by Darrell Waltrip

Updated: August 26, 2007, 2:46 PM EST 115 comments

add this RSS blog email print

A lot of forms of control are subtle, but others are very obvious. One of the most obvious ones was freezing the field under caution and taking away the gentleman's agreement to stop racing back to the flag. It changed the way we've known racing for so many years. So how do you get a lap back? Well, NASCAR gave it back with the free pass. Now, every time a caution comes out, somebody is going to be the Lucky Dog, and he's going to get back on the lead lap.

Back in the day, competitors never got anything free. You had to earn it. Racing back to the flag was an important part of our sport. Yeah, there were times when it was a little dicey, but it brought people to their feet. When there are cars everywhere, and you've got people racing back to the line to keep somebody a lap down or get a lap back, it was the best part of some races. It's been eliminated, and I understand why. There's always sound reasoning behind every rule, but those rules can take away so many options and other freedoms.

Safety equipment is another area where NASCAR needed to step in. Up until 2002 when NASCAR started to mandate certain safety equipment — gloves, full-face helmets and eventually the HANS Device — it was left up to the competitors. NASCAR allowed whatever made drivers comfortable. As time went by, it became obvious that some drivers were hardheaded and didn't want to take advantage of what was available. In almost every instance when things have gotten out of control or competitors weren't working together, getting along or solving issues on their own, NASCAR has stepped in. As the sport has become safety conscious, the element of danger has almost been eliminated.

Another example is the testing policy. If there weren't limits, teams would test every day, but it's another freedom that was taken away. Teams should be allowed to spend money any way they desire. It shouldn't be NASCAR's concern how many times you test, where you test or what you test, but the sanctioning body felt differently so they tried to limit testing. They said it was going to save teams money, but it costs more because teams now travel all over the country looking for tracks where there isn't a NASCAR-sanctioned race. How does it save money to go to Iowa, Milwaukee, Kentucky or Lakeland?

The tire-leasing program is even more expensive and ridiculous. Teams can't test with the tires that they will run in races because NASCAR won't let Goodyear sell them. It's one of the most ludicrous things I've ever heard. I don't see how Goodyear can tolerate that policy when teams want to buy tires. It hasn't limited anything. It's just created more expense. My favorite saying is the rule of unintended consequences. When NASCAR makes a rule, every team sits down and says, "OK, here's the rule. How are we going to circumvent it? How do we not let this rule affect what we're going to do?" That's been the way teams have operated ever since the sport was created because it's become NASCAR's job to control things. It's gotten out of hand as they try to control everything.

From the fight with AT&T about sponsors on a car to approving paint jobs, the cars are in the tighest box they've ever been in, particularly the New Car/Car of Tomorrow. The engines are heavily regulated. The shocks are taken apart and checked. Areas where crews looked for an advantage have slowly been taken away. The best inspectors in the garage are the competitors themselves. That's why NASCAR wants everybody to have the same thing. If everybody has the same car, it's pretty easy to walk by and tell that a car is different. One of the methods to the madness is trying to keep everything the same. It makes the cars a lot easier to police and control, but it's an option that's been taken away from teams.

Ask DW
AskDW Subject: Comment/Question: Name:  Email:  Hometown:

The name of this story is "We Can Work It Out" because I've been thinking about car numbers in the wake of Dale Earnhardt Inc. and Hendrick Motorsports not coming to an agreement for the No. 8. I bought my first number — No. 17 — from Holman-Moody. They owned it and had the rights to it. If I wanted to use it, I had to work out something with John Holman. So I paid him $5,000, which was a lot of money back in 1975. It's not the first or last time that's happened. We've all gone to the owners, been a little bit rational about it and worked out deals for numbers. If another team has a number, you come to some sort of an agreement. Well, in the case of the No. 8, that's not going to happen. There seemed to be some sort of a problem trying to work things out.

Car numbers may be one area where NASCAR should step in. They ultimately have the right to decide what numbers get used. The No. 3 doesn't belong to Richard Childress or Teresa Earnhardt. If somebody forced the issue, they could make NASCAR give them the No. 3. Nobody has ever forced the issue with the No. 28. In the past, the procedure has always been if you don't use it, you lose it. NASCAR is heavily involved in everything else that they ought to step in and decide what numbers teams get.

As I look back, I wish I had insisted on keeping the No. 17 because that's who I was. That was my identity. When I had to stop driving No. 17 in 1998 and switch to No. 66, it hurt me because I had no identity with the No. 66. It was just a number that K-mart decided to put on their race car to promote a line of clothing. A lot of athletes in other sports feel the same way about their numbers.

If NASCAR wants to control everything else, it might be a good time for them to step in and take control of all numbers. They can make sure that the people using the numbers understand that NASCAR has the ultimate say in which teams can have the numbers and which teams can't. If you're not going to use it, you're going to lose it.