Politics in racing

[ALCOHOL]

RACING POLITICS: As I sit back and have had some time to reflect on the weekend, the one topic that kept coming up among the dozens of drivers I spoke to was racing politics. Racing politics could mean a variety of different things ranging from favoritism, sponsorship paybacks, unenforced rules, and in some cases just plain dictatorship. It seems that at least with all the guys I spoke to this is there # 1 ongoing concern. Most feel that they have experienced some form of racing politics at some point in their career. Much like politicians the promoters will either deny it exists or do very little to change a situation before it grows out of control. Some of it occurs in tech, and some during the actual race. When it's gone on to long some seek out Social media as a place to vent their frustration and then the negative postings become the scapegoat for action or in extreme cases the scapegoat for a division or tracks demise. There seems to be no clear solution nor will there ever be in making everyone happy. What I did hear however and what I feel as well is that all us racers want is fairness. Fairness with the rules, how we are treated, and how we are managed. If someone is illegally than they are illegal. The job of telling them so is not a desired one but it is the job. There have been plenty of discussion about the effects of negative social media but often avoided is the Elephant in the room of how things got out of control in the 1st place. I am a firm believer in fairness across the board. If you do something wrong there should be punishment. If you change the issue there should be forgiveness and acceptance. If you are a promoter or a tech man run a fair race, enforce your rules. I think in the end you will find that by doing so you will gain respect, cars and fans. Sounds like a win for everyone.

 

[ricky brown]

Yes Alcohol you are 100% correct I for one totally Agree politics in racing and at race tracks are a on going issue that needs to be taken care of for sure

 

[t.nie]

I spoke to a couple racers who knew Earl Baltes, who was the guy who made Eldora what it was. The feedback I got was the thing they liked about Earl more than anything else was he treated everyone the same, from the bomber guy with the open trailer and old pickup to the top guys in racing with the fancy haulers and big name sponsors. If the gates opened at 3, they opened at 3 for everyone. If one guy got something, everyone got it.

I think every promoter should answer any question with No. No matter who it is, or what its about, if someone is asking if they can do something, the answer is no. If someone is asking for a favor, the answer is no. If someone wants to know in advance if something is legal or not, the answer is no. Basically if you're asking, you already know it's pushing the limits, so don't ask. If you want to do it, you'll find out in tech if you get that far with it. But if you ask up front, the answer will always be NO.

I kind of figure if you say NO to everything it accomplishes two things for you as a promoter. One, it gives you a reputation of being a hard ass when it comes to rules and favors, so don't even ask. And it ensures no one ever accuses you of favoritism, because no one ever heard you say yes to anything extra, out of the ordinary or that could be construed as favoritism, for anyone, at any time.

A lot of people may not like you, but at least they know you don't play favorites. The worst thing any promoter can do is get a reputation for playing favorites, because that's what politics is really all about--who gets the advantage and who doesn't. So, promoters, if you want racers to want to race at your track because they know you treat everyone the same, just say NO....