Thread: Tony in trouble
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Old 10 Aug 2014, 13:16 (Ref:3443020)   #18
J Jay
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Originally Posted by Paradise City View Post
I'm by no means a nanny-state person but a targetted reg or two might be in order here.
The rules are in place, but it's the consistency of their enforcement that is called into question. I don't follow sprint racing but I assume walking onto the track while the race is on is forbidden, even if it is under yellow. The first thing that came to my mind was a BES race where Mucke approached Westbrook to give him a mouthful (both in-car), only to accidentally swipe him and write both cars off. The original recommendation was that his licence should be revoked, but no lasting damage was done so Mucke got a slap on the wrist. It's easy to say that had there been injury Mucke would have been stripped of his licence, but that should have happened regardless of the outcome. It's the intent that we want to get rid of because otherwise this will happen again.

I'm not a big follower of American series apart from TUSC/PWC, but from an outsider's perspective on-track altercations seem to be played up as part of the "spice" of the event (and not just in NASCAR might I add). Stewart in particular has had his fair share of outbursts that even I've seen in promos and highlights. While I don't want to speculate on Tony's actions, I think what tranpsired last night would have been much less likely if the helmet/glove-throwing and window-grabbing were given multiple race suspensions. I do realize there's an element of "alpha male" hot-headedness that will never go away, but at the very least drivers need to be made aware how serious venturing onto a not-empty track is. Ward took his life in his own hands when he went to remonstrate with Stewart, this much we can unfortunately be certain of.

As I don't know the cars very well, do they have throttle telemetry? Even though that wouldn't be conclusive (direct drive, different rear tyre sizes, sliding on dirt, etc.) it would help piece together the sequence of events.

Regardless of where the blame is to be apportioned, this is utterly horrific and my sympathies go to all involved, especially the Ward family - RIP Kevin Ward. I hope this incident goes some way towards curbing the foolhardy attitude we see far too often in motorsports.

Quote:
Originally Posted by chernaudi View Post
I'm surprised that he's even going to try and race today. If I were NASCAR brass I'd encourage him to sit this one out based on his mental and emotional state. You can't be involved in a fatal accident like that and it not bother you. Even sitting out out of respect of Ward would be a good call on Smoke's end.
I'd go as far as pressuring him not to race, not only for the sponsor fallout/fan response/respect for the Ward family but for his own state of mind. He can't be holding up well having just been involved in a driver fatality. Wouldn't the investigators want him to sit the race out as well so they can speak to him again?

Last edited by J Jay; 10 Aug 2014 at 13:23.
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