Does Junior have a chance?

I see nothing wrong with spinning out his car to bring out a caution. Its simply a good strategy that many have used over the years. The only thing I think he should be fined for is bragging about it in post race interviews because it gave the wrong idea to drivers that may not have the talent to do it and make sure that it was safe and keep it off the wall. However, I can certainly understand his being excited after the race that he stayed on the lead lap.

I fail to understand how this was a selfish act, or even how it endangered the other drivers. When other drivers want a caution, they spin someone else or put another car into the wall. But Jr. got by himself and made sure that the only person he endangered was himself. It's all part of racing.

I don't believe it is fair to use his comments on his team radio against him, because team radio conversations should be considered private. It's like party lines before telephones. When somebody listens in on other peoples' conversations, they should understand that they might hear something that wasn't meant for them, and they should not pay any attention to it.

I actually think that where he spun was a great decision. Had he continued to race a few more laps, he would have been in traffic again and his wheel could have fallen off possibly taking out one of the leaders as they lapped him. That would have had a greater impact on the outcome of the race.

Jr.'s driving as of late shows me that his father did a great job of mentoring Jr. His father would have done the same thing, except he wouldn't have bragged about it, so you might have a point about his immaturity, but that's all part of growing up.

 

It was a good move on his part, because he had nothing to lose but lots to gain by doing it.

But it was a BAD move to admit it. Had he kept his mouth closed I seriously doubt if anyone would have pressed him, and a silent Earnhardt smirk during the interview question would have made the point.

BTW as drp737 points out, that's how Dale Sr. would have handled it, I'm sure.

OTOH, since he did admit it, NASCAR was entirely correct to penalize him.

Just my two cents.

 

Well, for starters it's prohibited in the NASCAR rule book. Secondly, it's poor sportmanship. Other drivers went laps down when they needed to pit during green flag runs.

I can bet you that any driver on that track could have done the same move. A lot of them were surprized that he was dumb enough to admit it, though. That was a bonehead move!

Sure - he had a big incentive to cheat the rules - look at the potential to lose points in the championship race.

Just ask Rusty Wallace or a few of the other leaders what THEY thought about the stunt. Dale didn't consider that those guys were racing for the win. The extra caution probably cost Rusty a chance.

None of this makes it right. Kurt Busch got busted last year for punting Spencer in The Winston - he also made the mistake of admitting it over an open mike. If NASCAR can prove cheating, they should act on it.

It only started with the team radio comments... when being interview after the race, he was asked about the spin and he went into great detail how he pulled it off... big time bragging!

NASCAR has put the teams on notice that the radio conversations are monitered and fines may be handed out for improper comments. All of the teams know these conversations are monitored by the fans and media.

The best decision would have be to pit and not affect the racing action at all... except his position. Others chose to do that instead of faking a spin... why should Jr. get a free pass?

Yes, Jr. is getting better. It's well documented that racers will do almost anything to win... but he learned this week to keep his mouth shut next time. This one didn't really hurt him, at least not as much as obeying the rules and pitting would have. It'll be interesting to see how he matures in the coming years.