Tony Stewart used his car as a weapon

If I wave a loaded handgun in someone's face, in an attempt to scare them, and the gun goes off and kills them, I've essentially done what Tony Stewart appears to have done to Kevin Ward Jr.

Tony Stewart used his car as a weapon. He probably didn't want to hit Ward, but wanted only to scare him. Video of the killing (let's stop calling it an "incident" or an "accident," someone was killed, so it was a killing) shows the rear end of Stewart's car kick out, which happens when the gas pedal of a sprint car is pressed hard.

Stewart was essentially playing a game of chicken with Ward. Except Ward showed up with just a helmet and fire-suit, Stewart showed up with 1,400 pounds of steel and tires moving at near highway speed.

Some say that Ward was an idiot for getting so close to the cars as they passed. I won't disagree with that. But, while driving my own car I've come across people acting like morons, drunks, and cyclists stray in front of my car. I avoid them. I move my car away from them.

What did Stewart do to avoid Ward? Nothing.

Some collisions are unavoidable. Can Tony Stewart honestly claim that he did everything he could to avoid this?

He demosntrated no care or concern for the safety of another driver. A man without such basic respect for human life does not deserve to drive a car on the public roads, let alone a racecar.

I'm not a legal expert. I don't know what crimes Tony Stewart might have committed, let alone how provable it is that he committed them. His actions seemed reckless, and dangerously negligent. Seeming isn't enough for convicting. So I won't venture into any of the legal speculation.

NASCAR, however, needs to take a hard look at Tony Stewart and decide whether he should be allowed to drive for the time being. NASCAR must also consider the safety and well-being of all their other drivers, along with people who work on the track and in pit-lane, and all the fans at their races.

Is a NASCAR event safer with Tony Stewart on the track, or with him far away from it?

I think a lot of small-town dirt tracks will consider banning Stewart from racing at their facilities. NASCAR should be able to do what small-town dirt tracks are capable of, right?

Photo Credit: Empire Super Sprints, Inc./AP

Can Earnhardt Jr. Win the Sprint Cup Championship?

Dale Earnhardt Jr. broke a winless drought yesterday by cruising to the checkered flag at Michigan. It was his first victory in 143 races. As an Earnhardt Jr. fan, it was a great moment. And appropriately, he won the race on Father's Day, giving the late Dale Sr. a great gift.

In that 143 race drought, Earnhardt Jr. rarely showed frustration. Quite the opposite. He seems to have learned patience and consistency. Something which was lacking in the earlier stages of his career.

His average finish this season is 7.9. Last year it was 14.5. The year before it was 18.6. And before that it was 23.2. Four straight years of improvement. Earlier in his career he fluctuated up and down. He peaked in 2003 and 2004, finishing in the top 5 in points both years. But the occasional bad finish (or lack of finish) undermined his championship efforts.

In 2004, he won 6 races. Only Jimmie Johnson won more (8). But Junior wound up 5th in points. He won 2 races in the Chase, but also failed to finish 2 times.

This year, he's finished every race. He hasn't finished out of the top 20. He's had cars good enough to win, didn't get the win, but still secured a good finish. He's had cars not good enough to win, and has still managed to get a solid result. He's completed every lap this season.

So what are the chances of him winning the Cup? As good as any other contender. Maybe a bit better.

He sits 2nd in points, only 4 behind Matt Kenseth. He's grabbed that elusive win. The team isn't missing steps. Most importantly, there's no other driver or team that seems to have a better chance. There have been 11 winners in 15 races.

The door to the 2012 Sprint Cup Championship is wide open to a number of drivers. And one standing near the front of the line is Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

The Danica 500

Before the race, and the rain delay, and the fire, Danica Patrick was the big story in Daytona. She was making her Sprint Cup debut in the series' biggest race. And it didn't go well. She was involved in an accident on Lap 2, which also collected 5 time series Champion Jimmie Johnson and last year's 500 winner Trevor Bayne. Danica's crew patched her car up and she finished a few dozen laps behind the leaders in 38th place.

She was obviously disappointed with the result, but seemed happy for the 138 laps of experience behind the wheel of a Sprint Cup car. She was happy to learn.

And that's the problem. That's why she struggled in the Nationwide Series last year. She's trying to learn how to do it before she does it. And that's not how racing works.

You think when Dale Earnhardt Sr. took his first green flags he was thinking about learning? No. How about Tony Stewart? Kyle Busch? Jeff Gordon? These guys got into their cars, drove as hard and as fast as possible. How else can you know how hard you can push a car until you've pushed it too hard?

You don't learn by not making mistakes. You learn by making them. And she's trying too hard to avoid them.

She needs to remember how to forget to think. Just drive. Racing drivers are missing that certain part of the brain that thinks about the bad things that might happen in a racecar. I'm not questioning Danica's bravery. She's much braver than I to sit in a tub of metal and go 220 MPH. She's not afraid of the danger, she's afraid of not doing well. I think she's so concerned with not being bad that she's preventing herself from being good.

She has the skill set. And she doesn't make the rookie mistakes you'd expect a newcomer to stock car racing would make. But there's no aggressiveness, no assertiveness, no coloring outside the lines. She's like a baseball player that doesn't swing because they're afraid to strike out.

I don't think it's a gender thing. I've seen female drivers with less skills than Danica, but also more conviction. You don't need balls in your pants to have them on the track. She just needs to stop thinking about being a good driver and just drive. She needs to stop being so cautious.

After all, "caution" is a bad word in racing.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

DAYTONA 500 RECAP

What were you doing the day after you turned 20? I was probably nursing a hangover and eating Thanksgiving leftovers. The day after Trevor Bayne turned 20, he won the Daytona 500, and pocketed $1.46 million for doing so.

The race was long, with a very boring stretch in the middle. 16 cautions slowed the pace. Most of the race featured 4 to 8 cars out in front, casually swapping the lead, and a pack of 20 cars half a mile behind them jockeying for position. Every now and then, a random wreck would eliminate a few contenders.

In the last 10 laps, things got exciting, as the casual lead swapping turned into something a bit more competitive. Bayne was able to get to the front and stay there, blocking two cars down the stretch.

It was cool to see Bayne's excitement. He didn't know what to do to celebrate, got lost driving to victory lane, and he's not even going to be a full time Sprint Cup driver this year. He'll be in the Nationwide Series (NASCAR's equivalent to AAA), driving for Roush-Fenway.

My favorite moment of the race was watching Juan Pablo Montoya's inhuman control of his car. He nearly spun out twice, but was able to save it by locking the brakes, then flooring the throttle, then locking the brakes, then flooring the throttle, all while violently sawing the steering wheel.

And I probably won't watch a full race until March 20, when NASCAR visits the high-banked short track in Bristol, Tennessee.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

DAYTONA 500 PREVIEW

I used to love NASCAR. Then I sort of liked it. Now I can only enjoy it in very small doses. It's gotten boring, even for a fan of car racing. They used to be 3 hours long, now they're 5 hours. They used to be decided on the track, now they're won and lost in the pits. Super aggressive guys like Dale Earnhardt used to win titles, now it's bland, "consistent" drivers like Jimmie Johnson that dominate. The tracks used to be tight, half mile short-tracks. Now they're extra wide 2 mile cruise control courses.

Anyway, I'll still watch maybe 8 races this year. Probably not start to finish. I'll probably DVR them, then fast-forward through the endless cautions, maybe fast forward to make the cars go 400 miles per hour. I'll watch more Formula 1, which has much less passing, but the cars are cooler, the courses more exciting, the races shorter.

But if you have nothing to do Sunday, I do suggest watching a lap or two of the Daytona 500. In small doses, it can be interesting. Beer helps. Daytona is a high-speed traffic jam, there's always close racing somewhere. And at the very least, it gets people who say "they just go in circles," to realize how hard it is to be that good at driving. Even if they still find watching it to be dull.

I want to pick Dale Earnhardt Jr. to win this one. He's got a fast car. Unfortunately, he always finds a way to lose. I'm going to go with Regan Smith, who I know next to nothing about, have barely heard of, but who had a fast car in the qualifying races yesterday. And the Championship will be won by Kyle Busch.