Opinions vary in regards to current penalty process

The Sprint Cup season is only two races old, but NASCAR's penalty system for driver transgressions -- particularly following the altercation between Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart at Daytona and the resultant probation-only sentence -- has been under close scrutiny.

But an informal poll of a number of owners and competitors, plus an avalanche of fan emails, has presented a prevailing opinion best depicted by the Hank Williams Jr. title: Leave Them Boys Alone.

On the other hand, even NASCAR's guidelines for technical penalties are being looked at closely -- if not by the sanctioning body, by virtually everyone else who has any stake or interest in the sport.

While attempting to regulate racing's emotion (and intensity has been the hottest hot-button issue so far this season), the technical side of the game certainly is on the front burner as well.

SEEKING TECHNICAL CONSISTENCY

NASCAR seemingly has tried to establish a consistent set of penalties regarding technical infractions with its new car design. Throughout last season, several infractions -- without taking into account the possible intent of the event -- were dealt with to the same standard: $100,000 fines, 100-point penalties and six-race crew chief suspensions.

Robby Gordon Motorsports, its owner/driver/namesake and his crew chief Frank Kerr fell afoul of the new car guidelines on the opening day of Speedweeks when they presented a new Dodge chassis for inspection with an unapproved nosepiece attached.

Three days after the Daytona 500 and 12 days after the "error" was discovered, Gordon and his team received the standard penalty. They've appealed it and a hearing before the National Stock Car Racing Commission is scheduled for March 5.

In terms of high-profile chief mechanics and high-profile intrigue, Speedweeks 2007 -- when the crew chiefs of five Cup teams got suspensions ranging from two races to "indefinite" -- certainly set a high bar. But in 2008, crew chiefs from all three national tours that competed at Daytona were hit with suspensions and numerous teams suffered fines and point deductions.

In addition to Gordon's appeal, this week the Commission will hear appeals from the Nationwide teams of owners Rusty Wallace (car No. 64), James Finch (No. 1), Johnny Davis (No. 0) and Carl Haas (No. 14).

Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s No. 5 JR Motorsports team initially submitted an appeal of its 50-point driver and owner penalty, $25,000 fine and six-race suspension for crew chief Chad Walter that came after Speedweeks, but NASCAR spokesman Kerry Tharp said Thursday that the appeal has been withdrawn.

Gordon said last weekend in California he's never appealed any of his previous penalties. Some of those, such as being sat out of a Cup race at Pocono in August 2007 after disregarding officials' instructions in the previous day's Nationwide Series race in Montreal, were of the emotional variety.

"This is new to me," Gordon said. "We've talked about appealing it, but we've never appealed any of the things in the past; we've taken our lumps and moved on. On this one here, obviously, we feel that we're getting done wrong and we're going to stand up for ourselves as a race team."

It's a case that might impact NASCAR's future of levying penalties, if it takes into account the intent of the violation and Gordon's claims of confusion over similar part numbers between the approved Avenger nose and the prototype, and unapproved Charger nose.

In no uncertain terms, the depth and number of NASCAR technical penalties following Speedweeks seemed to indicate the sanctioning body's direction, which will come into better focus following the decisions on the appeals.

Gordon said last weekend the outcome of his appeal could determine the future of his NASCAR team, even though he's rebounded from the 100-point loss to regain a coveted top-35 spot in the owner standings after last weekend's Auto Club 500.

"Perception [is the biggest impact]," said Gordon, who has most of his season funded but said his car for next weekend's Atlanta race is lacking a sponsor. "Being labeled as a cheater where we have not cheated [and] where the problem comes into play is with sponsors. When you start impacting our sponsorship opportunities, you start getting into the root of the real situation here and we're in trouble for something we didn't do.

"If this sticks, I don't know what our plan will be. I'll be honest with you: I think open wheel got back together last week, and I know I can drive one of those cars."

If Gordon went to the re-unified alliance of the Champ Car World Series and the Indy Racing League, it would be the antithesis of several years of migrations to NASCAR, where driver behavior is still something of an ongoing and open issue.

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Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart's on-track incident at Daytona was their second one in eight months.

GETTING BACK TO BASICS?

Though a number of accidents marred the weather-scarred second weekend of the season at California -- and driver emotion came out in several critical comments about NASCAR's decision to start the Cup race on a wet racetrack -- it still remains to be seen where NASCAR's stance on the subject of emotion will land.

In a preseason address, NASCAR CEO Brian France said the sanctioning body was looking at returning to its "basics," and of letting the action on the racetrack speak volumes.

For a sport built on emotion, intensity, focus and downhill-streaking adrenaline while constantly traveling at a high rate of speed on the virtual edge of disaster or worse, where to draw the lines of decorum and what to do when they're crossed is a challenge.

That's especially true when, in many fans' and competitors' eyes, getting back to basics involves allowing drivers and other participants to show more character and personality.

That would be fine with one of the sport's most colorful legends, three-time Cup champion Cale Yarborough. In fact, he would almost go "bare knuckle" when it comes to opening up NASCAR's penalty system.

"I think it's too strict -- way too strict," Yarborough said the day before the Daytona 500, which he attended as one of the race's past champions. "The fans like to see some emotion in drivers, and I think [NASCAR's] trying to change that some, from what I've seen.

"Last year, they would have docked points and everything for that thing that happened [between Busch and Stewart]. So they're backing off a little bit, and they should back off some more. Let some emotions flow -- I think that's what made this sport what it is."

And judging by the reaction to the events of the season's opening day at Daytona, that's an emotion and an opinion held by that same group of competitors and fans.

In Friday evening's second practice for the Budweiser Shootout, a non-points all-star event, Busch's and Stewart's cars were part of a pack engaged in a drafting formation around the 2.5-mile speedway.

In the process of changing lanes heading into Turn 3, Busch's car made contact with Stewart's, which turned Busch into the outside wall. As the cars headed toward pit road, but while still between Turn 4 and the pit entrance, Busch caught up to Stewart and three times drove his car into the side of Stewart's.

Both drivers were summoned to the NASCAR office trailer in the Cup garage area, and while inside apparently Busch taunted Stewart and Stewart struck Busch -- though neither driver nor anyone with NASCAR has spoken of it on the record.

Since then, both drivers have spoken in general of the dispute and of the need to put it behind them and work together better.

But while fans showed a lot of confusion after Busch and Stewart were handed six-race probations, nearly to a man a sampling of past and current drivers and owners -- including those holding a total of 20 NASCAR championships -- supported NASCAR and, if anything, favored relaxing restrictions on drivers showing their emotions.

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Kevin Harvick and Juan Montoya weren't punished for their on-track scuffle at Watkins Glen.

LET THE COLOR SHINE THROUGH

It's that "color" and the excitement and drama it creates that contributed to building the current phenomenon of NASCAR racing.

"Listen," said Yarborough, his ruddy complexion virtually glowing, "if you didn't have that fire in your gut, you wouldn't be out there in the first place. So you've got to release it some kind of way."

But lately, figuring out how to administer and dispense emotion has proven to be a minefield for NASCAR and its constituency to navigate.

Roger Penske, Busch's car owner whose NASCAR history includes working with some fiery characters including Rusty Wallace and Bobby Allison, said NASCAR's competitors need some leeway to operate in.

"I think that what one has to understand is that we don't have a bunch of choirboys out there on the racetrack," Penske said. "In fact, I'd rather be pulling my driver back than having to kick him in the butt [to get him going].

"But on the other hand, taking points away, probation and the way they're moving forward there's no question there's a focus and Mike [NASCAR president Helton] has talked to me about it and I'm sure he talked to Joe Gibbs [Stewart's owner] at this last situation.

"You know, it's unfortunate, but those things happen, and then perception becomes the rule rather than what was the specific incident. I'm very comfortable and we'll take our beating when we have to. I'm not afraid to step up and say, 'Was this all our fault?'

"But it's unfortunate -- these guys do retaliate. I've been in this thing 30-something years and I've seen a lot go on. And this isn't anything new."

Felix Sabates, who founded Team SABCO nearly two decades ago and remains a co-owner of Chip Ganassi Racing, has had a couple run-ins with NASCAR's penalty system and, as always, has an opinion.

"It depends on who the driver is," Sabates said. "I think if NASCAR imposed a penalty of a six-week [suspension] on Reed Sorenson, I think we would be very concerned about it. I don't think Busch and Tony are too concerned about it."

Bill Davis, who owns multiple teams in the Cup and Truck series, said he's seen little deterrent effect in NASCAR's current structure, but he's fine with that.

"I haven't seen it have much effect on anything," Davis said. "I mean, there's people that have got probations stacked about 10 on top of each other right now -- at least that's the count that I've got.

"You know, [NASCAR's] raised the [fine] money and done the points [deductions] and it just doesn't seem to matter, they keep right on. Why not just forget all that and let 'em race like we used to -- that's what built this sport.

Handling it himself

Geoff Bodine had a notable race driving career that included hundreds of Modified victories before he reached NASCAR's highest level, where he was a Cup Series rookie of the year, winner of 18 races including the 1986 Daytona 500 and current track record holder at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

But Bodine's place in the annals of NASCAR penalty enforcement holds a place of almost equal stature to his driving and engineering accomplishments thanks to his noted rivalry with "The Intimidator," the late Dale Earnhardt.

Bodine's "feud" with Earnhardt reached its height through the 1980s when Bodine drove six seasons for Rick Hendrick. The upstate New York veteran said it was Hendrick who demanded that Bodine settle things with Earnhardt.

"To say we battled a little bit is an understatement -- we battled all the time," Bodine said. "Unfortunately, his style -- he started the bump-and-run, and NASCAR let him get away with it. Drivers think that's part of racing [but] I think it's part of bumper cars. I always tried to outsmart or out-drive somebody to beat 'em.

"But the bump-and-run was one reason Dale and I didn't see eye to eye [and] one reason we had trouble. Finally, Rick Hendrick came up to me [in 1987] and said, 'if you let Earnhardt run into my car again, without doing something about it, I will put somebody in that seat that will.'

"He basically told me I had to fix this problem. By then I'd figured out if [Earnhardt] hit me and I hit him, I'd get in trouble; so I had to hit him first. And that's what happened at Charlotte: I hit him, he wrecked me and he got in trouble.

"That was the big meeting we had in Daytona which was in 'Days of Thunder,' which was a true story. We came down [to Daytona Beach] and got our butts chewed out by Bill France Jr. We were both told how he wanted us to race.

"So it finally sunk in my hard Yankee head how to take care of that problem, and I finally did; but I was forced into that by my car owner, Rick Hendrick."

The late France's lecture was the "mother of all deterrents," Bodine said.

"Oh yeah -- the rest of that year, Dale didn't run into anybody," Bodine said. "For a couple years, he didn't really use that bumper for that bump-and-run tactic, because we were both told, 'you don't do that.' Bill France said 'this is the way I make my living -- you're not going to mess it up.'

"I'm not in favor of eliminating [emotion]. I say let 'em play -- let 'em race."

While Stewart and Busch have proven to be somewhat vitriolic throughout their careers, both of which include Cup championships, CGR's most veteran pilot, the youngster Sorenson, has performed on a more low-key level.

That contrasts with the man who became his teammate last season, former open-wheel champion Juan Montoya, who provided a lot of the color fans and the media crave through an aggressive driving style, punctuated by an out-of-the-cars, helmet-grabbing, finger-pointing exchange last August with Kevin Harvick at Watkins Glen.

At a breakfast with the media in Daytona, Montoya said he's still figuring out NASCAR's system, but he's not uncomfortable with it. He added that drivers in CART were the most respectful of each other. Montoya didn't address the subject in NASCAR.

"To tell you the truth, I think it's really, really effective, the way they do things," Montoya said of NASCAR's technical rules. "You know there's a line you don't want to cross with everything. I really like the way they control the cars, which is a lot more strict than F1, and that's really good.

"There's no grey areas in the rules -- I mean, look at the Hendrick cars, when they went to Sonoma [in 2007] and they tried to play with that little grey area and they were both thrown out [for a day, followed by additional fines, penalties and suspensions]. And I think things like that are really important."

NOT ALL BLACK-AND-WHITE

NASCAR has been taken to task by numerous onlookers for its lack of an in-the-rulebook list of set penalties for set transgressions. Sabates is only one of those who deem that all the better, as does Penske, two-time 1960s Cup champion Ned Jarrett and Kurt Busch's younger brother, Kyle Busch.

"I don't think you can do that," Penske said. "There are too many angles to see this stuff from and to me, at the end of the day they've got to make a judgment call -- and if you don't like the judgment call you can go race someplace else."

"That's a tough question to answer," Jarrett said, his wrinkled brow displaying his concern. "If they had it in black-and-white, it might improve [the deterrent factor] a little bit, but I think it would take away from the sport.

"I think [the drivers] just simply need to be able to vent their emotions, at times."

"I think then, they'd be a dictatorship if we had it in black-and-white," Busch said of NASCAR. "I mean, it's already enough where they've got so much control over this sport and that's why they want to make sure everybody knows that and understands that. And so I think they do a good job of policing it the way they can."

"We don't need to have those kinds of penalties -- black-and-white penalties," Sabates said. "This is an emotional sport and these guys, they've got their lives in their hands and they react in a split-second.

"I'm sure, a lot of the time, after they do it, they say 'what the hell did I do that for?' But I don't think NASCAR needs to come down too hard on them. Leave them alone. I think NASCAR would do a good job this year by doing away with, if they say 's---,' penalizing them.

"I say 's---' all the time and I would have been penalized 10 million dollars."

All kidding aside, Sabates said NASCAR would have to be careful not to completely do away with every restriction.

"I think NASCAR is trying to allow some individuality," Sabates said. "But on the other hand, you cannot allow this guy to use a car as a weapon, either. It's not the two guys going at each other, but the guy that could be standing on the other side, that could get killed or get hurt."

Rick Hendrick is another owner who has felt NASCAR's wrath, particularly in the case of technical infractions the past couple years. In both of two-time defending champion Jimmie Johnson's title-winning seasons, his crew chief, Chad Knaus, served suspensions.

But Hendrick said he still thinks, in general, NASCAR's system works, particularly in its impact on drivers' misbehavior. And he agreed with Sabates on emotion's place in the sport.

"I think the system as it's set up, is a deterrent," Hendrick said. "They've got to walk a fine line, because when do you call it guys showing emotion and when do you call it putting somebody in danger?

"So I think, as long as they don't put somebody's life in danger, I don't think it's bad for 'em bumping each other, kinda after the fact and getting out [of the car] and jawing a little bit. I think it creates excitement for the fans and as long as they just don't put other cars in jeopardy.

"I think when you see a guy retaliate on the track and it takes out three or four innocent people, [that's wrong]."

Davis said that no matter what lines are in place, the prevalent atmosphere in the garage, which constantly involves seeking loopholes, would prevail.

"These are smart guys in here, and I think they know there's a limit -- some of 'em more than others maybe," Davis said. "They ought to know the limit -- and what they can get away with and what they can't -- and what's acceptable to their situation. They ought to be adults."

Davis' lead driver, Dave Blaney, who despite coming out of the rough and tumble World of Outlaws Sprint Car circuit, where he won a championship, has never suffered a significant driving-related penalty in NASCAR, said at least one aspect of the system is a deterrent.

"Taking away 100 points at a crack -- that's really effective," Blaney said. "But I think that's the only thing that's effective. That gets everybody's attention, no doubt, when you start taking away large amounts of points."

But Blaney said his background makes him less apt to be put in the position to be penalized -- not that he, or any other driver is thinking about the possible penalty when someone does them wrong on the racetrack.

"The penalty side never even crosses my mind, because I always came from a type of racing where it kind of polices itself -- if somebody does you wrong, you go take care of it on the track and maybe they don't do that again," Blaney said. "I guess NASCAR steps in when it goes way over the line, but I don't really even think about it."

Blaney wouldn't mind a more "hands off" system.

"I don't really care and I would be fine if it was just left to police itself -- and I'm sure NASCAR doesn't want to get in the middle of all of it, either," Blaney said with a laugh. "I'm sure they hate getting in the middle of it, though sometimes they feel like they have to, when they get pressured to or whatever."

Kyle Busch has also been involved in a number of incidents, from suffering on-track assaults from Stewart in 2006 at Las Vegas, to scuffling with his brother during the 2007 all-star race at Lowe's Motor Speedway to scaling his HANS device across Lowe's frontstretch at a competitor driving by whom he felt had wronged him. He's OK with the system.

"I think they try to police it in the right way," Busch said. "They do what they can to their own knowledge in what the facts are and everything on any particular incident -- and any particular incident you have to look at separately.

"When there's some aggressive driving that's done and there's a wreck and guys want to go fight, or whatever [laughing], it's their problem and NASCAR just tries to keep wraps around it and keep everybody friends."

Ganassi said a black-and-white system would void one of the critical elements of racing, not to mention a number of stick-and-ball sports. But his was a lone voice calling for more regulation.

"So many times in this business, the camera only sees the end result of something like [Busch and Stewart]," Ganassi said. "They don't see what happened the lap before, or the turn before, or something like that. It's not like in football, and even in football, I imagine it's somebody taunting a guy [repeatedly] and [the taunted guy] finally gets the penalty.

"I will tell you this. I'm someone who would be in the group for stricter rules and penalties, to keep the playing field level -- both on messing with the cars, and drivers misbehaving. Nothing's black-and-white, but there are two things.

"And we're talking about two different things here -- the cars and the drivers. It's incumbent upon the team to build the cars within the rules -- period. And over here, I think it's a scary thing when you start using a car as a weapon. When you start using your car as weapon, you need to sit down and take a time out."

Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images

Tony Stewart has had to answer for his actions numerous times during his career.

WEATHERING STORMY SEAS

Joe Gibbs Racing president J.D. Gibbs has been in the eye of a NASCAR storm more than a few times, particularly with his lead driver, two-time Cup champion Stewart.

Most recently, Stewart was on probation for about eight months of the 2007 season for skipping a post-race media obligation in April at Phoenix, then was made to meet with NASCAR officials at the next event, at Talladega, before he was allowed to enter the garage for making disparaging comments about NASCAR on his Sirius NASCAR Radio show, Tony Stewart Live.

Kurt Busch earned a $100,000 fine, 100-point penalty and six months' probation for an altercation with Stewart on pit road at Dover last June, while the service alley was in use by other teams and crewmen.

Later last year, the often volatile Stewart was involved in a crash with his teammate, Denny Hamlin while they contended for the lead at Daytona's mid-summer Pepsi 400. That intramural conflict prompted a visit by team founder Joe Gibbs to Chicago to meet in person with his drivers.

Ironically, the opening of practice at Daytona was the first day Kurt Busch and Stewart were officially in action after coming off probation. But after all three of his cars ran well in the Daytona 500, J.D. Gibbs was happy.

"First, I think the system as it exists is a deterrent to bad behavior because we've been through it a few times, and I know the conversations we had, so I think that definitely is a deterrent," Gibbs said. "And I think that NASCAR looks at it as on the track, or off the track -- if it's on pit road or in other instances, they kind of look at it differently.

"I know in our case, it definitely gets your attention."

Carl Edwards, who has felt NASCAR's wrath both from the technical side via points and monetary fines in last year's Chase after he won at Dover and for an emotional outburst after a Nationwide Series race at Michigan in 2006, said NASCAR did the right thing post-Busch/Stewart.

"I've thought about this and everybody makes a mistake and makes bad decisions, and I think having a short probation period -- it really matters," Edwards said. "And that's a good thing. You get your one strike, and after that, you're in trouble.

"I believe it's effective, and I think what they're doing now is even better. Saying you're on probation for the rest of the year -- man, this sport changes so much from week to week. So I do like the idea of a short, aggressive probation period rather than saying you're on probation for the rest of the year, which is a little bit vague and makes it tough to adhere to.

"The idea is to keep what happened from happening again, and people are going to be cooled off in six weeks, anyway. So I think that's a good amount of time."

Gillett Evernham Motorsports driver Elliott Sadler is acknowledged as one of the more genial, easy-going men in the garage. He said he's only been involved in one altercation in his driving career, but NASCAR's penalty system, particularly for technical infractions, has been ratcheted up enough for him to notice.

"I think with the points [penalties] they've become a lot more effective," Sadler said. "I don't think the fines [get it done]. I mean, a team will cheat and win a race and win $300,000 and you penalize them $10,000. I'll do that with you all day long.

"But I think since NASCAR's gone to the points system, it's definitely gotten everyone's attention. And I think they can take it one step further. I think if you're caught cheating, make it where that team has to qualify the next weekend -- where they're not locked in the top 35 -- and that'll straighten up a lot of the stuff that goes on in this garage."

Jarrett, who's a regular at Speedweeks, despite being retired from an active role in the sport and is the father of 1999 Cup champion Dale Jarrett, said that while point deductions have had the greatest role in deterring bad behavior, the sport's very nature precludes its elimination.

"I don't know that any penalty-type situation is going to keep guys, in certain situations, from showing their emotions and just sometimes getting out of hand," Ned Jarrett said. "I think part of the appeal of the sport is the fact that the drivers do show their emotions and I'm glad that NASCAR's going to lighten up a little bit and let them show their true personalities.

"But I think they have to draw a line somewhere, too, along the way. They can't let them just do whatever they want to do and get by with it."

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Jim Hunter and Robin Pemberton have to balance a fine line between discipiline and entertainment.

TREADING A FINE LINE

J.D. Gibbs, Penske, Edwards and the Busch brothers were among those who admitted it's a tough line for NASCAR to walk, promoting emotion and intensity in the face of also having to regulate it to the correct degree.

"I'm sure it is," Gibbs said. "But look, we trust those guys on a lot of areas, to take our sport, help it grow and to make good decisions -- and they've done that in the 17 years we've been in it. So we're not going to second-guess a lot of those things and I think, for the most part, they do a really good job."

"NASCAR has to be able to exercise their judgment," Edwards said. "They have a group of people that are able to do that and I think that it's the wrong road to take, to make black-and-white, defined lines because this sport is so dynamic, there are going to be situations that don't fit into anything, and they just have to treat 'em however they think's best."

"I think this is why people come here, to see the emotions and I guess, the tempers and some of those things that fly," Penske said. "But there has to be some level of patience and discipline, and talking to [Sprint Cup Series director John] Darby, and Mike [Helton] and certainly Robin [Pemberton, vice president for competition]; they're trying to be fair.

"They want to be sure they have the continuity with all the drivers and they want the respect. And I think the big thing is, at the end of the day, the officials -- specifically at the top level -- want the respect of the drivers and teams and they understand that it's like your kids: My sons were never perfect the whole time, and yet they're still my sons."

"We definitely look up to them to make the right decisions when it comes to officiating," Kurt Busch said. "And [they are] shoes I would never want to wear, because they have a balance of trying to keep the TV exciting, keeping the drivers safe and they have the fans in mind in every decision that they make, because this is a powerful sport that's driven by the fans.

"We wouldn't be able to do what we do if we didn't have the fan support and their loyalty. But at the same time, we want drivers to go out there and race hard and put on a show, so it's a double-edged sword and a tough pair of shoes to wear because you're in a position where so many people depend on you, and I think that Mike Helton does a great job leading our sport."

"Oh yeah -- [NASCAR] is in a tough spot, because the sponsors don't want to see fighting and parents in the stands don't want their kids seeing fighting," Kyle Busch said. "And yet you've got the guys that are in the stands that have got their beverage of choice, let's say, and they love seeing fighting -- that's all they want to see.

"So [NASCAR] is in a particular spot [and] what's good for TV so many years ago is not so good for TV now. They're trying to bring [emotion] back, somehow, some way and they're just trying to be conservative in what they do."

Earnhardt Jr. said at Media Day that he didn't believe NASCAR was honestly trying to return to a day of showing more emotion -- and Sadler reflected that and Kyle Busch's comment on "conservatism."

"I'm kinda like Dale Jr.," Sadler said through a smile. "I don't wanna be the first one to try to see where their line is. I definitely think we need NASCAR to let us be ourselves more -- that's what NASCAR was built on.

"We all don't need to be 43 robots out there driving our racecars, but who wants to cross that line first? You don't want to test the hand of NASCAR right now, so I'm sure some guys will try to test those waters and see how they react, and then they'll go from there.

"They put Tony on probation, which I think is a good move. They didn't take any points away and they didn't fine him for anything. Guys were racing hard and practicing hard and you've got to put your cars through those motions to make sure you've got a good car on [race day], so maybe that's the start of something good."

Sam Greenwood/Getty Images

As a track owner, Dave Blaney sees the benefit of driver flare-ups, but that doesn't mean you will see them from him.

EMOTIONS EXPOSED

One of the biggest things everyone has to deal with -- from officials to the media, and from competitors to the fans -- is the increased exposure the sport has these days -- as well as the increased involvement of high-dollar sponsors and the different brand of intensity that evokes.

J.D. Gibbs said that's definitely more the case in current times than it was when his team ran its first season, in 1992 with driver Dale Jarrett.

"I think there's probably a little more pressure to go, nowadays," Gibbs said. "Back then, from a team standpoint, you could be in the sport and run halfway decent and be there forever. Now, if you don't win consistently and run well, you won't be here.

"So there's some pressure in that, but I remember there were some serious battles [on the racetrack] when we got into it, years ago -- and we were taken aback by it. So I think time kind of makes you forget what it was like, a while ago."

Ned Jarrett is in a particularly good position to judge the difference media exposure has made, since he was involved in what was perhaps the heyday of rollicking on- and off-track action and then made a career as a radio and television commentator from his retirement in the mid-1960s until recently.

"I don't think there's a great deal of difference as far as the drivers and their personalities are concerned," Jarrett said. "The big difference is that everything that the driver says or does -- every move he makes today -- is documented on film.

"We didn't have that back in our day, and certainly there was plenty that went on -- I did things on the racetrack, and others did -- that today we couldn't have got by with. That part of it hasn't changed, it's just documented more."

Davis said, to his mind there is no difference with now and back in the day, when he came to NASCAR's upper level in the late 1980s.

"No -- no difference," Davis said. "It's just what it is, and I think they ought to just let it go, and I think that some of the fans would appreciate that."

Blaney, whose family owns and operates Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Ohio; appreciates the value of emotional drivers' rambunctious feuds more from the track owner side -- but that provides a possible lesson for NASCAR at the Sprint Cup level.

"Being a short track, dirt track owner, I'd say yes, it does help to have that going on," Blaney said. "But as far as a competitor goes, I'd say it doesn't matter."

Blaney added that he sees no difference in on-track attitudes from when he came to NASCAR in the mid-1990s and now.

"I don't really see how it is any different," Blaney said. "The only thing different is there's a lot more at stake these days, with bigger sponsors and bigger commitments. So there's more at stake and you maybe think twice about doing something crazy now, than you would maybe 15 years ago.

"That's a difference, but I don't think that drivers' attitudes are any different, at all."

And any difference in environment from yesterday to today doesn't make Sabates forget his former driver, Petty Enterprises driver/owner Kyle Petty, who scored six victories between 1990 and 1995 for Team SABCO.

"Kyle had some fire in him," Sabates said with a chuckle. "I don't think drivers' attitudes and respect for each other has ever changed [from back in the day to present day] -- I think it's the same. Their personalities are different, but I think drivers are drivers. You've got to respect what they do."

Sadler said lack of respect is part of the current day's problem.

"I just think there was a little more respect in the mid-'90s, compared to now as far as the rookies and stuff, coming in," Sadler said. "A lot of them think this sport was not here before they were here and it can't live without them -- but as far as racing hard, most guys race you how you race them.

"And that's been the same since I was a rookie coming in and that's been the same way since Dale Jarrett and Dale Earnhardt and all these guys -- Mark Martin, when you talked to them when I first came in as a rookie 12 or 13 years ago, they all said the same thing: You race guys how you want to be raced. I think that's just a common knowledge among all drivers and I don't think that's going to change."

Penske said it hasn't change much since he was a race driver himself, in the 1950s and 1960s; and then an owner as a relatively young man.

"I go back to the '60s and '70s and there was a lot of fire in these guys' eyes, and there was a lot of pushing and shoving and you've seen some of the replays -- this is the latest storybook, showing what happened in the past," Penske said. "NASCAR understands it. I think with the [current car] they've got the inspection procedure under control and I feel real good about a level playing field from the standpoint of the penalty system.

"We're going to live with what the rules are; and our driver and our team is going to have to take the good and the bad depending on where we are."

"I think we're all products of a world that's become more politically correct and more sensitive to the outer edges of all elements," Ganassi said. "The bottom line is, the rules makers and sanctioning bodies have to maintain strict control of the sport -- they can't let the hens run the henhouse."

Gibbs said, to his mind, there's no doubt what will whet fans' appetites for NASCAR racing; and he's comfortable that the current system will provide it.

"I think, over time what people want to see are hard-core competitors and good competition and good battles," Gibbs said. "And I think that's what you'll continue to get."

RacingOne

Cale Yarborough would love to see things back the way they were when he was driving -- and fighting.

A "RINGING" ENDORSEMENT

Yarborough, who remains a devotee of the sport, said the current climate has certainly created a change in drivers' demeanors -- and that some minor changes might make it better. Through a grin he said that negotiating the crowds that attend current day races keeps him glued to his TV set, rather than even thinking about going to a live race.

"Yeah, there's a difference and it's what we were just talking about -- I think drivers are afraid to do anything, now," Yarborough said. "And I think it's taking away from the racing. It was absolutely more rock 'em and sock 'em back in the day -- and the fans loved it. And they'd love it, today.

"I think my record speaks for itself; I'd fight you, if you wanted to."

That fits in with a scheme Sabates might have hatched over pre-race coffee at Daytona with Lowe's Motor Speedway president and general manager -- and promoter extraordinaire -- H.A. "Humpy" Wheeler.

"You know what I think NASCAR should do is put a boxing ring in every racetrack," Sabates said. "They won't have a problem if you give everyone boxing gloves, and let them go settle it by themselves.

"That would be a great fund-raiser for the NASCAR Foundation -- just great!"

Hendrick, thinking of his fabrication department more than philanthropy, agreed.

"Really, as car owners, we'd like to see them put up a boxing ring back here behind the trucks and let 'em get out and settle it that way and don't tear up our equipment," Hendrick said, laughing. "But most of the time they just let the other guy know that they're not happy and I think the emotions run so high you can't help but feel like they've got to show a little bit of that -- so we're good with it."

From the number of emails decrying any thought of penalizing Stewart or Busch for their Speedweeks antics, so is a large percentage of NASCAR's fan base.

And that suits Edwards just fine.

"The sport does police itself pretty well, but I think it's important to remember, for all of us -- myself included," the former Midwest dirt tracker said. "I really want [Sprint Cup sponsor] Office Depot to be successful and I want to sell products.

"But they understand just as well as Jack [Roush, team owner] and the fans and everyone, that it isn't a smile that gets you around these racetracks a lot of times -- it's hard-core determination and that competitive fire.

"And you're going to have incidents. I'm going to get mad at people -- people are going to get mad at me. Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch are gonna wanna fight with each other. I mean, that's part of the sport that's a result of the competitiveness.

"And I think if that's missing, the whole sport's in trouble. It's here, and I don't think you're going to get rid of it."

That attitude, in all likelihood, would definitely put a smile on Cale Yarborough's face.