by Florida Times-Union

Just this week, F1 major-domo Bernie Ecclestone was quoted in a London newspaper saying how he had a preference for "strong leaders," citing former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Max Mosley, outgoing head of Formula One's governing body, as examples.

He was quoted as saying that democracy "hasn't done a lot of good for many countries -- including this one."

"In a lot of ways, terrible to say this I suppose, but apart from the fact that Hitler got taken away and persuaded to do things that I have no idea whether he wanted to do or not, he was in the way that he could command a lot of people, able to get things done," Ecclestone was quoted as saying.

"In the end he got lost, so he wasn't a very good dictator."

(Sound of my eyes rolling in disgust)

And, don't forget about Ecclestone's bud, Mosley. Remember, he's the same guy who was caught last year by a Brit tabloid engaging in what the newspaper called "a sick Nazi orgy" with four prostitutes in a Chelsea basement flat.

Classy dudes, both. (And, yes, that's sarcasm.)

Seriously, guys. Don't you both remember that Hitler and the Nazis wanted nothing more than to wipe the British empire off the face of the earth?

Jewish Chronicle editor Stephen Pollard said Ecclestone was "either an idiot or morally repulsive."

Personally, I'd go with the idiot part.

2 CENTS

Sometimes, things work out for the NASCAR powers-that-be.

Saturday night, in one of the sport's top 10 races, one of the sport's top drivers (Tony Stewart) won the Coke Zero 400 (i.e., the old Firecracker 400) in an old-fashioned way -- crashing Kyle Busch or pushing past the attempted block of Busch, take your pick -- for one of Stewart's biggest wins of the year.

And NASCAR certainly needed some positive publicity. After taking a black eye earlier in the week from the judge in the Jeremy Mayfield case, the sport needed all the help it can get.

And to finish the race with a crash, well, that was just icing on the cake.

Nobody wanted to see anybody die. But a crash? Well, that's a different matter.

It really does reinforce the message that NASCAR should take to heart: It's all about the racing.

Simply, give the fans a good, close racing environment, and the sport will flourish.

Don't, and, well, you'll have the problems that NASCAR has been having, with boring races, assembly-line productions and results that won't bring new fans into the sport.

Let's just hope that next week's race in Chicago isn't the same old, same old.

Just saying.

Compiled by MICHAEL CUMMINGS/The Times-Union

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