BenchRacer
03-27-2001, 12:55 PM
Stewart's recklessness should cost him
By Jerry Bonkowski
ESPN.com
At first, I couldn't help but laugh at the image of Tony Stewart cutting down into pit road following Sunday's Food City 500 in Bristol, Tenn., and spinning Jeff Gordon around.
The move was in retaliation for Gordon inadvertently making contact with Stewart on the final lap of the race, spinning Stewart around and out of what appeared to be a sure fourth-place finish. Instead, Gordon finished fourth and Stewart dropped like a lead weight to 25th.
Yep, old Tony really got his Indiana counterpart, and gave him the middle-finger salute to boot. Ha ha. Sure, it cost Stewart a $10,000 fine and probation until the end of August, but boy, he sure got Gordon good, didn't he? Ha ha, yuck yuck.
But after I sat back and thought about it a bit more, Stewart's spin of Gordon on a very crowded pit road wasn't so funny. What if Gordon's car had spun into a crew member from another team or a nearby NASCAR official? What if Stewart's bonehead move got someone killed or seriously hurt?
Sure, a lot of you would say it was a slow-speed "love tap." To me, it was an irresponsible move by an equally irresponsible driver. What's more, it wasn't the first time Stewart has made a goofball move like that in his Cup career.
Granted, fender banging and "love taps" are an inherent part of racing. If a car gets through a race without at least a creased fender, then most Winston Cup die-hards would say the driver wasn't really "racin'."
But where do you draw the line between "racin'" and reckless driving like Stewart's post-race shenanigans Sunday?
Keep that up and someone's going to get hurt ? or killed. Would it just be "racin'" then? What if, God forbid, Stewart's or Gordon's car actually did hit someone? How would Stewart, who is supposed to be a prime example and role model for American youth, feel if his inability to control his aggression on the track cost someone their life or put them in a wheelchair for life?
What if Stewart intentionally tagged Gordon on the track at high speed and sent him crashing into the wall, perhaps taking another driver or two with him? Would we all then be preparing for another funeral?
Perhaps Stewart has an anger management problem. If that's the case, and given how four NASCAR drivers have died in the last year alone, the sanctioning body should put its foot down hard after Sunday's incident.
I'm not over-stating the case. I'm not jumping to conclusions. I'm not being overly cautious. Hell, I like fender-banging as much as the next guy.
But when you take the "sport" out of "sportsmanlike" driving, and inject what was nothing more than a case of road rage into the equation, then you've crossed the line.
In my mind, and since this isn't the first time Stewart's haphazard driving has incurred the wrath of NASCAR, Stewart got away with a slap on the wrist with his $10,000 fine and "probation." And what if he violates probation? Is Warden Mike Helton going to send him to solitary? Is he going to be forced to eat gruel and week-old bread?
No, since this is not Stewart's first infraction, NASCAR should have thrown the book at him. Smacking another driver in the pits, turning him around when there were crew members and officials within striking range, and then giving Gordon the middle finger as he motored by showed Stewart to be not only a very poor driver, but an even poorer sport.
He was a buffoon, an immature child, a poor example of what a "good" Cup driver should be. For that, he should be parked indefinitely to give him time to reflect on his actions. But, of course, NASCAR won't do that because of Stewart's high-profile team owner (Joe Gibbs) and the big-bucks sponsor (Home Depot).
No, NASCAR wouldn't want to offend a team owner or major sponsor, would it? They'd rather give Stewart a slap on the wrist, rather than worry what they might have to tell the widow or family of a crew member or official if a situation like Sunday's incident would ever arise again.
For the record, Gordon didn't intentionally tap Stewart -- Stewart caused the incident himself. I have watched replays of the their tangle close to a dozen times, and it is quite obvious Gordon dropped down below the apron line of the track to try and stay out of Stewart's way. Even so, Stewart kept going lower on the track. Gordon had nowhere else to go -- contact was inevitable and unavoidable.
"I did everything I could do to keep from hitting him," Gordon said of Stewart.
Yet, Stewart was so blind to what he caused, he circled around the track, intent on sending Gordon a message. And what did that message turn out to be? That Stewart is a bonehead, pure and simple. He wanted to embarrass Gordon, but in the end wound up embarrassing himself, instead.
After he was penalized by NASCAR, Stewart tried to apologize for his actions, saying, "(Spinning Gordon on pit road) was wrong. I could have hurt somebody, in all reality."
And in reality, embarrass the heck out of yourself, Tony. And we all know what word is at the end of embarrass, don't we?
Veteran national motorsports writer Jerry Bonkowski is a regular contributor to RPM.ESPN.com, specializing in NASCAR, CART and NHRA.
By Jerry Bonkowski
ESPN.com
At first, I couldn't help but laugh at the image of Tony Stewart cutting down into pit road following Sunday's Food City 500 in Bristol, Tenn., and spinning Jeff Gordon around.
The move was in retaliation for Gordon inadvertently making contact with Stewart on the final lap of the race, spinning Stewart around and out of what appeared to be a sure fourth-place finish. Instead, Gordon finished fourth and Stewart dropped like a lead weight to 25th.
Yep, old Tony really got his Indiana counterpart, and gave him the middle-finger salute to boot. Ha ha. Sure, it cost Stewart a $10,000 fine and probation until the end of August, but boy, he sure got Gordon good, didn't he? Ha ha, yuck yuck.
But after I sat back and thought about it a bit more, Stewart's spin of Gordon on a very crowded pit road wasn't so funny. What if Gordon's car had spun into a crew member from another team or a nearby NASCAR official? What if Stewart's bonehead move got someone killed or seriously hurt?
Sure, a lot of you would say it was a slow-speed "love tap." To me, it was an irresponsible move by an equally irresponsible driver. What's more, it wasn't the first time Stewart has made a goofball move like that in his Cup career.
Granted, fender banging and "love taps" are an inherent part of racing. If a car gets through a race without at least a creased fender, then most Winston Cup die-hards would say the driver wasn't really "racin'."
But where do you draw the line between "racin'" and reckless driving like Stewart's post-race shenanigans Sunday?
Keep that up and someone's going to get hurt ? or killed. Would it just be "racin'" then? What if, God forbid, Stewart's or Gordon's car actually did hit someone? How would Stewart, who is supposed to be a prime example and role model for American youth, feel if his inability to control his aggression on the track cost someone their life or put them in a wheelchair for life?
What if Stewart intentionally tagged Gordon on the track at high speed and sent him crashing into the wall, perhaps taking another driver or two with him? Would we all then be preparing for another funeral?
Perhaps Stewart has an anger management problem. If that's the case, and given how four NASCAR drivers have died in the last year alone, the sanctioning body should put its foot down hard after Sunday's incident.
I'm not over-stating the case. I'm not jumping to conclusions. I'm not being overly cautious. Hell, I like fender-banging as much as the next guy.
But when you take the "sport" out of "sportsmanlike" driving, and inject what was nothing more than a case of road rage into the equation, then you've crossed the line.
In my mind, and since this isn't the first time Stewart's haphazard driving has incurred the wrath of NASCAR, Stewart got away with a slap on the wrist with his $10,000 fine and "probation." And what if he violates probation? Is Warden Mike Helton going to send him to solitary? Is he going to be forced to eat gruel and week-old bread?
No, since this is not Stewart's first infraction, NASCAR should have thrown the book at him. Smacking another driver in the pits, turning him around when there were crew members and officials within striking range, and then giving Gordon the middle finger as he motored by showed Stewart to be not only a very poor driver, but an even poorer sport.
He was a buffoon, an immature child, a poor example of what a "good" Cup driver should be. For that, he should be parked indefinitely to give him time to reflect on his actions. But, of course, NASCAR won't do that because of Stewart's high-profile team owner (Joe Gibbs) and the big-bucks sponsor (Home Depot).
No, NASCAR wouldn't want to offend a team owner or major sponsor, would it? They'd rather give Stewart a slap on the wrist, rather than worry what they might have to tell the widow or family of a crew member or official if a situation like Sunday's incident would ever arise again.
For the record, Gordon didn't intentionally tap Stewart -- Stewart caused the incident himself. I have watched replays of the their tangle close to a dozen times, and it is quite obvious Gordon dropped down below the apron line of the track to try and stay out of Stewart's way. Even so, Stewart kept going lower on the track. Gordon had nowhere else to go -- contact was inevitable and unavoidable.
"I did everything I could do to keep from hitting him," Gordon said of Stewart.
Yet, Stewart was so blind to what he caused, he circled around the track, intent on sending Gordon a message. And what did that message turn out to be? That Stewart is a bonehead, pure and simple. He wanted to embarrass Gordon, but in the end wound up embarrassing himself, instead.
After he was penalized by NASCAR, Stewart tried to apologize for his actions, saying, "(Spinning Gordon on pit road) was wrong. I could have hurt somebody, in all reality."
And in reality, embarrass the heck out of yourself, Tony. And we all know what word is at the end of embarrass, don't we?
Veteran national motorsports writer Jerry Bonkowski is a regular contributor to RPM.ESPN.com, specializing in NASCAR, CART and NHRA.