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June 21, 1998
Sportsmanship in Racing Two weeks ago at DeSoto Speedway we had the Psycho Modifieds, this week at Orlando we had the Speedworld version of the WWF. Or perhaps these 'race drivers' are just grads of the Mike Tyson School of Sportsmanship.
Stock Car racing, as we all know, is a family sport made up of some of the finest competitors and fans you would ever want to meet. A lot of people work very hard to prepare a race track for quality entertainment, from the track employees down to the guys and gals who are the stars of the show.
Now granted, not everyone is born with or learns how to conduct themselves with class. We have "fans" who somehow think it's cool to throw Miller Missiles at NASCAR machines traveling at 200 miles an hour. And we have 'race car drivers' who can't seem to hold back their childish spasms and decide to run around the track under yellow crashing their rivals and getting out of their cars and making a public spectacle of themselves by pretending to be street fighters.
And of course there's a few idiots in any sizable group of individuals. But the public doesn't pay good money to see temper tantrums by supposedly grown adults. The frustration is understandable. The lack of class is not. On every race track there is the call for "Gentlemen, start your engines". The operative word is Gentlemen. Dale Earnhart, Jr, fined by NASCAR last week, was obviously not taught or did not learn the lessons of sportsmanship.
And there are a few drivers at any speedway who also fall in the same category of poor losers. Or perhaps just losers. When a caution was thrown because one guy got in the back of another driver and drove him rather obviously hard in the infield, the stage was set. These guys paraded around the track under caution taking turns ramming each other. Must be nice to have enough money to waste their fine machines this way.
Then it took close to a dozen members of the Manatee Sheriffs Department to keep a riot from occurring in the pits. The Deputies are to be commended for their handling of the situation. One of the drivers would never be on the high banks of DeSoto Speedway if I owned or operated the track. But I don't so all I can do is express the absolute disgust that myself and many, many fans feel over incidents like this. It's a real good role model image to set for the young fans that mom and pop have paid good money to give their kids exposure to wholesome family entertainment.
At Orlando Speedworld two Late Models drivers got into an on track altercation with one going to car of the other, pulling down the safety net and began assaulting the other with his fists. In this case if I were King (great song) I would have quietly had him arrested for assault and battery. And then barred him from the track for life. It's hard enough for the speedways to pull good crowds without this kind of nonsense. I thought it was fitting that a lady won that late model race. Well done Debbie Santo!
Emotional responses to intense competition is surely understandable. However , the mark of a real competitor is being able to harness the energies and maintain a sense of decorum even under those tough conditions. A race driver who can't control his emotions on the track is a danger to the other drivers and the fans. And is a disgrace to the greatest group of men and women athletes on the planet.
And the racing management have a responsility to the fans to ensure that the sportmanship line is drawn very clearly.
What do you think? Is the Mike Tyson School of Sportsmanship acceptable in racing? What should be the penalties for physical violence on the race track?
- Jack Smith
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