The Last Straw

Jimmie Johnson's crew chief Chad Knaus was caught red-handed at Talladega by a fan who happened to listen to radio chatter between Knaus and Johnson. Knaus told Johnson to wreck his car if he won last Sunday's race at Talladega so they would not fail post-race inspection, in other words Knaus would not be caught cheating again. Even after NASCAR had the obvious evidence,they said they would "investigate" but did not indicate any penalties would be administered. What was there to investigate? The recording proved conclusively that Chad Knaus was plotting to avoid getting caught by NASCAR over his unscrupulous activities. Knaus should have at the very least been suspended if not had his employment terminated. The 48 car should have been suspended the rest of the season. NASCAR as of this writing plans issuing no penalties against Knaus,Johnson,or Hendrick Motorsports,though they should.

The media's whitewash of the incident is just as disgusting. Either the story,though a major story,is not mentioned at all and if it is,excuses are made for Knaus and Johnson. The media butt kissing of Brian France,Hendrick Motorsports,and the 48 team is inexcusable and unacceptable. The media's job is to report news,good and bad. In this case,they have failed miserably and have been propagandists for the 48 team,Hendrick Motorsports,and those who run NASCAR.

This incident will no doubt cause NASCAR to lose even more fans in addition to the fans the sport has already lost and deservedly so. I have lost all respect for NASCAR as they have shown themselves as having no credibility,really just as bad as Chad Knaus himself. I have just about lost all interest in NASCAR as a fan. I am no longer a serious NASCAR fan but will be a casual observer, much as I was before 2003. I have followed NASCAR for eight years and have been to races. There was a time when it was exciting and unpredictable but now with boring cookie-cutter tracks,brought about largely by the greed of people such as Bruton Smith along with the France family,and the races lacking any real excitement,along with needless "debris" cautions to artificially create "excitement",combined with favoritism of certain drivers and teams,and other factors that are killing this sport,my interest has waned considerably.

The media only hype up certain drivers and ignore the rest of the field. Dale Earnhardt Jr is a mediocre driver who is not nearly the racer his father was. Danica Patrick is overrated because she is female. She only has one win in the Indy Car Series and that was a fluke. What makes anybody think she will do any better in NASCAR? I have nothing against women in racing. I just do not want overrated and over hyped drivers, male or female. Travis Pastrana, Manuel Pena,and Nelson Piquet Jr are also overrated and over hyped.

Goodbye,NASCAR. Sadly, I did not leave you. You left me. You left millions of diehard fans who were deeply committed to NASCAR and loved it but now you have abandoned us for greed, political correctness,mindless lemmings who do not know much about NASCAR or could not care less about it,along with over hyped and overrated racers, favoritism of certain drivers and teams,boring cookie-cutter tracks,and phony debris cautions to artificially create "excitement". NASCAR is beyond hope and is on its way to extinction and deserves it.