Friday, September 23, 2005

Lee Marriner / Associated Press Robby Gordon gets out of his car after crashing Sunday at New Hampshire International Speedway, before throwing his helmet at Michael Waltrip's car.

Burning Questions

Robby Gordon's road rage boils over

Helmet toss was hilarious, but Gordon needs to settle disputes away from the track.

By Angelique S. Chengelis / The Detroit News

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Q. Oh, no. Robby Gordon threw a helmet at Michael Waltrip's car during last Sunday's race at New Hampshire International Speedway after they were involved in an accident. What's the sport coming to?

A: The helmet-throwing incident made every national sports highlight show. And guess what? Even though NASCAR fined Gordon $35,000 and docked him 50 driver points, series officials had to love the publicity. Don't fool yourself into thinking differently.

Now, Gordon's first move should not be tolerated. Initially, he tried to hit Waltrip's car with his own. That's when he opted to climb from his car, walk through race traffic during a caution and throw the helmet.

Q: You liked the helmet-throwing, didn't you?

A: Absolutely, because it was hilarious footage and no one got injured. The only thing I don't like is NASCAR suggesting it doesn't like the sideshows that often give NASCAR races a bit of a circus feel.

That's part of the sport's appeal -- hey, you hit me, I'll hit you back. Even Mark Martin said after the race that people love those feuds.

However, the biggest issue here is that Gordon's retaliation took place on the track. It's one thing if Gordon and Tony Stewart scuffle in the garage area, as they did several years ago at Daytona, and quite another if the road rage occurs on the track during a race.

That is the kind of stuff NASCAR should not tolerate.

Q: Kasey Kahne also was fined $25,000 for intentionally hitting Kyle Busch in retaliation for an earlier race incident. Like Gordon, Kahne is on probation.

A: Again, so what? If NASCAR really wanted to put an end to bad behavior on the track, it would suspend drivers. That will never happen, and drivers are fully aware of that.

First and foremost, the sport is entirely sponsor-driven. NASCAR doesn't have the guts to park a car covered with all those corporate logos.

Q: So let the drivers should just be allowed to do whatever they want?

A: Of course not. But fines don't do anything. Really, what is $25,000 to these guys?

The only thing that works is to take away driver points. That, ultimately, hits drivers where it hurts the most.

Burning questions