In the Indy blame game, a few things deserve a pass

Let's get this straight right away: What unfolded last Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway was unacceptable. Shouldn't have happened, can't happen again. NASCAR and Goodyear have both been roundly and duly chastised by drivers, reporters and fans, all of whom viewed the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard as the result of a lack of foresight, a lack of preparedness, and a lack of communication.

But the blame game here goes only so far. Yes, maybe the crew chiefs should have insisted on an Indianapolis test. Yes, maybe the three teams involved in the April tire test at the speedway should have raised more of an alarm. Yes, maybe there should be a crackdown on setups that are placing more strain on an already over-strained right side. Ultimately, though, NASCAR and Goodyear are responsible. Yet that hasn't stopped a few undeserving parties from getting nicked by collateral damage in the hail of recrimination that's been unleashed this past week.

The racetrack, for instance. Indianapolis Motor Speedway chief executive officer Tony George had every right to say his facility wasn't the issue, and that it wouldn't be altered for the NASCAR event there next year. The racetrack surface at the Brickyard was diamond-ground in 2002, and repaved and diamond-ground again in 2005. As NASCAR vice president for competition Robin Pemberton correctly pointed out Tuesday, the Sprint Cup cars had competed on that same surface three times before last weekend. The racetrack was a known quantity. There were no surprises there. Blaming the speedway for the Brickyard fiasco is like blaming a traffic accident on the guy who built the road.

And while we're at it, we're going to stand up for the new car here. In the wake of the Brickyard, the vehicle formerly known as the Car of Tomorrow is getting batted around like a piñata by folks who believe its higher center of gravity and heavier right-side loads are to blame for what happened last week. Excuse me, but those characteristics have been quite evident since the first day this car was rolled onto a racetrack. And if you think NASCAR is going to suddenly scrap a vehicle it spent eight years developing after one bad weekend, then you're deluding yourself.

And why should they? This is, ultimately, a safer vehicle than the old one; the reason for that higher center of gravity is a taller driver compartment that reduces the likelihood of somebody getting thwacked in the head by a roll bar in an accident. The new car, and the tighter technological box that surrounds it, has made it easier for NASCAR officials to bust crew chiefs who are trying a little too hard to gain an edge. The new car has allowed NASCAR to institute a long-overdue zero-tolerance policy that results in big fines and long suspensions for anyone caught trifling with it. (Continued)