Turn 3

I'm not picky, as long as it's perfect

By DAVID GREEN

The first stock car I ever built and drove is permanently etched in my memory. It really was a junkyard refuge, and I can still smell the weatherproofing and insulation as I attempted to strip it from the inside surfaces of sheet metal.

I also remember what an evil thing it was to try to drive. I used the typical "monkey see, monkey do" approach and tried to copy the way other cars were built. My first efforts were anything but impressive. My driving was part of the problem, but not all of it.

Several years later, I got some help from a savvy veteran mechanic. A little front-end geometry, and presto -- I could drive a race car! (Well, better than I had been able to before, anyway.)

The sport has evolved to a much greater degree than I ever did personally as a participant in it. Somewhere along the line, getting the set-up perfect became a bigger deal for today's top-echelon drivers than it was for me as a novice.

In the old days, it seems that drivers took things more into their own hands. If the car pushed, well, you changed your approach to a corner to get it turned. If it was loose, you hung it out and lived with it. It's not that they don't do that anymore; it's just that they complain more about having to do it.

Maybe it's connected to the culture we've built in which no one takes individual responsibility. Finding someone or something to blame is the focus rather than actually addressing and solving a problem, or at least living graciously with it.

OK, maybe not. But it just seems there should be some middle ground between the driver having to deal with an ill-handling car and requiring a perfect one.

It probably has more to do with technical evolution of the equipment and less with the cultural climate. The more sophisticated the cars, the less effective the driver's attempt to cope, and the more critical the perfect set-up becomes.

Once upon a time, people talked about how the measure of a great driver was how well he could perform when the car wasn't just right. I believe that driving skills still make a difference, but the difference is more incremental now. The car has assumed primary importance in the equation.

The more exotic the racing equipment, the more true this is. Formula One's Fernando Alonso is a perfect example. In top-level equipment, he won back-to-back championships. In second-tier equipment, he's a second-tier finisher.

Call me regressive, but I liked it better when racing was more about drivers and less about the sophistication and perfection of the cars they drove.

Sections 12-4-A and 20-3.1.3A

By Keith Ott

 Sorry for my tardiness this week. I’ve been hard at redoing the computer (I have a need for speed) and I had to wait on a part. My backup was on loan, and the cat ate my homework. I’m pretty much up now, and David’s had his longest run of the season, so here’s a short one. 

The 600 is just a memory, but congrats to the Kahnesters out there. Now, can we finally get some normal Sunday racing? Saturday racing throws my whole weekend off. I always feel like I’m missing something on Sunday. 

Back to the rules. How did “Actions Detrimental” get all the way into the 12’s? It’s the first rule they ever quote. In fact, if they haven’t penciled in a rule to quote, they quote 12-4-A. Why the “A” even? Will there be a “B,” “Actions More Detrimental ?” It should be #1. Just Section -1, period, because, if there are any more rules, then breaking them must be “Actions Detrimintal to Racing,” or they wouldn’t have rules for them.

I disagree with 20-3.1.3A. Let them play with wing angles (and splitter height, btw). I have no problem with teams finding the right angle for their car, or being able to tune it during the race. It isn’t like this car has done a whole lot for the racing on the track, and a lot of the blame falls on NASCAR. When you micromanage every nut and bolt you get “follow me” racing. Let the teams work some tricks, and we might see some passing. 

The only heavy handed part of the penalties, to me any how, was the taking of the cars. Why, besides the fact that they can? Are they starting a team? Do they have an “Indiana Jones-esque” secret storage facility in Washington? If the wing is the bad part, take the wing. I’m sure you have enough cars to test it on as it is. 

Lastly, on the Keselowski/Hamlin penalty, if I had the green, I’d pay their fines. I was tired of NASCAR wanting them to act like proper Rhodes scholars. No guns/knives, of course, but a little emotional confrontation does nothing but help the event.   NASCAR called it right.  Not listening to the official and/or contacting one will get you a call in any sport, and they kept the fines low.  What's $1000, about a fill-up for an SUV these days?

That’s it. On to Dover.   

Color-blind, or blinded by colors?

By DAVID GREEN

The late Alan Kulwicki once told me that some fans may choose a favorite driver based on the color of the car he drives. Good luck to anybody trying to do that nowadays. Some of the paint (or wrap decal) schemes on today's cars defy labeling by any color except "multi."

I know, that's the old-timer in me showing again. Multi-everything is all the rage nowadays. Multicultural. Multilingual. Multimedia. Multitasking.

So, why not multicolored?

Well, for one reason, identity.

After all, when every car makes a rainbow look plain, how do you distinguish one from the other?

I'm exaggerating, of course. There are some Sprint Cup racecars that are distinctive -- at least, some of the time. I can't help wondering, though, whether any of them will ever be considered classic automotive looks.

For sure, Fred Lorenzen's white No. 28 Holman & Moody Ford was a classic beauty. Ditto that pearl white and deep red Purolator Wood Brothers No. 21. And, of course, that baby-blue No. 43. (I presume no further description is needed on that one; if you don't understand, then report to my classroom for a remedial course in auto racing history, ASAP.)

Black was beautiful for awhile, but when Dale Earnhardt died, it seemed to put a damper on that trend.

Earnhardt's car and the silver and black of the NFL's Oakland Raiders gave that color a special panache. In the old cowboy movies, of course, the "bad guy" usually wore a black hat. In the "Star Wars" franchise, Darth Vader wore -- what else? -- black. Earnhardt and the Raiders cultivated that image, and the colors worked perfectly.

Although black racecars are out of vogue, it seems that other sports have jumped on the black bandwagon. High school and college teams with no logical reason to do so are donning black-trimmed or even black primary-color uniforms. Should we now refer to the Duke basketball team as the Black-and-Blue Devils?

But that's going off on a tangent. To bring us back to the subject, can you imagine a stick-and-ball sports team going color-wild the way so many stock car designers have done? Pity the poor referee trying to designate each team by a primary color. How does he tell which of the 36 or 37 colors is the primary one?

About 10 years ago, I took my two oldest grandsons to their first stock car race at a local dirt track. After awhile, 6-year-old Justin pointed to a street stocker with flames painted on the front fenders, and said, "I like the one with the hot on the side." He would've had trouble identifying "hot" on some of today's cars. I came of age in the psychedelic era, and today's field of racecars makes the images of the '60s look bland.

One good thing about it -- if you want to pick a favorite, just name a color: "the red car," or "the green car." Chances are pretty good, all 43 will have your color somewhere on their sheet metal.

The Biggest Day Of The Racing Season?

By Mark Young

Ahhhhhh yes.  Forgive me but taking a vacation last weekend where I had no contact within the racing world was just what the Dr. ordered!!  A $50 tip to the concierges desk at the resort in Mexico to the person who could find the All-Star race on SPEED went un-claimed (to the delight of my wife).  But I am now back in touch with the real world and ready for what is arguably the biggest race weekend for race fans.

Memorial weekend in the Midwest when I was kid focused around the opening of bass fishing season and the Indy 500.  I remember getting up before dawn with my Dad to go fishing with sandwiches packed and hopes to fill the live well.  The radio Dad would have at the bow of our boat would eventually tune in to the sounds of the Indianapolis 500 and the voice of Paul Page calling "The Greatest Spectacle In Racing".  I remember hearing about Johncock, Andretti, Rahal, Mears, and Foyt.  We would make it home in time to see most of the race.  To me that was a great day.

Mind you this was in the early to mid 80's and being from rural Michigan we didn't have cable TV and the radio stations didn't broadcast NASCAR at that time so to me this was the only race of the year that mattered.  The Coca-Cola 600 didn't exist at that time for me but as I grew older I found NASCAR and Memorial weekend took on a new meaning entirely.

Sunday became 1,100 miles of racing ecstasy.  Fishing, Indy, then NASCAR, what more could a race fan need?  As I have grown older and become a husband and a father the Sunday of Memorial weekend has taken on a new look.  The mornings spent fishing have been replaced by fatherly and marital needs, but the afternoon and evening have become my ultimate racing fix.

Yes the racing at Indianapolis the past few years have taken a back seat to Scar's popularity due to the split between the URL and CART but it didn't matter.  I still watched the 500 with anticipation because of the drama that always has existed.  This year with the merger there is even more anticipation.  Now we have a new Andretti, Rahal, and Foyt.  We have International stars like Castroneves , Weldon, Canaan.  We have female drivers Danica Patrick and Sarah Fisher as well.  The only thing missing is the Robby Gordon or Tony Stewart attempt at the double dip but that doesn't matter.

NASCAR has been the big show for the past few years and this season is no exception.  The 2008 season is arguably the best one in several years with so many story lines on the track taking over from previous year's concerns over free agency rumors, poor competition, and lack of rivalries.  The 600 is filled with more anticipation than before.

The Dayton 500 might be the Super Bowl of NASCAR and is the biggest day of the year for NASCAR fans, but this Sunday is the biggest day of the year for the entire racing community.   

The All-star, 1.5s and Other Stuff

By Keith Ott
 

The All-star

Who’d have thought that three Allstate girls could send in so many votes? All over Kahnedom, or Kaseyland, if you prefer, female NASCAR fans, and Kahne’s 10 male fans, are high fiving and strutting, while their masculine counterparts are left sputtering buts, wells,  and what ifs. I’m in the latter group, because, if…nevermind.

While the racing was nothing to write home about, overall the All-star event seemed to be well received and attendance was excellent. I like the event. The racing isn’t always top notch, but I like to see other aspects of the game, like the pit crew competition. That could be the enlisted man in me. Because, for every pimple faced fighter jock launched off the deck, there’s a huge pit crew, so to speak, making sure he’ll get to do it again tomorrow.   I even like the All-star format. It’s Saturday night, local track heat racing. What’s not to like?   

1.5’s

I’m almost dreading the arrival of another 1.5mi race, because, even though the All-star event had some good racing, it also had timely cautions. Without those “timely” cautions, and a few unforeseen mechanical miscues, I’m thinking we may have seen a snooze fest of epic proportions. What is the problem with the CON and racing on 1.5 mile tracks? The 1.5 is the bread and butter of NASCAR, and so far this year, it’s dropped butter side down to the pavement, too many times. The 600 brings the added dimension of engine wear/durability that has to be factored in, but, if we’re treated to 580 miles of boredom to get to 20 miles of racing, I’m going to need more pillows, and NASCAR should do some thinking. Let’s hope for the best. 

Other stuff:

I was hoping that NASCAR would correct the alignment on the rear wheels. It was getting just a tad ridiculous watching the cars crabwalk down the straights. I guess the NASCAR memo’s in the mail.

How many times can you say, “He’s in another zip code,” before it gets annoying? My guess would be about 7. They did, and it was.

Indy qualifying: How refreshing. Qualifying, where, the 33 fastest cars actually make the field. I know there are discrepancies in the comparison to NASCAR, but, as a purist, I’d like the fastest cars on qualifying day to make the field. I don’t care if you’re a “Super” team spending millions to race. You got those millions racing. Certainly you didn’t just plop down millions and assume you’re entitled to race, did you? No-one deserves to get a free pass on past achievements. Who can say today’s newcomer isn’t tomorrow’s big team? Well, okay, I guess NASCAR can, since they pretty much ensure the status quo, old boy network, will remain with the T35. How about NASCAR lets 42 (41 plus the bubble boy) in on times, the last spot is a champs provisional. So, it’s one qualifying run for everyone. Non-qualifiers get one more run at bubble boy. The original bubble boy (if bumped) gets the last run to get back in. If one of these T35 teams can’t beat bubble boy, then I guess they didn’t earn the right to race. So, that’s two shots to get in, for BB and the non-qualifiers, no one who qualified 1-41 can jump in to advance their position. Or maybe, like the All-star, they could have the Bubble Boy Challenge prior to the race, J/K.

Note 1: LOL, No, Mike Daly, starting all the cars is not an option in my scenario. 

Let’s hope for the best and see what the 600 brings us. If the Toyota's learned anything from their engine experiments, it could be a long day for the Big 3.

Who are you picking?

All-star events -- obsolete?

By DAVID GREEN

NASCAR's all-star race -- seems as if it should always be referred to as "The Winston" -- has produced some great memories over the years since its inception in 1985. It has also produced some serious snoozers.

Regular readers of this post (all two or three of you -- thanks, Mom) know that I think that's the way life is supposed to be. Some days are diamonds, some days are stones, as the late John Denver once sang; or, if you prefer, nobody ever had a rainbow until he had the rain (Jim Croce).

So, the question of whether every one ought to be a breath-taker is not at issue in this discussion. Rather, I wonder if the time for the concept has come and gone.

I'm not just talking about racing. It seems to me that the notion of all-star games in general no longer has any special appeal.

As far as I know, baseball was the original sport to come up with the idea of showcasing its top players in a single contest. Other professional sports added their versions of it, and NASCAR was a very late comer in joining that party.

College football has and has had, over the years, a number of special events. High school sports have competitions such as the Kentucky versus Indiana basketball series.

All of them are great in that they showcase outstanding players. Usually, the quality of the competition is of secondary importance. It's more of an exhibition than a game. Of course, players have competitive drive and they want to win. But they seldom play with the intensity they show in a playoff or championship or World Series game.

If anything, NASCAR's drivers treat their event just the opposite.

However, because of the nature of auto racing, there's no need for one special event to pit the all-stars against each other. They do it every time they race. The all-star event merely has fewer cars on the track and it doesn't grind on for 500 miles.

Home-run derbies, slam-dunk and 3-point shooting contests and other "gimmicks" have been added to every all-star event in existence today. NASCAR has its unique qualifying formats, its multi-segment races with inverted lineups, its pit crew competition. Why? In all cases, to try to stimulate interest and attract fans.

There's already enough competition for disposable income and time. It's almost as if NASCAR and other sports are competing against themselves by staging these extravaganzas.

I'm not suggesting The Winston should never have been run. It was just one of many great promotions of two of the best promoters ever, T. Wayne Robertson and Humpy Wheeler. The 1992 "One Hot Night" race remains, in my mind, one of the absolute best and most memorable races I have ever seen.

I am suggesting, however, that perhaps we should consider closing the books on it.

Anybody want to bet there will be close to equal numbers of filled and empty seats tonight at Lowe's Motor Speedway?

Every Woman Owns a Black Dress

By Keith Ott

The Black Dress (BD) is imprinted within every woman’s DNA, and, while Darlington is technically a race track, she is every bit as fickle as any woman who dons the BD. The rewards and consequences of the BD are pretty much the same for us males, or, in this case, drivers.  Bring your best manners, and your best lines, and you may get a smile. Let your eye wander or think you’re in charge of her, and, well, you get my point. The Lady in Black will have her way. 

The racing turned out to be great. Certain things contributed to the racing, and should be acknowledged for contributing to such a good show.

• The track pavers: They did an excellent job. No woman wants a wrinkled dress, and this one was as smooth as silk.

• Good Year: Not oft on my good list. They brought the right shoes to this dance. They get credit when they mess up, so they deserve credit when it works out right.

• The Maintenance crew (They have about 14): The track looked great. Those guys who had to repaint the walls, in what must have been a long night, deserve an attaboy. How thankless a task was that?

Back to the event:

The race coverage was decent. It’s a nostalgic type of track, so I’m pretty sure we all got the point that they used to use (2)2x4’s in the door, ad infinitum. But, if anyone missed it, in olden days they had (2)2x4’s on the right side to brace it up. Now we have Dow foam to do it…Everyone on the same page? Other than that they didn’t bother me so I guess they did ok. Oh, as an aside, I did like the history lesson on the #28 Fred Lorenzen’s car. I liked it so much I looked him up. Turns out he was an original NASCAR character. The Golden Boy; first to win over 100K in a season, and a movie star to boot. He starred as himself in an independently produced racing movie, “Speed Lovers.” To summarize the flick: Its old James Bond mated with “Back in the Day,” race clips. Girls in bathing suits, and car crashes sums it up. Here’s the trailer… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfjoMRsCtII 

The Racing:

There were two races going on all night, driver vs. track, driver vs. driver, and, okay, if I count Biffle, I have to add driver vs. car.

• Nobody won vs. the track. Some took fewer lumps than others, and some wish they’d never met her, but everyone got at least a taste of the wall.

• Driver vs. driver is harder to call. Some were good for short runs, some for long runs, but only one was good when it earned points. Kyle had enough brakes, and I was hoping he wouldn’t, to be top dog that night. I bet he has a bigger brake package next time.

• Biffle vs. car is an easy call, Car - 1, Biffle - 0. If that car doesn’t mess up, he’s takin’ home the bacon. He’s got to be frustrated with that, but I think it’s a bit early to have him sitting in a Gibbs car. 

Asides:

How many people are needed at Gibbs to discuss lug nut glue? Well the obvious answer is about 9. That’s how many they had out there.

If Darlington keeps with the improvements, then the Mothers Day race is going to stay.

Now let’s get ready for some All Star racing! I love non point races.

Kyle Busch Is King Of The Mountain

By Mark Young

It's been a while since I posted a KOM and I think it is a good time to do so.  Kyle Busch, whether you like him or not, is the hottest thing in NASCAR........period.  I don't care if you like him or not, every time he straps into that seat he is the one to be reckoned with.

His tangle with Dale Jr. has been blown so far out of proportion that it is bordering on insanity.  I have read comments on blogs and message boards from Junior fans talking about how they are boycotting M&M Mars products, Pedigree Dog Food, and even e-mailed the sponsor to tell them to drop out as sponsors for his team. 

Kyle Busch is exactly what NASCAR needed.  Back in January during the NASCAR media tour Brian France talked about how they wanted to see personality from the drivers and Kyle has given us just that.  Although Junior doesn't agree this sport has got a rivalry on it's hands.  Did anyone see Kyle's reaction to the boo birds at Darlington while he was on the introduction parade lap?  He lifted his glasses and pretended to wipe away a tear.  Though I don't necessarily like his approach Kyle is being himself and is the man right now.

Kyle Busch is the real deal.  Like him or not he is on top of the NASCAR world and I don't see him stepping down without a fight.  He is either going to ride this wave and contend for the Cup or his ego might get bigger than his helmet and we could see it all come crumbling down.  Either way Kyle Busch is King Of The Mountain......and deservedly  so.

That's what I think, what say you?

Old Darlington

By DAVID GREEN

It's not good to have a fixation on the past, and romantic recollections of "good old days" are usually rose-tinted distortions of how those days really were. But I miss the old Darlington Raceway.

I wish I still had the tri-fold brochure advertising the 1965 Southern 500 that was once part of my racing memorabilia collection. It was new when I first got it. I examined and re-read it until its glossy paper was tattered. In my mind's eye, I can clearly see the picture of Buck Baker's Ray Fox Dodge on the way to victory in the '64 race, the 15th running of the Labor Day classic.

I had a fascination with the race and the Darlington track that was very much akin to the reverence I have always had for Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indy 500. I saw the the two tracks and their signature races as equals in the motor sports world.

One of my favorite memories of Darlington is the 1980 spring race, the CRC Chemicals Rebel 500. In those days, the cars were gridded on the front straightaway instead of on pit road. My media credential gave me access to the grid and I must have gotten a hundred great candid driver photos that I was able to put to good use in my job as sports editor of The Gaffney (S.C.) Ledger the rest of the year.

Standing inside Turn 4 and watching the cars thunder off the banking onto the straightaway, with the roar of engines echoing off the concrete wall and the underside of the flat roofs covering the grandstands, was mesmerizing to me. At the other end of pit road, watching the drivers maneuver into single file as they approached Turn 1, diving in and sliding up impossibly close to the steel guard rail, was equally awe-inspiring.

Years later, with International Speedway Corp. as the new owner, renovation plans were announced. The old track would be reoriented, with the finish line moving from the north straightaway to the south side of the irregular oval. A new grandstand would replace the old concrete one on what used to be the backstretch.

There wasn't enough real estate between the track and four-lane S.C. 151-34 to suitably expand the original frontstretch grandstand, planners felt.

I thought the renovation was a travesty. I have never gotten used to the flip-flopped racetrack.

But I suppose it's better than if they had plowed it up and brought in the giant cookie-cutter and installed a sanitary, 1.5-mile trioval. At least it is still Darlington, the same crotchety "Lady in Black." It still produces real racing -- by that I mean races where the action may be intense, as in a Dale Earnhardt versus Ernie Irvan duel in 1993 or '94 or the memorable Ricky Craven-Kurt Busch finish in the 2003 Carolina Dodge Dealers 400, or where the individual performance of the winner is so impressive, as when the 45-year-old (and supposedly "over the hill") Baker outfoxed the young rising stars in '64.

No, Darlington does not offer, never has and never will, the kind of racing that mainstream fans nowadays seem to prefer. There's no three-, four- or five-wide duels. There are never 3,467 lead changes in any race.

It's a classic, challenging, driver's race track. For fans who appreciate that, there's no track like it.

Thank goodness we still get one dose of it each year, even if the race starts and finishes a half-lap away from where it is supposed to.

Race Attendance Vs The Price of Going

By Keith Ott

We NASCAR fans are a nation of sport crazy nomads. No other sporting genre in America draws crowds from a larger geographical area than a NASCAR race does. It has to be that way. There’s only one Cup race per weekend, and, if you want to see it live, you have to go to it. That means one thing in America. While formerly known as the gas and go, it now has such titles as, “The gas and cry,” “#!@###! OPEC,” and, “Pump pain.” It doesn’t matter what you call it, you have to do it to get there. Which brings up the question, “Where do you draw the line between gas prices, expenses, and attending.”

What is your comfort zone?

 

Me, I have no comfort zone. Call me, “Low end.” I have a comfortable lifestyle. I have my toys and hobbies, but I just can’t see the price of travel and a ticket to most events. I’m a bit on the green side too, so 30k+ cars idling fumes waiting hours to get in doesn’t thrill me. My options, as I see them, are…

Don’t go. I have a 60” HDTV. A restroom not shared with 150k of my new best friends. There are no lines for burgers, wings, pink hotdogs, or beers. Which are not, at home at least, $5 a pop.

A bus trip. Still expensive but it solved most of above except the 150k in the restroom and the food, and beer. 

The Local track. Cheap tickets, no wait, good prices, military discount. You’ll find me here www.langley-speedway.com. I won’t make it a link because I have no association with the track except fun. Besides, you have your own in your area.

Actually, I can see a lot of fans embracing their racing fix at local tracks. A family adventure where you don’t have to sell the first born to attend.

So, that’s my comfort zone.  What’s yours?  How do you and yours deal with the growing expense of being a fan? 

Quit Whining, It Was Just Racin'

By Mark Young

OK people, after two full days of listening to people talk about how Kyle Busch purposely wrecked Dale Earnhardt Junior on Saturday night and cost Dale a win, I have officially had it.  Yes, Kyle drove agresivly into turn 3, I don't deny it.  Did he do it to purposely wreck Dale?  Hell no!!  I have watched the replay on my DVR so many times the box was smoking.  Kyle Busch was doing his job.  He was trying to win a race.  Should he have realized he was racing Dale Earnhardt Jr. the most popular driver in NASCAR and let up and finish second?  Hell No!!  What Kyle Busch did on Saturday was no different than moves we have seen Dale Earnhardt Sr. do many times.........QUIT WHINING!!

U WANT SOME?

Sometimes I think race fans have short memories.  How many of you remember the two times Dale Earnhardt wrecked Terry LaBonte at Bristol?  He won one of them and punted Terry to the win the other time.  I booed and was flat out pissed off when Sr. wrecked LaBonte to win........and Dale Earnhardt is my hero.  I have his number tattooed on my arm, named my dog after him, heck I wanted Earnhardt to be part of my first born son's name (my wife won that battle).   But regardless of all that what he did then was wrong.  If Kyle had rammed Junior's rear bumper and purposely punted him like Sr. did years ago then I would be mad.  But I'm not.  It was just racin'.

What I am trying to point out is, that even though nobody wants to say it, Kyle Busch does things in a race car that I haven't seen anyone do since Dale died.  Granted I can't stand to listen to Kyle talk because of his arrogance, or confidence if you prefer, but I am one of very few Earnhardt fans that I know who will admit that the kid is amazing and that he didn't wreck Junior on purpose.  The kid is young and immature.  Just wait and see what will happen when he sees the big picture and starts using his head a little more.

Yes, Junior was mad after the race, who wouldn't be?  But I can guarantee you that once he saw the replay he likely  admitted it was just a racing deal.  Dale used his head and handled things the right way.  So why are so many people crying foul?  Junior will get a win this year, no doubt about it.  As an Earnhardt fan it is times like these that I would rather just say I am a racing fan than be lumped in with the ones who throw stuff onto the track and cry foul forgetting about the things that The Intimidator did back in the day.  Junior handled like a man, it is time his fans did too.

Perception is reality

By DAVID GREEN

Hot-button issues wax and wane, usually growing hot when something triggers discussion of them and cooling when the excitement of the moment fades and other issues warm up. Such is the case with NASCAR's drug-testing controversy, which is back in the news.

NASCAR vice president Jim Hunter repeatedly used the word "perceptions" in the quotes relayed by The Charlotte Observer's Jim Utter in his story. That's the key word, not only in this but in other matters. Because, as tennis pro Andre Agassi put it so many years ago in those Canon camera commercials, "Image is everything."

Hunter voiced a concern that a more aggressive drug-testing policy might cause people to think there is a problem that is being addressed. However, since Aaron Fike's soul-baring in ESPN The Magazine, it's probably safe to assume that perception has already been triggered.

There's always a multitude of ways to spin any story. The public relations reps of any company or organization always attempt to direct the spin in the direction that will do the greatest good for, or as a last resort the least possible damage to, their images.

After their best attempts, though, the spin is out of their control.

When I worked in military public affairs, the guiding principle regarding the news ranging from not-so-favorable to catastrophic was summed up in five words: Maximum disclosure with minimum delay.

In other words, tell the public as much as you can as quickly as you can. The emphasis, of course, was on revelation of details that could be confirmed as accurately reported.

The idea was that if you tell the bad truth, you have done all you can to snuff or blunt the worse rumors.

I find it a little curious that NASCAR is using the max-min principle with regard to its Tuesday morning "rap sheet" of rules violators and their fines and punishments. There's apparently no concern that this list may be causing a perception that the sport is filled with rules-breakers.

Of course, none of these "crimes" is comparable to drug use.

However, NASCAR could easily implement a more aggressive drug policy with a positive-spin, pro-active message -- something along the lines of, "We don't have a widespread drug problem now, and this will ensure that we never do have one."

Some cynics believe that if the lips of NASCAR spokespersons and other corporate representatives are moving, that means they are telling lies. They will say, "So, if Dale Earnhardt Jr. fails a test, do you think they'll report that and punish him in any manner? No way!" So, their perceptions may not be positive ones.

But the endorsement of a more aggressive policy by high-profile figures such as Tony Stewart and Kevin Harvick will counter some of that negativity. Many people would be pleased by the changes Hunter says NASCAR is considering.

At least, that's my perception.