Posted: June 20, 2008
Speedway Media Online

NASCAR has been under scrutiny the past few weeks from the media, the drivers and most importantly, the fans.

With a multi-million dollar lawsuit sitting on their doorstep from a former Nationwide Series official, NASCAR now wants to limit what the drivers can say about the sport.

NASCAR held a closed mandatory meeting Friday afternoon at Michigan International Speedway between the Nextel Cup drivers and owners. No media was allowed in the meeting to report on what was being said to the audience.

NASCAR spokesperson Jim Hunter told the media that the mandatory meeting was to remind the drivers that if it weren’t for the fans, there wouldn’t be a NASCAR.

Apparently NASCAR didn’t tell the drivers and owners that they couldn’t relay what was said in the closed meeting. As soon as the meeting was over, drivers were telling different stories to different media outlets.

Did NASCAR forget that the drivers and owners are very media savvy, some having media credentials themselves with television experience and their own radio shows?

NASCAR basically told the drivers to “shut up and drive.” They were told, according to members that were in the meeting, to quit complaining about the Car of Tomorrow (COT), and put on a show for the fans.

NASCAR telling the drivers to “shut up and drive” is not only an insult to the drivers, but to the fans that have made the sport what it is. Does NASCAR really think that hearing the drivers complain will stop them from coming to the track, spending their hard earned money and watching NASCAR all together?

What has caused the ticket sales to go down and the television ratings to go up is because the economy is in an economic slump. Gas prices are outrages and the U.S. dollar isn’t stacking up to what it used to be.

NASCAR promised the fans and drivers that they (the drivers) could be more outspoken this season, letting racing get back to what it use to be with emotion.

That’s what the drivers are doing when they get out of the cars complaining. They are showing their frustration.

This isn’t a new concept.

Drivers complained about their cars long before the COT hit the asphalt at Bristol last year. In an interview with Tony Stewart after the Lifelock 400 in Michigan, he said he didn’t know what he could or couldn’t say in response to how his race was.

NASCAR needs not sugarcoat everything for fans about closed meetings, especially when there are drivers who are a part of the media. Be honest and open, which the drivers want to do. The only way the car is going to get better is if the drivers find out what they like or don’t like about it.

While NASCAR wants to remind the drivers that NASCAR became what it is because of the fans, they should remember who the fans really are. Fans want to know as much about the sport as they possibly can, including the not-so-good parts.

NASCAR owes the fans that right.