Thanksgiving RacinDeals

GET SAFER, OR ELSE: Well,
the "threat" has finally surfaced: "We need to get
the government involved in racing if they can’t make it safer
themselves."

Some newspaper in Charlotte, with nothing
better to do, had some guy do some research and he found that
there have been almost 300 fatalities in racing since 1990.

And now the outcries have started. "Racing
must be made safer," they say, "or we’ll get the
government to make it safer." This is the same government
that runs the Post Office? The same government that’s getting
ready to hire tens of thousands of security folks to inspect your
luggage at the air port? That’s reassuring. Does the phrase
"I’m from the government and I’m here to help" ring a
bell?

Racing is inherently dangerous. It’s
dangerous to the participants, their crews, the officials, anyone
else in the pits, and the crowd in the grandstands.

Is it dangerous enough to ban? Or to get
the government involved so it can be made "safe"? I
don’t think so.

You’re more likely to die driving to the race. The government
hasn’t exactly been 100% effective in reducing highway traffic
deaths; what makes these safety "experts" so sure that
the government can "fix" racing?

NHIS: I’m probably going to miss
the New Hampshire race, simply because we won’t be back in town until noon on
Friday, and as soon as we get home, I’ve got to pack up the lap top and go out
to Nashville Superspeedway for practice for the All American Classic All Pro/Goody’s
Dash races this Sunday.

I doubt that I’ll miss much, since the
races at NHIS recently have made the rest of the season look exciting.

OFFICIAL STATUS: NASCAR has sucked
some more money from Coca Cola so that Coke can continue their
"official" soft drink status. And now they have an
"official" water, a brand that’s also bottled by the Coca Cola
company.

Here are some categories that would be
interesting to see: Official whiskey of NASCAR; official condom of NASCAR;
official feminine product of NASCAR (although one is a sponsor of Randy LaJoie);
official cigarette of NASCAR (they’ve got one in Winston, they just can’t say it
that way); official ambulance of NASCAR.

AUTOPSY PHOTOS AGAIN:  Some
people just don’t know when to quit. Five "journalism" advocacy groups
are so afraid that not being able to see autopsy photos will impede the First
Amendment that they’ve sued Florida in order to overturn their autopsy photo
law.

Isn’t it nice that we have these
self-appointed "watchdogs" out there making sure us stupid regular
folks are protected from the government?

HELMET ISSUES: So, Dale Earnhardt,
Jr. wears a full-faced helmet, and what happens? He gets some debris in his eye
and has to drive with one eye closed for the last part of the race at Atlanta.
Hmm, I though full-faced helmets were the be-all, end-all of head safety?
Doesn’t strike me as being too safe if the helmet causes a driver to wreck, or
causes permanent damage (which Earnhardt didn’t suffer, thankfully). Little E
should use his own head (after all, that’s what’s on the line) when it comes to
deciding what safety equipment to use.

THANKS ROBBY: So, what’s the best
way to say thank you when you get a full-time ride in the Cup Series for 2002?
If you’re Robby Gordon, you go out and fail to qualify at Atlanta. Hmm, I wonder
why that happened?

HAPPY THANKSGIVING: I hope everyone
out there has a good Thanksgiving. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank
everyone who takes their time to come to RacinDeals.com and read the columns
here. You have no idea how much I appreciate your taking time out of your day to
spend a few minutes here; it really means a lot.

Be safe!