Controversy Surrounds Jr. and NASCAR.....Again

Another Daytona 500 has been raced. The biggest event the sport has to offer and it doesn't surprise anyone that watched it live or on T.V. that Dale Jr. was the main character.

Sure, Kyle Busch had the car to beat, yes there was some great racing all over the track, and yes even ' Sliced Bread ' was welcomed with a trip to the inside wall. But what is everyone discussing today ? Matt Kenseth winning his first 500 ? A.J. Almindinger's amazing run in the #44 ? How quickly NASCAR called the race ? Nope...Dale Jr. & Brian Vickers 'incident' that took out some of the best cars in the field.

Did Jr. wreck Vickers on purpose ? Noone but Jr. knows that for sure. But from my watching of the race and the endless replays and camera angles provided by FOX, I would say that it was a "racing accident". Did Vickers block Jr.? Absolutely. Is it just a part of racing?  During 'plate racing' it's the norm. Should Jr. have been penalized? According to some, he got the preferential treatment that only Jr. gets.

Sure, NASCARS' favorite son was not having the type of day that he was hoping for. Totally missing his pits, pitting outside his box, sitting for a lap, but I believe he has enough smarts to know what would happen when 'hooking' an opponent with the entire field in his rearview. It's too bad the incident happened at all. The bottom line is, it DID happen and next week they're gonna race again.

Can 'accidents' like this one be avoided in the future ? Sure, but the drivers also have to help out with respect. Respect for their equipment, their fellow competitors, and for their owners. Rule changes need to be made for superspeedway racing to help prevent "The Big One". Car owners, and the guys back at the shop that build these machines, invest too much time and money to have it just thrown away because of bad judgement. It's a shame that Kenseth's win is being overshadowed by opinion.

I congratulate him and the whole DeWalt team for a job well done. Jack Rousch deserves this trophy for his dedication to the sport. I can't wait for next week.