it compromises the integrity of a sport, that sport becomes too safe. I will stand by that statement, and I believe NASCAR has become too safe. I don’t care if safety is a concern or not. NASCAR races should never, ever end under caution.