Commentary: Economics...And Class

I have heard from at least four different people today that crewmembers were being released in the back of their respective transporters yesterday; told that they would no longer be needed on their return to town this morning.

I understand that NASCAR Sprint Cup Series racing is a business. Big business. I also understand that the realities of today’s economy make dramatic cutbacks necessary. By the time it’s over, an estimated 750 to 1,000 people will be newly unemployed here in the Charlotte area, but firing someone before the final race of the season – in the back of the hauler, no less – is a thoroughly classless way to do business.

I’m not going to name names here – more out of respect to the fired workers than their bosses – but if those team members were a classless as their respective owners and team managers apparently are, they would have waited until Sunday’s final round of pit stops, then thrown down their impact guns and walked off the job, saying, “change your own damned tires. I’m going home.”