Quote:
Originally Posted by UCFGoldenKnight
"It's already been decided, no need to watch it, it's rigged."- Tony Kornheiser.
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Kornheiser is a professional whore monger!
Race fixing? Junior just can't win
February 18, 2011
By Dan Wetzel
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Dale Earnhardt Jr. hasn't won a NASCAR race in 93 starts. Yet he showed up here at Daytona International Speedway and while dealing with the distraction of Friday's 10-year anniversary of his father's death, won the pole for Sunday's Daytona 500 . (He since lost it for wrecking in practice).
The immediate talk upon qualifying first wasn't about Earnhardt's and his team's performance. It's whether NASCAR fixed it in his favor, a favoritism that potentially would extend to produce a storybook victory at the 500.
TV pundit Tony Kornheiser garnered the most attention when he suggested such a scenario on ESPN's "Pardon the Interruption." It was a ridiculous discussion by journalistic standards, but it wasn't anything that wasn't buzzing around the infield here. Even NASCAR.com, the circuit's official website, brought up the subject.
So Earnhardt can't win for losing and if he does happen to ride under the checkers Sunday, the howls of disbelief will be as loud as the roars of his still considerable fan base. He may have finished second and fourth in two starts on this very track last year, but a first this time – an otherwise reasonable trend – would be met with skepticism.
The conspiracy theories date back to July of 2001, when Earnhardt won the first race back at Daytona after his father had died there in a violent collision in Turn 4. The win for Junior was an incredible moment, both professionally and personally. Yet, it's been forever tarnished by all the unfounded gossip of a fix.
"That's the last thing you want to hear and be asked questions about," said Jimmie Johnson , the five-time Sprint Cup champion and Earnhardt's teammate. "I've lived through my fair share of unfair opinions and crap. Everyone has that black cloud out there that people go to … when things come up.
"Unfortunately that's the one [NASCAR favoritism] for Junior," Johnson said. "We all know it's untrue. He hates it. And he doesn't want to be a part of this crap."
Earnhardt doesn't like to discuss it. He called Kornheiser's allegation "unfortunate" and brushed it off. Good for him. There's no upside to it. He can't win. The more you argue, the more you point out the insanity of a billion-dollar business risking everything to fix a race (if it's even possible), the more some fans believe the whispers.
If NASCAR was so hellbent on propping up Junior, unarguably it's most popular driver, then why haven't they? The fact he almost never wins should say enough.
And if the circuit was willing to risk its own billion-dollar suicide for a ratings bump, then Danica Patrick would be whipping a rocket ship around out there, not banging around in the back of the Nationwide pack.
The truth is NASCAR isn't fixing this race, and I don't write that because I'm naïve or trusting or carrying the circuit's water here. I'm writing it because I don't see how they can fix this particular race.
This year's Daytona 500 will be like no other – a synchronized-swimming exhibition where winning will be the result of teamwork, not individual genius. What the cars showed Thursday in two 150-mile Gatorade Duels was like nothing anyone has ever seen around here.
This wasn't wide-open, full-throttle racing; the kind maybe a restrictor plate with slightly more air flow could significantly impact. This was about cars pairing up and taking turns pushing each other. It didn't even look like a stock car race. It was an assault on the sensibilities – intriguing for a little while but not exactly exciting.
"It's the craziest thing you've ever seen, like a bunch of kids playing leap frog, but they were doing it in pairs," said Bill Elliott , a two-time Daytona 500 winner. "It's wild out there."
Sunday's race will be about finding what should be a steady parade of dancing partners. This is no longer an individual race. The most important factors will be finding various friends at various times and learning how to keep the engine from overheating while doing the pushing.
It's what Junior struggled with Thursday, leaving him 13th in one of the duels.
"Guys are able to run a little bit longer than we are without swapping," Earnhardt said. "We need to find a little better deal on the cooling.
"We've got some homework to do."
No one can do their homework for them; this strategy is developing so quickly – it's the result of a fast, new surface – that NASCAR can't keep up.
Even if NASCAR executives were inclined to risk the sports' very existence – and their own legal freedom – to aid Junior, how exactly would they do it? It can't just soup up Junior's engine (with or without his knowledge) so he can drive faster than the others, because he can't drive faster than two drivers working together.
He's going to need a partner, a lot of them actually. And no one knows who or when one car might link up with another. No two cars will be able to work together for all 500 miles. To fix this race would require a vast and grand conspiracy that is simply impossible to pull off, let alone keep quiet. To suggest otherwise is illogical.
But don't expect that to stop people from doing it though.
All this week Earnhardt had the tough task of showing in this emotional cauldron – reminded about his father, reminded about his own failures, reminded about his fast-fading career. He responded by donning a big smile. His friends said he had a new "bounce in his step." He was wearing his hat backwards again. He was determined to make the best of everything.
Then he did, earning the pole.
Then he got questioned.
"Honestly, people don't respond to positive comments anymore," Johnson said. "No one cares about good things in the world. It's what kind of trash can you read. What controversy is there? That's just the way our world is.
"He doesn't deserve it."
Win or lose Sunday, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is going to get it. Deserve doesn't matter. Logic left town a long time ago.
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