Let me be clear: What Michael Waltrip did to Casey Mears Saturday night was wrong.
It was unsafe, for starters.
And I don't believe Mears ran the 55 into the fence intentionally, so Mikey was even more wrong for shoving him down the track afterwards, if that was his motivation.
But.
Isn't this what fans have been clamoring for lately? I've seen some angry comments, mostly in the "how could Michael do that to poor nice-guy Casey?" category, which is kind of ironic, given how much complaining there's been over the past few years about drivers not being allowed to have emotions and get angry without fear of reprisal from NASCAR.
Michael's reaction was driven by 100% pure, raw anger. He'd been having a bad day and had been having some nasty shouting matches with Bobby Kennedy over the radio. His car wasn't handling well, but he'd managed to keep it in the top-30 or better for most of the race, which, while it wasn't competitive, at least helps him stay in the top 35 in owner points.
Then, out of nowhere, Mears smacked him, sending him into the wall.
And, apparently, that's when the emotion race fans say they want to see took over.
Michael hit the gas and ran into the 5 car, pushing him down the backstretch, from the rear, sparks flying.
A minute later, Waltrip got on his radio and, first, claimed he'd had a stuck throttle, which wasn't supported by the in-car camera's tape (you could hear the engine rev up and then down again), then switched stories and suggested he'd accidentally hit the gas instead of the brake.
It didn't matter. The call to penalize him for retaliating and to park him for the rest of the race had already been made.
That was the right call, of course. He protested it, saying, "That's a pretty harsh decision against a guy who doesn't usually get mad on the track," which may be true, but he'd done it this time.
Now we'll wait and see if NASCAR adds more penalties Tuesday. The 55 is sitting in 33rd place in the points with 760, and even a small deduction will really hurt, dropping the car below 757, which is where the 77 sits in 35th.
Meanwhile, fans should be happy that they finally got to see some of the raw emotion they say disappeared from the Cup series a while ago, right?
Watch what you wish for...
Comments (9)
Michael didn't give me what I want. I want him to disappear and never be heard from again along with his brother.
Posted by Aven | May 5, 2008 10:23 AM
Posted on May 5, 2008 10:23
Mikey was nothing before DEI and will be nothing afterwards.
Posted by Mike Watterson | May 5, 2008 11:16 AM
Posted on May 5, 2008 11:16
I second what Aven posted!
Posted by Bonita | May 5, 2008 11:19 AM
Posted on May 5, 2008 11:19
Waltrip was being a moron........No one ever asked Mears if a tire went down or anything like that. Let's all just assume he did something wrong. waltrip didn't...Darrel said so!
Posted by Rags | May 5, 2008 12:10 PM
Posted on May 5, 2008 12:10
The only thing I want him to give is to get off of the track and stay off of it. He is a bloomin idiot and never has been a real driver. He is just a part of the new Nascar vision of WWF and it stinks. The dummy and his other biased dummy brother makes Speed and Fox look like a bunch of idiots.
Posted by Art Moore | May 5, 2008 1:24 PM
Posted on May 5, 2008 13:24
WOW! You all are really some hateful,angry people. You failed to mention anything about the stupid things the drivers' you cheer for have done. I don't think there is one on the track that hasn't done anything out of anger at one time or another. But im sure each of you are perfect, i'm sure.
Posted by Wildcat | May 5, 2008 2:14 PM
Posted on May 5, 2008 14:14
Great Job Mikey, for a few seconds I thought I was seeing "old school" racing instead of today's spoiled brats with too much money and time on their hands.
Posted by PQR | May 5, 2008 3:33 PM
Posted on May 5, 2008 15:33
I love the 55 and whatever he does is great. Go MIkey!!!!!
Posted by Tama | May 5, 2008 4:43 PM
Posted on May 5, 2008 16:43
Waltrip has been involved in very few incidents so cut him some slack. Bush and Montoya have crashed others in every race but not much complaing about them.
Posted by Bill Foster | May 5, 2008 4:50 PM
Posted on May 5, 2008 16:50