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Anyone witness the fiasco that was this past weekend at GTRP and Baytown? A book, maybe two, could easily be written about this past weekend - not positive in nature though.
For the second race in a row at GTRP, almost just as many cars could have been loaded up with bulldozers than with traditional means. It has become accepted by racers and fans that the odds are in favor of tearing up lots of equipment there. The biggest wtf was Channin Tankersley's failed attempt at sliding Aaron Reutzel. He wasn't even close, didn't have a prayer of that being successful. Instead, one complete car = junk. And for what, to try to get back in the lead to spin out again? The bigger injustice was the way that whole mess was handled afterwards - which carried over to the next night at Baytown because it wasn't properly taken care of Friday. The track people got involved after the crash and that is never good, as well as "security" that succeeds only to worsen situations. Incidentally, the track owner was heard telling several people they should go home and not come back. People that were trying to help the "show" - way to treat paying patrons and the hands that feed. He was also overheard being fairly rude to people at the gate. Phantom yellows, a redflag for ???, and several other poor decisions made it embarrassing to see.
Saturday was a better "show", but overshadowed by the handling of the Tankersley/Reutzel debacle. This is not second guessing, after the fact, armchair quarterbacking. Everyone realized this as it happened and as the decisions were made. Just a note about the crash the night before. The overall sentiment was that no one was surprised that Tankersley pulled that move - there is a history. However, everyone was surprised that all Reutzel did was throw his helmet. The expected reaction (and justified depending on who you ask) would have been to remove Tankersley from his car and ....(insert punishment here). That was one of those crashes that had the markings of causing head trauma. Rapid decelarations like that have killed people. One minute you're running third, next second your life flashes before your eyes. Most drivers would have, and have done so, reacted in a much more demonstrative way than Aaron - he showed a lot of control after a crash he thankfully walked away from. But where did that restraint get him? It should have given him a pass.
This could go on and on. And maybe it will. The hope is that weekends like this don't happen again. There won't be weekends like this for those whose stuff is in a wad. Car counts dwindle, tempers flare, fans go elsewhere, the "show" declines, and then racing disappears. Who wants that? The people in charge need to keep these things in mind when making decisions that ultimately effect the fate of the sport. In the heat of the moment those ideas tend to escape the mind, but they can't be allowed to. Everyone should work together, have an open mind, listen to suggestions, ideas, comments, even constructive criticism to help improve the "show". Anything less is a disservice to the fans and competitors.
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