Thursday, March 15, 2012

Waltrip Touts Change To Penalty Process

NASCAR Hall Of Famer Darrell Waltrip said Wednesday that he has a plan to revise NASCAR’s current system of assessing a reviewing penalties; a system he contends is simpler, more expedient and fairer to both NASCAR and its competitors.

DW says he has a fix...
“Here’s my beef,” said Waltrip on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio’s Sirius Speedway with Dave Moody. “I’ve been thinking a lot about this, and I think the system is flawed. It’s not the people. The men and women on that Appeals Board are some of the most knowledgeable people that have ever been in this sport, and it’s not like they don’t know what’s going on. Leo Mehl was with Goodyear for all those years (and) they’ve got a track promoter (Dale Pinilis of North Carolina’s Bowman-Gray Stadium)… they’ve got some good people on that committee.

“Here’s the problem,” he said. “You shouldn’t be found guilty before you’re tried. When you’re at the track and you get a ticket, (NASCAR says), `we’re going to write you up, son, because you did something wrong.’ But they can’t be judge and jury at the same time.

“Here’s what should happen,” he continued. “(NASCAR) finds the infraction and writes the ticket, and now you’ve got to go to court. You go before the Appeals Board and say, `Here’s what happened, here’s what NASCAR says I did. Now, what’s my punishment?’”

Under the current system, Waltrip said it is difficult for the Appeals Board to overturn a penalty that has been assessed by NASCAR weeks before, at the race track. “The decision has already been made,” he complained. “What’s the board supposed to say, `Forget all that, we’re going to overturn it?’ That’s pretty tough to do.”

The three-time Sprint Cup Series champion said NASCAR should maintain its authority to confiscate questionable parts – or even an entire race car -- at the track, while ceding the penalty phase to the NSCRC. “NASCAR can do everything they do now, except assess a fine,” he said. “That’s up to the Appellate Board. They’re unbiased. They look at all of the facts, see what got you in trouble, listen to what both sides have to say and assess a penalty.

“I think they’ve got all the right elements here,” said Waltrip. “They’ve just got them in the wrong order.”

9 comments:

  1. Anonymous11:08 AM

    I agree whole heartedly...DW #nailedit
    Bill

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  2. I agree but media has a big part of it too, stop airing dirty laundry and getting a media up roar that makes it even harder to over turn, that should be between NASCAR and the Teams, make it public after the each side has pleaded there case, to many wanna knowers that puts there input in it and that could be the factor in which it could or could not be overturned

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    1. When the media stops "airing dirty laundry," how long will it be before you accuse us of covering up all the negative things in NASCAR?

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  3. WOW...'ole DW is absolutely 100% right! And it's so obvious how right he is...Hope NASCAR thinks long and hard about this! P.S.: Love the new blog format, Godfather!

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  4. Anonymous12:43 PM

    DW taking up for his old boss.Where was he for Clint Boyer ?
    Larry King

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  5. Dwayne in Memphis3:32 PM

    Funny how fans supposedly want NASCAR to be like the so-called "stick and ball" sports, e.g. public rule book, playoffs, etc. Yet when NASCAR finds someone breaking the rules and imposes penalties, then it doesn't matter how every OTHER sport does it.

    Ask James Harrison what he thinks about Roger Goodell and his fines for "inappropriate hits". Or ask Derrick Rose what he thinks of David Stern for fining him $50k for speaking out against referees. Or the plethora of MLB players suspended by Bud Selig. Or for that matter ask Jim McMahon about wearing headbands and well Pete Rozelle like that.

    Sorry, DW, but the sanctioning body HAS to be the one that doles out the punishments. Otherwise the authority of that sanctioning body gets undermined. The way we have it now works just fine. You wanna know why? Because the teams are violating NASCAR rules. Since NASCAR makes the rules, then NASCAR gets to impose the penalties when their rules are broken.

    If I get a ticket in Memphis - THAT governing body issues my penalty. I don't get a ticket from Memphis police then my punishment decided by a court in Little Rock.

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  6. Dwayne nailed it. Moody and the Kentucky Winder are completely out of their gourds thinking the appeals panel should hand down penalty. Duh might be a reason it is called an" appeal" no??

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  7. Dipship7:36 PM

    I understand DW's point... but doesn't it already work that way..? If NASCAR catches a team cheating, or with an unapproved part etc. on Saturday or Sunday, NASCAR does issue the ticket right then... then the following Tuesday they issue their penalty.
    An Appeals Board is just that...an Appeals Board...thats where you go to appeal your penalty...Appeals Boards don't usually issue penalties.
    The only issue I have with this system is the descriptions or lack there of... that NASCAR gives...NASCAR give a thorough explanation and description, then tell the fans why.."actions detrimental to racing" is just lame...
    But hey... I'm just a Dipship

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  8. Dwayne in Memphis10:20 AM

    And now that the Syracuse/UNC Asheville game went down like it did, let's fire up the black helicopter conspiracy theory talk about NCAA basketball and how crooked IT is. Oh, wait, we already KNEW how corrupt and crooked THAT sport was. Even though their rule book is public and everybody on Earth is smarter than the NCAA referees yesterday...they still blew the call and Asheville is still going home. No appeals board, no instant replay, no scoring loops. Just suck it up and go home.

    Yeah, I'll take what we have, thank you.

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