NASCAR: The Home Of Overly Sensitive Drivers

Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

NASCAR has changed a lot in the past 30 years.

The sport hit a new high in popularity in the late 90’s and early 2000’s. The loss of NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt in 2001 led to sweeping changes across the series when it comes to safety. Those changes inspired new cars such as the COT which some fans will credit with the downfall of NASCAR. In the mid 2000’s NASCAR introduced the Chase format and then in 2014 they re-introduced the Chase by making it an elimination-style event. In 2016 NASCAR will introduce a new downforce package that they hope will create better racing and a better on-track product for drivers and fans.

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In between all of those changes NASCAR also has made several smaller changes. These frequent changes have turned some fans off from the sport and led others to think that NASCAR is making up the rules as they go. Despite all of the changes NASCAR has made, the biggest change in the sport come from the drivers and the fact that they all seem to have a heightened sense of sensitivity as compared to several years ago.

There was a time in NASCAR where certain things were understood, unwritten rules you might say. One of those unwritten rules was that if you block a driver hard or move a driver to make a pass, you best hope that driver isn’t able to get back to your bumper. The reason you best hope for that is of course the fact that if said driver does get back to you, you’re probably going for a ride. There was also a time in NASCAR where it was understood that if you’re holding up a faster car (especially if there is a win on the line) push will eventually come to shove.

On Sunday in Kansas push came to shove and the faster car in Joey Logano got into the back of the slower car in Matt Kenseth after Kenseth threw a couple of blocks on Logano in an effort to maintain the lead and win the race. Sunday in Kansas was great racing. Kenseth needed to win but he didn’t have a car that was better than Logano’s. As a result of this Kenseth did what he had to do to maintain the lead and that was block the heck out of Logano. Logano matched Kenseth’s aggressive defense with some aggressive offense and in the end it was Logano winning and Kenseth spinning.

After the race Logano chalked it up to good and hard racing. Kenseth on the other hand did not have the same perspective. Kenseth talked about how Logano ran him over and how it’s hard to drive a car and not wreck when your back wheels aren’t on the ground. Kenseth talked about how he has nothing to say to Logano and about how he used to have tons of respect for him and now he has none. Kenseth talked about how it was a poor move on the part of Logano and one that he wouldn’t have made and one that Logano shouldn’t have made.

Welcome to a NASCAR where overly sensitive drivers race every single week.

I think Kenseth is a terrific driver but I am amiss about his reaction in Kansas. If you want to be mad that you were spun, that’s fine be mad. However, don’t act like it was something that was dirty. Kenseth seems to have forgotten that him blocking Logano into the wall happened moments before he was spun out.

In baseball if you throw at my guy, you can bet your bottom dollar that at some point down the road we are going to throw at your guy. In the NFL if you take a cheap shot at the QB, you can expect to be cut blocked by the offensive line on the next snap. In the NHL if you slam someone into the glass, they are going to attempt to return the favor later in the game. In NASCAR if you block a faster car aggressively, the driver of that car is going to race you aggressively.

What happened to rubbing is racing?

How many times 20 or 30 years ago did drivers after the race talk about morals or complain about other drivers being in the wrong in situations like this? The answer is not too many. Drivers today are overly sensitive and somewhat entitled. I don’t know what world Kenseth lives in where he thought he could aggressively block any driver like that and then not have that driver race him back aggressively. Then to hit the post-race show and try to take the moral high road and come across as someone who did nothing wrong? C’mon man!

I know it might seem like I’m ragging on Kenseth but I’m not, he is just the most recent case. NASCAR drivers across the board seem to have forgotten what this sport was built on and as the years have gone on they all seem to have become more and more sensitive. Can you imagine what someone like Dale Earnhardt Sr. would think about the sport the way that it is today?

The only hope that NASCAR has rests in its next batch of stars. Maybe they can bring with them the edge that NASCAR needs and maybe they can leave their hurt feelings at the door.

Next: Which NASCAR Drivers Have Made The Most Money In Their Careers?

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