So Tony Stewart is going to make the move to Haas CNC Racing at the end of this season, and take a majority ownership role (making it into Stewart Haas Racing). I can't say I'm surprised, but I wasn't really expecting this, either. I think it will be a good thing, though, for Tony and for the sport. NASCAR needs more owner-drivers, and especially smart, articulate, and unabashedly outspoken ones like Tony.
The part about this that troubles me, though, is the talk about Joey Logano "replacing" Tony in the Sprint Cup series car at JGR next season. "Sliced Bread" Logano may be a hot shoe, but he's still an 18 year old kid who couldn't drive in the Nationwide series until a few weeks ago because he wasn't old enough. He will have run less than half a season this year, and there's even talk of him making a few Cup starts later this season. That's asking an awful lot of the boy. It's also asking an awful lot of the other 42 guys in that field who could get caught up in any rookie mistakes that might be made, mistakes that perhaps wouldn't be made if Joey stayed in the Nationwide series for a full season and got more seat time and more time on the track with the numerous double-duty drivers. Even with the lack of congruence between the Nationwide and Sprint Cup series cars, there's a lot to be learned about respect, strategy, and just how this sport works. I hope JGR gives Joey the time he needs to develop his potential to the fullest extent.
A few weeks ago I was watching an episode of SPEED Network's program "Unique Whips" in which a crew remodeled NASCAR driver Tony Stewart's hearse. Fancy seats, lights, a big new engine under the hood, all kinds of cool stuff. It was truly impressive. At the end of the show, Tony came to pick up his car. He got in, and that's when I got concerned. He drove out of the shop's parking lot, and that's when I got irked. A few more camera angles gave me a better view of Tony in the car, and that's when I got upset. Tony didn't have a seat belt on. (I should stipulate that the camera angles provided didn't show definitively whether he had a lap belt on, but it was very plain that there was no shoulder belt in use. I emailed the owner of the shop that worked on the car, Will of Unique Autosports, but have not yet received a response.)Then tonight I was watching the Sprint All-Star Challenge. This was driver Dale Jarrett's final race, and in keeping with the "Race the Truck" ad campaigns they have been running for quite some time, UPS had Dale drive one lap around the Lowe's Motor Speedway in a big brown UPS truck. I loved the idea of this sendoff for one of the most famous NASCAR names. That is, until he took off with no seat belt on. Door open to the wind, and no seat belt. I've got a lot of respect for both Tony and Dale, but it really upsets me to see them on TV cruising around with no seat belts on. I'm an adult who knows from experience just how crucial seat belts are. What about the millions of impressionable little kids (and bulletproof-feeling teens) out there who idolize these men and will draw the conclusion that if Tony and Dale don't have to wear a seat belt, then it must be perfectly okay and pretty darn cool to take off their own? Both of these drivers would no doubt agree that while they can't control what people do, there is a certain responsibility that comes with celebrity status to set a good example, especially for their youngest fans.
