You Can Huff and Puff but NASCAR Won’t Let You In
By: Andy Kondratick
I made several comments to him about the amount of people in the pit-area and he said then that they were looking to limit the amount of people in the infield at certain times. True to his word, by Saturday night race time the infield garage area was closed to everyone but working personnel or approved media. It’s true folks. I was there to witness the first time that it ever happened in NASCAR history.
Of course at that time I was all for it and to my own surprise I agree with what they are doing now, to an extent. Close the locker room? I don’t think that is such a bad idea. Let’s face facts. Just as in any other sport, you have tons of great people who follow the rules and have a good time without getting out of hand but there are always those chosen few who can’t handle themselves at all. Imagine what could have happened to Sterling Marlin back in 2001 after the “Big One” at Daytona when Dale died. The next week after seeing all the replays so many fans were ready to lynch Sterling because they thought he somehow contributed to the accident. Those fans forgot about the fact they are doing 200 M.P.H. and that Dale Sr. was no rookie. He was trying his best to block anyone’s advances toward his two DEI drivers ahead of him. The fans wanted blood. They hunted Sterling down after the next race and spit on him, screamed obscenities and forced him to have a police escort for his safety.
Yes, I think limiting to the amount of people in the infield is very necessary. I criticized NASCAR for not doing enough to protect the drivers from the media and the fans after all the infield incidents last year. The very fact that September 11th can happen in this country should tell you that something needed to be done. You never really know who is wandering around. I know how you all feel. This may very well limit my access to the pits also but if it means this sport can continue to grow and the drivers are comfortable then it’s OK to me.
Some fans have said that they will just go back to their Saturday night Dirt Track and give them their business. I am sure that there are plenty of people waiting for your NASCAR tickets. Stop and think a minute. You don’t have as many people at these short tracks and the drivers, whether we like it or not, don’t have to deal with the same mob of fans. Hmmm… 20,000 vs. 150,000. You figure it out. Well, you can count on one thing if you do that. You won’t have to wait in traffic as long. No matter how much fans threaten NASCAR by moving their interests elsewhere they won’t budge. You will never get them to change anything unless they want to. The brick house is built.
I am backing NASCAR up on this one as much as it pains me to do so. If you are a true fan of stock car racing or you just have common sense then you will understand why they are doing it. Change is sometimes the most difficult thing to embrace especially when you have so many years of things being one way.
This has been one fan’s opinion. - Rogue Reporter Andy
E-mail me at roguereporter@comcast.net
January 3, 2003 -
Just like a wolf in sheep’s clothing, NASCAR’s upper echelon is making bold moves to make sure there is no more chaos in the pits. They are putting up the brick walls as we speak.
Back in September of last year I had the distinct honor of speaking with NASCAR President Mike Helton in a brief interview in the infield of Richmond International Raceway. (a.k.a.- RIR)
Rogue Chats with NASCAR President Mike Helton