Integrity

[falcon325]

Monte Dutton of the Gaston Gazette reported that the press box was full of people forecasting a debris caution in Sunday’s race.  Why?  Because Little E was about to pit out of sequence and go a lap down.

http://www.gastongazette.com/sections/sports/nascar/index.aspx?id=828

Sitting at home, I told my wife, “Here comes the debris caution.” 

Sure enough….  Mystery debris.

Shockingly, Dutton was the only reporter to comment on the obvious manipulation of a major sport.  I found one other “reporter” who mentioned it, but he took care to mock anyone who drew the obvious conclusion as a “conspiracy theorist.”

The TV crew ran down poor Robby Gordon and caught him with that "cat that ate the canary" look as they forced him to watch the video of roll bar padding flying from his car.  They didn't dare approach the Big Blue Truck and ask to see the supposed lap 82 debris.

I like Little E, but this--along with the Robby Gordon “no call”--is ridiculous.  NA$CAR is nothing but pro wrasslin’ on wheels, covered by a bunch of jock-sniffers clutching their precious hard cards and too frightened of angering the NA$CAR brass to speak the truth.

 

[Chris]

covered by a bunch of jock-sniffers clutching their precious hard cards and too frightened of angering the NA$CAR brass to speak the truth.

I HAVE to agree with you here...
Look at the announcers we have... or the shows.
FIRST up we USED to have PIT BULLS,.. one of the BEST shows there was.  IT pointed out stuff like this and brought it out to the publics eyes,...
Got CANCELLED<... why,.. well, it's ovbious... can't have anyone pointing out what is going on and make nascar look bad.
Look at Jimmy Spencer on Nascar Today.  When he first started, every loved Jimmy because he would "tell it like it is"... anyone notice,... he's not like that any more.  He still runs his mouth,.. but NEVER hear him disagree with nascar any more or any moves they make.
DW was the same way when he started broadcasting.  Same thing happened to him.
I get the idea they were told in no uncertain terms,.. be nice, tone it down, and toe the line or you'll lose your job... PERIOD
Look at what happened to Ray Dunlap for the comments he made on Tradin' Paint.  I'm sure he was probably 100% correct,... but he gets SUSPENDED for a week,.. and this week I saw instead of being on his pre-race pit box opening the show,.. he was relegated to pit road, and that gal was the host that opened the show.

SO Nascar controls EVERYTHING.  IF you get out of line,.. they fire you,.. or put pressure on the people that ARE your bosses to get you fired,.. then just replace you with someone that will say 'nice' things about Nascar...  It's all like a big coverup at a corperation. all hush hush,.. and we are all mushrooms.
Covered with crap, and kept in the dark.

Better look at EVERYTHING Nascar does with a suspecious eye,.. everything is NOTon the up and up,.. take it from someone whos been there.

[Bryan Blanton]

Chris mentioned the show pitbulls actually i never really cared for that show that much i think i watched it a couple of times if i remember right isn't that the show that had 5 or 6 guys on it and basically all they did was talk over 1 another or they'd all start talking or someone else would talk over the other person.

Sometimes it was hard to hear what 1 person was saying.

About the only person i cared for on there was robin miller.

But that's just me.

[Bryan Blanton]

Isn't there new show a lot like pitbulls? Plus another thing what time are those shows aired on tv?

Wasn't the show with mcreynolds knuas and barker on at midnight 1 night?

[falcon325]

I liked Pit Bulls, but I agree Bryan, I don't like people talking over each other.

I've lost a lot of respect for Larry Mac.  He came out with a piece claiming that in all his years, blah, blah, blah, NA$CAR would NEVER, EVER throw a caution to help a certain driver blah, blah, blah.  Come on, Larry.  Try looking in the mirror after you cash that check.

Dutton was the only writer with the gonads to call out the Daytona Beach mafia the day after the race.  Now it apears that the testicles of a few more motorsports journalists have descended.  David Poole of the Charlotte Observer has written a scathing criticism of mystery debris cautions.  And a couple of more at least screwed up the courage to at least mention it.

Poole used the word "integrity" and made the excellent point that the people calling the race are currently also involved in the business side of NA$CAR.  NA$CAR needs to have independent refs who will call it like they see it for safety and not count the red or rainbow or orange or any other color tees up there in the stands.

[Bryan Blanton]

Are the reporters who criticize nascar allowed at the track or are they banned from showing up? Do they worry about losing their you know their thing which allows them in the garage area or other areas of the racetracks?

[Chris]

Are the reporters who criticize nascar allowed at the track or are they banned from showing up? Do they worry about losing their you know their thing which allows them in the garage area or other areas of the racetracks?

First off this:
Do they worry about losing their you know their thing which allows them in the garage area or other areas of the racetracks
this is called a "hard card",... Nascar members get them and they "Pay" for them>  Now I'm not so sure press has anything like a hard card. I think the press calls the track and say I am sending a reporter, etc... and they ask for their name,.. and they get put on what is called a "dead head" list (basically they just go in sign a release, and don't pay).
I'm not sure what all privilages go with what.  I'm sure media has different privilages than radio, or press, etc.
MOST press are local,.. just come in do stories for their local papers, etc when the race comes to town.  Then of course you have the media that travels around with the Nascars series,.  Guys like Benny Parsons, Wally, etc,.. but you also got the guys that run the cameras, lay down the miles of cable, producers, you name it, you got a rolling production company.  Then you got the pit reporters, and all the guys that carry hand held cameras, ... 
SO yeah,.. I guess I could maybe see an instance where if some of the MAJOR on screen reporters got on TV and slammed nascar,.. or some local writers were always being derogatory about Nascar they could be blackballed and not allowed on the property.
I mean, heck,.. they can prohibit drivers, crew chiefs etc from being on the track property,... so I can see where a lowly reporter could be banned.

Woe be to Nascar if they DID ban a writer... Imagine the stories if that happened... the power of the pen.

[Busch Babe 899]

Actually, press have to apply for a pass more than 3 weeks before hand, contacting the track and supplying the required info, so they can have a security check done and then the pass is issued. I imagine the "regular" press that follows the circuit have a season-long pass they can apply for, but I read about the process for an individual track recently:

http://columbiamissourian.com/news/story.php?ID=22219

[Chris]

aahhh.. they've changed the process... hhuumm
thanks for the info BB... I stand corrected.
Thats different than before.
Must have come about since all this terrorist and security stuff came about.
Learn something new every day huh..??

[Dustcloud]

Actually, I had to have that done the first year I worked press, and that was 1999. But maybe that's because I was working more than just the NASCAR Weekend.

Me, I wonder what NASCAR's suggestion to Gordon sounded like...

[AfterShock]

If I'm not mistaken, Robin Miller has mentioned he isn't allowed at NA$CAR events.

Might have been kidding, ----- or not.

[falcon325]

If I'm not mistaken, Robin Miller has mentioned he isn't allowed at NA$CAR events.

LOL. 

Yeah, but Shock!  Buddy! 

What ol' "Rabid Robin" knows or cares about NA$CAR racing can pretty much be carved on the head of a pin with a chisel and sledgehammer.

Robin is a piece of work.  He has a rather high opinion of himself.  He is probably the only person on the planet who would be suprised to learn that NA$CAR isn't going to strew palm fronds and rose petals in his path into their garage area so he can bad-mouth their sport and pump a rival.  A pathetic, washed-up shell of a rival perhaps, but a rival nevertheless.

And I'm sure that the esteemed Mr. Miller (or, should I say, "self-esteemed") is, in fact, allowed at NA$CAR events.  It's just that he has to actually fork out the cash for a ticket like the rest of us.  Oh, the humanity!!! 

OTOH, I wish we had a few more NA$CAR reporters whose testicles have descended.  Somebody as cranky and rude as Miller who actually knew something about stock car racing might be a breath of fresh air for NA$CAR.