Is Everyone Enjoying "Have At It Boys!" Courtesy of NASCAR?

Larry Burton (Panama City Beach, Fla.) People don't buy Playboy to read the articles, they don't watch boxing to admire a fighter's footwork, and the great majority don't watch NASCAR for the pit strategies or the winner, but for the action.

And this year has had some action.

But more important than the action is the drama behind it. There are wrecks every year, and without seeing the stats, I don't know that there's been more than last year. But it sure seems like it has been because of the drama behind letting the boys do a little "Payback on the track".

When Carl Edwards was slapped on the wrist for paying back Brad Keselowski with a gruesome crash, even usual good guys like Jeff Gordon suddenly got sharper elbows and they were certainly in evidence last Sunday at Infinion Raceway.

Joey Lagano may have earned a few points with drivers a few weeks ago by calling out another driver in the garage area, but until he puts a driver or two in the wall, will the other drivers really believe he's not alright to push aside?

This theory of "Settling it on the track" is nothing new and has always been done. But in the past, drivers had to wait a week or two or three or more so it wouldn't be so obvious.

"Drivers have long memories and don't forget who is due some payback," said Tony Stewart on the subject. "We used to have to bide our time so it could at least look accidental, but not anymore."

And though it seems like more wrecks may have happened this year, it's no significant increase over the past.

Apparently, letting people settle the score means that a driver may be less likely to put himself in the position for payback.

In other words, "Have at it boys" may be good for the fans and ultimately best for the sport.

Should Logano wish to have a little payback on a day that Harvick was doing well and Lagano wasn't, it could have a huge impact on Harvick's standing in the points. This would make Harvick a lot more unlikely to go messing with Joey again if he knew it would cost him another 35th place finish.

But one thing is absolutely for sure—it has made it more fun for the fans, more fun for the television announcers and viewers, and possibly more work for the bean counters who add up all the fans buying tickets and viewers watching television.

Somebody finally did something right at NASCAR besides getting rid of that stupid wing. And the fans are the real winners here.

Larry Burton (Panama City Beach, Fla.)