Three things racing needs to fix right now.

By Peter M. De Lorenzo

Detroit. As much as racing is about going faster and pushing the envelope while exploring new technologies, it also gets set in its ways and it becomes very frustrating to watch at times. Rituals develop in racing that seem to linger on long well past their "sell by" date. Whether it's because participants are totally out of ideas and don't give it much thought, or they just don't care, it's bothersome to watch. And fundamental issues that are glaringly fraught with peril remain, seemingly impervious to meaningful input and change when the powers that be in the sport should know better and do know better.

I'm going to talk about three of these issues today. Two of them are on the surface frivolous and inconsequential, and the other is so achingly stupid and dangerous it almost defies comprehension that it continues to play out in this day and age.

First of all, the ritual of "doing burnouts" after winning a race was once novel and exuberant, particularly when Alessandro (Alex) Zanardi did it in his glory days of Champ Car racing. But it has now become so predictably stale that it looks like an obligation instead of a maneuver that comes from the heart. This is most evident in NASCAR, but it appears in other forms of racing as well. To say that it has become trite doesn't go far enough. It's stupid and it's silly and it brings nothing to the enjoyment of the race, for anyone.

There's an old football adage about scoring that applies here nicely. It's something about acting like you've been there before, that you belong there and you expect to be there again. In other words, it's what you do and you expect to excel. When Barry Sanders, the great Detroit Lion and Hall of Fame NFL player would score a touchdown - usually after a spectacular run - he would simply hand the ball to the referee and go back to the sideline. No histrionics, no dances, no embarrassingly silly gestures. I wish some of these modern-day racers would take the hint and temper what they do after winning. Burnouts are Bush League, and the sooner that overused gesture recedes into the woodwork, the better off the sport will be for it.

Secondly, when Dan Gurney sprayed the champagne at the crowd after winning the 1967 24 Hours of Le Mans, it was a spontaneous gesture that fit the moment. He and A.J. Foyt had just humiliated Ferrari and brought Ford its most dominant win in the world's most prestigious sports car race, and it was one of the most glorious moments in American racing history. Especially since the European media gave the two little chance to win the race, dismissing them as "cowboys" who couldn't maintain the required discipline needed to win the race. Gurney's spontaneous celebration was wonderful and memorable and perfect. And it should have been left right there.

Now? The whole champagne spraying thing after a race victory has become tedious, especially in F1, where everything is orchestrated and sanitized to such a ridiculous degree that it has all the spontaneity of a PTA meeting. Memo to racing: get a new idea, please. Drivers: How about just taking a couple of big swigs of the bubbly and walking off with the bottle? Anything would be better than what is happening today.

And finally, on to the achingly stupid and dangerous.

What went on Saturday night at Daytona was simply disgusting. Restrictor-plate racing remains the plague in racing that just won't go away. It is so desperately stupid that it almost defies description. Let me ask the collective "you" out there this: What would you do if a young promoter approached you with a plan for a new form of oval track racing that entailed the following ingredients? 1. The cars would be equal down to the micron. They'd wear different bodies from different manufacturers but they'd be managed and restricted to the degree that no one would have an advantage of any kind. 2. This would lead to "pack" racing on oval tracks where drivers roar around the track flat-out within inches of each other at 200 mph, for three hours, with zero margin for error. In fact a small mistake can cause such mayhem that life and limb are in constant jeopardy. 3. It's likely that mistakes will happen - especially at the end of the race when everyone wants to force the issue for the win - so the teams would tear up equipment and drivers may be injured in the repetitive melees on a regular basis.

I know what I'd do - I'd throw the bum out of my office and say don't come back until you have an idea that makes at least a half a lick of sense.

Frankly, everyone connected with NASCAR is to blame for the fact that restrictor-plate racing is allowed to continue. The manufacturers for not putting their foot down and demanding changes. The team owners for putting up with the wrecked cars and actually building restrictor-plate track crash costs into their budgets. The sponsors for going along with the whole deal (although in fairness many sponsors aren't savvy when it comes to the nuances of racing). The track promoters for not exactly discouraging it. The powers that be in NASCAR for continuing to play Russian Roulette with their star drivers, and refusing to come up with a plan to fix it. And the drivers for going along with it, albeit reluctantly. Although in fairness to the drivers, "they'd drive through a shit storm for Twinkies" they want to race so bad, as my friend Dr. Bud says.

So there you have it. Three annoying things about racing that should be addressed immediately. Two are stylistically tedious and need to be dispensed with ASAP. And the last one needs to be dealt with swiftly and convincingly by everyone involved for the good of the sport, and before a driver or spectator loses their life because no one wanted to roll their sleeves up and deal with the problem.



Publisher's Note: As part of our continuing series celebrating the "Glory Days" of racing, we're proud to present another noteworthy image from the Ford Racing Archives. - PMD

(Photo by Dave Friedman courtesy of the Ford Racing Archives and Wieck Media)
Le Mans, France, June 11th, 1967. With A.J. Foyt Jr. looking on, Dan Gurney is about to spray champagne on the crowd after the dynamic duo spanked Ferrari in their No. 1 Ford Mk. IV at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. With his spontaneous bout of exuberance, Gurney altered post-race celebrations forever. Watch a fascinating video with comments by Edsel Ford, Ford Racing legend Mose Nowland and the great Dan Gurney here.

Publisher's Note: Like these Ford racing photos? Check out www.fordimages.com. Be forewarned, however, because you won't be able to go there and not order something. - PMD