Opinion: What Would You Do??
Talladega produces more than exciting races, it also produces some of the most rambunctious fans. Twice in the past three years the track has been plagued with controversial finishes; with both instances going against Dale Earnhardt Jr. Of course this lead to out of control fans throwing beer cans, bottles and what ever else they could get their hands on, at the track and winning driver. In your opinion what should be done to these people?
I have had the pleasure of seeing these fans in action and my first thought was "how pathetic". Now, I have two thoughts on these people: 1) seriously, as a fan does the outcome of Talladega really have an effect on your life that much?? If so then you might as well throw yourself on the track next time; and 2) these actions by the few could end the fun of many, meaning that a majority of the fans that attend Talladega love the sport and go to have a weekend where they can enjoy themselves, and they do this by acting like adults. Plus, these actions make everyone that attend the race look bad, and that's far from the reality.
My solution for this? Undercover cops sitting in the stands to catch these "so called" fans. The penalty? Life time ban from any NASCAR event or function.
I guess you could say its time for Talladega to take out the trash.
posted by 4thsteagle at 12:42 PM
9 Comments:
Do you want my honest opinion? I think these people are a disgrace to themselves and the driver they cheer for. I think Dale Jr. should stand up and say something about it. They would listen then.
It makes more than Talladega look bad. It makes Nascar look as equally stupid.
I like your idea. Its time to get them out of the stands.
I think NASCAR should give them one last warning. If that doesn't work, then just take Talladega off of the race sched for a solid year as punishment to these idiots.
What!? Are you serious TJ?! Do you know how much a drink cost at one of those races, not to mention a beer.Thats what I'm afraid of the most, these idiots messing it up were we can't bring a cooler in. I like Junior (behind Tony of course) and I think he's aware that some of his fans are retards.
Taking the race off the scedule is not even an option. Its Talladega. Its always a sell-out and has some of the best racing. The only option I see is to enforce a stronger penalty.
Actually I have a great solution. Make talladega prevent selling tickets to anyone with a mullet, or wearing cut off jeans with a wife beater on. That would eliminate a majority of Jr's fans.
I agree Mike. Paying full their prices for a beer or coke would hurt the wallet quick.
I think to generalize this to "only Dale Jr" fans is a little misleading. Not excusing anything these fans did, but just b/c the outcome of this race affected Dale Jr, you can't say that the fans that threw things on the track were all his. Jimmy Johnson was also involved in this crash, so his fans could have been part of the problem.
The way I see it was the fans were pissed off b/c they expected to see two fast cars (Jr & Johnson) battle it out to the finish in what looked like it was going to be a classic Talladega finish. Well, they got robbed of that by a overzelous driver (Vickers) who was "awarded" the win. They were pissed about it b/c he didn't really "earn" it and I don't blame them. I was pissed sitting on my couch, but I didn't throw a beer bottle through my TV.
After a long day and lots of drinking, do you really expect anything different from these "fans"? It's not right, but fact is, it happens from time to time.
What should be done? I agree that some more stringent penalties (jail time, fines, clean up duty for those caught) will help, but you'll never prevent it from happening. One thing NASCAR will not be able to control is banning someone from all events or even one track. Yeah, they can decide not to sell tickets to a certain person, but is that really going to prevent them from getting a ticket? No. There is no way to prevent them from entering the gates. Can't check photos of that many people going in.
My question back to the forum is do you really think that Talladega is the only track where this has happened? I would highly doubt it and just wonder if anyone has been to other tracks? I know that for about 7 or 8 years in a row, from about 1994 - 2002, we went to Talladega every year and I can't remember that happening but maybe once other than these two instances mentioned here. I just think it's less of a "common" problem or occurance than we want to think.
Either way, it's not acceptable and something should happen to the people that do it. But is anyone honestly surprised? Also, I do think it is unfair to lump this all onto "Dale Jr" fans and he shouldn't need to or be expected to say anything to the fans about it. NASCAR and the tracks should be able to provide security, crowd control, etc, not the drivers.
Just my opinion. There you go Charlton
Josh,
I would generalize it to DALE JR fans. I can't think of any other driver's fans that would do such a thing. Think back to that one other time you saw it happen. Was Dale Jr. involved? How many races end with last lap crashes? A lot end that way, but you don't usually see foreign objects thrown on the track. How many races did Dale Sr. win that way? Several. I think I remember Dale Jr. winning Michigan in the Busch series this year because he intentionally wrecked Carl Edwards on the last lap. Sounds like a taste of his own medicine. That "overzealous" driver was just trying to push his teammate to a one-two finish.
I do like your idea about clean-up duty. Maybe the track should lock the gates and not let anyone leave until the trash is cleaned up.
I'm not saying its Dale Jr's fault. I'm just saying it would be a good idea for him to speak up and say, "He guys lets keep the cans in your hands". I understand their frustration and you know most of them are aware of their actions; they just need to be shown that their actions will be penilized in a tough manner. Plus, hearing from the person you worship would help.
Not all Jr's fans do those things. I think it falls squarly on the shoulders of Talladega Speedway.
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