BS Detector Alert

Something about the NASCAR admission on 10/2 that the Rick Hendrick #5 and #48 Dover cars were legal--but just barely--and that Hendrick's brain trust (crew chiefs Alan Gustafson and Chad Knaus were told to never run them again doesn't pass the smell test. On the face, it is the same thing as when the police radar indicates you are going 65.001 miles an hour in a 65 mile an hour zone--legal, but within tolerance.

Where the "bovine scatology" comes in is this--NASCAR can, under its catch-all rule 12.A-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing), do what it pleases (and can also do so because it is a private organization). If the violation was egregious enough to evoke that verbal warning-- then why were penalties not assessed? Isn't legal legal? Do the words publicity, sagging ratings on TV and controversy ring a bell? They ought to.

In the continuing saga of Jeremy Mayfield--celebrity attorney Mark Geragos has been hired to assist in the conduct of Mayfield's case. Geragos has defended some misbehaving Hollywood types in some high profile cases.

Is it not interesting that this admission was also revealed when the series was in Kansas City Kansas--a good size, but not major media market?

Again, do the words publicity and controversy ring a bell?

The NASCAR beat media is getting played like a snare drum on both these issues...and needs to call "BS"--"bovine scatology"-- on stories like this so it can once again be the fan's eyes, ears and the sport's mirror.

"Four In A Row--More than Possible"

The defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship brain trust, explaining how they won a back to back Allstate 400 at the Brickyard. Crew Chief Chad Knaus, driver Jimmie Johnson and owner Rick Hendrick had a fast car--no doubt. What won them the race is that they were able to capitalize on a pit road mistake (speeding) by 2000 Indianapolis 500 winner Juan Pablo Montoya (the leader who led about two hours of the 2:45 race), that dropped him from the lead. If the Vegas sports books will let you make a championship tri-fecta box (for entertainment purposes, of course), Johnson, Stewart and Jeff Gordon in any order would be a safe bet.

Point leader Tony Stewart heads back to Pocono this weekend in the point lead.

We were kinda Twittered out with the live Tweeting during the race--and with our CBS obligations, we were kinda raced out on Sunday night. We did promise you the snapshot--and we delivered, albeit a bit late.

Speaking of the Twittering--NASCAR got awful defensive when some tweets suggested that they may have manipulated the reading on Montoya to knock him out of the lead. The sanctioning body's past history of secrecy prompted cynics to suggest that. That seemed to have enough "legs"; so much so that NASCAR actually tweeted the speed splits (@NASCARSays). We like transparency, and give NASCAR some props for doing this.

The crowd was down--about a third, if you trust the Indianapolis Star and other local media estimates in 'Naptown. While there were plenty of empty seats--and traffic did not reach the usual 16th Street gridlock--this is the biggest crowd NASCAR plays to anywhere they run--bar none.

Mayfield--what reputation he had is slowly being nuked by NASCAR's legal team. Every time I read something or hear the latest revelation, I feel like taking multiple showers because of the tawdriness of the whole affair. The more and more I discover, the more I remember that "Denial" is not just a river in Africa.

We're getting ready for the MidWest Tour and will rejoin you from Bruton Smith's Kentucky Speedway on Friday morning.

"Tryin' to get Over"

If you are a devotee of 70's music, you will remember these words from the theme from "Superfly" sung by one Curtis Mayfield.

The more I think about the Jeremy Mayfield situation, the more that song sticks in my mind. The 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals vacated Mayfield's injunction against NASCAR's suspension of him in May for failing a drug test. The NASCAR Vice President for Corporate Communications, Jim Hunter, says the decision "is an important decision for NASCAR to make fair and equitable regulations for the safety of competitiors and spectators at the track." The sanctioning body will continue to make its case for as long as the litigation continues.

That litigation involves a suit against NASCAR by Mayfield asserting that the organization's suspension of him was inaccurate and that his ability to earn a living as a stock car driver is damaged by that action. NASCAR countersued for what they perceived as damages and costs incurred defending their actions.

There are some unconfirmed reports circulating that Mayfield has signed a deal to sell his team. So is this how the soap opera ends? Do we ever see him in a car again? Stay tuned.

"Soap Opera, Frog-stranglers and Race-Day"

More soap opera: head over to the Daly Planet's (dalyplanet.tv) comment area on the Mayfield situation to read the latest --a "negative" drug test released by Mayfield and his lawyers to attempt to blunt the court filing. I saw the document and was interested in the lack of specificity, when compared to the detailed court filed document from Aegis Labs. Now, the NASCAR apologists might (properly) be skeptical of this, and suggest that it might simply be something written on business letterhead, simply because of the lack of detail--which is a derivative of the same argument that the Mayfield apologists use about the NASCAR/Aegis tests. What say you?

Here at Lime Rock Park for the Northeast Grand Prix, which will tell a lot about the LMP1 championship, with frontrunners Simon Pagenaud and Gil deFerran starting on pole and pointleaders David Brabham and Scott Sharp second. In LMP2, the Fernandez Racing Acura will start third. Adrian Fernandez and Luis Diaz survived challenges in the first four races from the to stake their claim on first place. The Mazdas (Dyson Racing) are catching up.

Beacuse of a classic deluge here at Lime Rock last night, any of the race rubber laid down in practice and qualifying is likely on its way toward the watershed. The warmup will be important for more than obvious reasons.

The Corsa Zytek Hybrid Prototype was quick--and if some strangeness happens to the front running Acuras--might make even more racing history if Johnny Mowlem and Stefan Johansson can find the checkers first. The Zytek KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) cars in Formula One have had their share of teething pains. And it is never pretty to do a lot of development in public--but that is what racers do, and that's why (as Jackie Stewart once told me) motor racing is a great test bed--because what usually takes 2 or more years in classic development channels, takes months on the track under fire.

We'll Tweet and blog up a overall winner's photo later on.

RIP--Walter Cronkite, who set a high bar for radio and TV journalists to reach.

"What In the Name of Sam Hill is Going On With Jeremy Mayfield?"

One can only follow a soap opera so long before fatigue sets in. Or so it seems. Doubtless you've seen Jenna Fryer's reporting on the results of the second drug test on Jeremy Mayfield, and Fryer's recounting of the accusations that Mayfield has had a history of methampehtamine use. You may have seen Bob Pockrass's reporting on the events surrounding the second test of Mayfield and the comedy of errors that ensued.

What we see is NASCAR saying the second test came back positive for methamphetamines. We suspect that the A and B samples were tested and that was why no word from Daytona Beach--until the test results were finished. Mayfield again denies the allegations of past methamphetamine use. NASCAR went before Judge Graham Mullen in Federal District Court to have the original injunction granted by Mullen vacated. NASCAR has also filed appeals in Richmond at the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals to have the injunction quashed, and allow them to reinstitute the ban on Mayfield.

Here are some questions that you might ask yourself:

• Would NASCAR have been so quick to release details of a passed test?
• Is Mayfield's stepmother (see Jenna Fryer's article)a reliable source?
• Could there have been some collusion to make sure any test of Mayfield would be positive--since that was what NASCAR has been saying about Mayfield since the Mullen injunction on July 1, and the second test followed the protocols of the first test?
• Were there any indications of aberrant behavior when Mayfield drove for Carl Haas, Roger Penske and Ray Evernham?
• Is this Mayfield's flameout, and exit from the scene? Reports suggest the team is all but done in name only--and that Mayfield and his wife want to sell the cars.
• Who can you believe, and who do you believe?

Again, we all want to give people the benefit of the doubt. But in fact if Mayfield is "dirty" he needs to get clean, first, and then publicly apologize to those fans and sponsors who believed his story. What Kevin Grubb (Nationwide Series driver, suspended for drugs who shot himself to death back in May) did was the easy way out--Mayfield should then show the same kind of tenacity fighting this problem that he showed at Pocono when he bunted Dale Earnhardt out of the way for a win. He will have to fight this every day he lives. People have fought it and gotten clean and gotten back on with their lives.

And to clear up the image of "shooting at people in lifeboats", the sanctioning body should, through either Mike Helton, or Brian France, make it clear in public that Mayfield could return to the cockpit after completing a recognized third party rehab program (Betty Ford, etc.) and staying clean with weekly testing for a two year period. Helton or France should also say that NASCAR would have no further comment until that time either through official release, media inquiry or "leak".

Comments?

"Humpy Wheeler: Both NASCAR and IRL Must Cut Costs Even Further"

As I mentioned previously, Humpy Wheeler exchanged an e-mail with me on the resignation of Anton H. "Tony" George as the boss at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indy Racing League, and the ongoing soap opera that marks the Jeremy Mayfield v NASCAR drug testing saga.

George, says Wheeler, "is a racer, and that is what we lack in top management in auto racing today--people who truly understand racing. There are some, but is the passion there like we have seen in the past? Great leadership is needed now more than ever at the Brickyard."

Humpy praised George's attempts at cost containment, but says it has to continue and make greater strides. "NASCAR Cup racing is still out of hand, despite NASCAR's attempt to cut costs. Both the IRL and NASCAR must cut costs by at least 30-40 per cent to make it through this still sliding economy." That said, Humpy felt that the status quo (with cars and races) won't help the IRL to survive. His take: "You simply can't hold your very top drivers unless you have 20-24 races; every starting field should have at least 30 cars." It might be a little difficult to find 30 cars--not so much proper venues (New Hampshire, Cleveland, Road America for example).

Wheeler suggests Jeremy Mayfield will have a rough time coming back. "Once you are branded (as a user of banned substances), it is hard to lose it. He's still a fine race driver and can win races. Is he guilty of taking banned substances? I have not a clue and only hope he isn't. If he does come back, I think NASCAR will play it straight with them. They (NASCAR) will have to be very careful in how they conduct everything with him if Judge Mullen rules permanently that he (Mayfield) can return."

Agree or disagree, please feel free to comment.

"Mayfield Wins Injunction, but at What Cost"

Jeremy Mayfield, as I'm sure you now have read elsewhere, has prevailed for the moment and can now resume driving in NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series until the court cases have been decided, or NASCAR decides to appeal the ruling handed down in Federal District Court in Charlotte, to the Appeals Court located in Richmond.

The defense used by his legal team will be familiar to those people who may have beat a charge of driving under the influence--bring up as much doubt as possible about the validity of the testing and care of the sample. Where this gets twisted is that the sanctioning body (NASCAR) has NO, repeat, NO published list of banned substances. The sanctioning body says they want flexibility to be able to test for anything. Therein lies the rub.

NASCAR has been notorious for using "gotcha" clauses to mete out its punishment. Section 12-4 (a) (the infamous actions detrimental to stock car racing) can be invoked for any reason. The lack of a published list of banned substances is again a "gotcha". That is the reason that you will see the "lash of NASCAR justice" tag here, or hear it on my "Race-Talk program when I am describing the sanctioning body's disciplinary actions.

NASCAR is certainly within its rights to allow or not allow drivers or participants to drive or participate, and suggested that Federal drug testing regulations (which include lists of banned substances) do and should not be applied to its operations.

Those "gotcha" clauses are patently unfair. How does one know how not to break a rule, when the rule is a moving target and can be changed at any time? Moses knew that instinctively when the Ten Commandments were written in stone. More importantly, this is a trust issue.

If an organization resorts to ambiguous language in its dealings, then that organization ultimately has only its own best interests at heart; pious blatherings to the contrary. Do the interests of any organization have more primacy than the legal, ethical and moral rights of the individuals involved? There's nothing wrong with properly directed self-interest; that's the force that makes entrepreneurs survive. When self-interest is improperly directed whether by organizations or individuals, bad stuff happens.

The inspection process has for years been referred to as the "room of doom". Were I employed by Mr. Mayfield as a crew chief, or if I were an owner and considered him for a relief driver, I would make damned sure that every facet of the car conformed 100 percent to the portion of the NASCAR rule book that is in black and white. Even then, with the "gotcha" clause, cars could still flunk--and receive big fines--that would make Carl Long's indiscretions look like schoolyard follies. Would NASCAR do that? Very likely--they have done so in the past to send messages. Would Mayfield's legal team go to court to have that struck down? It'd be like a baseball player taking an umpire to court over a called third strike--a judgement call. No court would ever rule on a judgement call by a sporting official.

Mayfield will likely be tested every time he appears on track--I don't have a problem with that. It is his chance to prove his innocence and start to regain the trust of the garage area, which, for whatever reason, has been bruised. We will likely never know with any degree of certainty if Mayfield was using meth, as NASCAR alleges. If Mayfield did, he got a major league wake up call and break to get and stay straight. If he did not, Mayfield's reputation has been damaged--perhaps beyond repair--and needs to be made whole.