Well you know I’ve got an opinion…is it the same as yours? Let’s see…
I’ve been looking at this “oil cap” thing, trying to figure out if it could have been an accident, an overlooked tweak, something that just worked its way off, but hmmm. I’m not coming up with anything that convinces me beyond a shadow of a doubt that something wasn’t a little questionable with this one, are you? I kind of get the same feeling about it that I did when my teenage kids would tell me how they ended up with a speeding ticket. It seemed that maybe the policeman wasn’t pointing his radar at them; he was pointing it elsewhere and just thought it was my kids…uh huh…okay. And apparently the policeman just didn’t like teenagers…that was a popular excuse. Never mind that my teenager was going faster than the posted speed, that didn’t matter, I guess. I’d let them prattle on and then I’d look at them and tell them… “You broke a rule, now you pay the price, plain and simple. I don’t care about the details; you messed up, so suck up and deal with it.”
But it was the time between when I found out they had a ticket and the time they came clean that gave me that uneasy feeling…I knew something wasn’t right, I knew their excuses didn’t set well with my Mom instincts, and until they finally ‘fessed up and dealt with it, those feelings ate at my gut. I wonder who’s guts are getting torn up over there at Roush Fenway Racing right now…you know there’s got to be someone.
All I’m going to say about this deal with Carl’s oil cap is somebody needs to deal…’fess up and get it over with. Something happened that wasn’t on the up and up and now somebody has to pay the price. Who is it that actually did it? Unfortunately, the culprits may not be the ones that are getting punished. I, as unpopular as this thought usually is, believe that the driver is usually in the dark about these things. Why? Because it makes absolutely no sense to me, no matter how I twist and turn the circumstances that a driver would willingly put his reputation on the line. Granted, I may just be looking through rose colored glasses, but hey, I like the view. I am realistic enough to realize that we as fans will probably never know what the heck went on in the few seconds it took to loosen the cap or whatever they did to it. And so…no need to debate this any further I suppose. NASCAR doled out the penalty they saw fit, and Edwards, because he’s a pretty good guy, will suck it up, pay the price and wonder,if he doesn’t already know, who the heck messed around with his chances to make the Chase.
Now, we see Robby Gordon, a fellow that got caught up in a first for NASCAR. It seems a new and improved but quite unapproved part that was labeled with a current ID number was put on Robby’s car and flunked the template test.
His fault? Nope.
His teams fault? Nope.
So what the heck?
Well, that’s the thought we are left to wonder about…it was a mix up maybe, a missed detail, a new part that didn’t get a new part number…whatever, it wasn’t the right part. Am I glad Robby hasn’t been shoved in the dirt with a massive point’s penalty? Yes, because I really like this guy, he’s headstrong, focused, and dedicated. But he’ll also push things right to the very edge of acceptability which is probably one of the reasons I like him so much…but back to the issue. Robby’s situation was totally different than Carl’s…right? Hmmm…I have that yucky feeling in my gut. But not for the reason you might think. I don’t think Robby and his team purposely did anything to jeopardize their chances in the race, not at all. But I do wonder how this particular judgment will spill over into future penalties.
NASCAR has been very strong this year in telling the teams that the COT penalties will be big, they’ll hurt, and they’ll get your attention. And they have done just that so it seems.
They’ve also said it didn’t matter how the thing was messed around with, it isn’t acceptable. So…as much as we love Robby’s underdog persona and his willingness to take on this sport with high expectations and goals, let’s take him out of the picture for a minute and see if we can figure out where this might go.
Maybe NASCAR will have to concede and revise their thinking when it comes to special circumstances. After all, this was, as far as we can tell, an event that was out of the team’s control. Right? Hmmm…if it had been proved to be a total error by the manufacturer, why the monetary fine? Perhaps because the team should have caught it? And if the team should have caught it then maybe they saw it? Ah…who knows?
We could banter forever on these two different pictures, and I can guarantee we’d never agree completely…and that’s okay, that’s what makes this so much fun. We watch the race and then we have a few days to analyze, speculate and pick apart everyone’s thoughts and predictions before we start all over again. What else could be so intriguing? You have something better to do? Nah….there’s always time to fuss and fume…it’s all a part of the game.
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