Manipulating The Outcome of Races
NASCAR uses a race event called "caution", triggered at the discretion of the race administrators, in which drivers are limited to certain maneuvers. The general purpose of this event is to reduce risk when track conditions deteriorate (for instance, if there is debris on the track). One side-effect of this event is that the cars tend to bunch up.
The number of cautions per race in the Sprint Cup Series has increased from 7.4 in 2001 to 9.6 in 2007 (an increase of almost 30%), while the number of actual crashes per race has only increased from 5.6 to 6.7 (an increase of about 20%). This is likely due to increased caution periods for cleaning debris from the track. Fans and competitors alike speculate whether some of these cautions are for cleaning actual debris or are being used to keep the cars tightly packed in an effort to boost fan interest. An unnecessary caution at the appropriate time could affect a driver’s strategy and the outcome of the race.
In April 2007, driver Tony Stewart said on his own radio show, "It's like playing God. They can almost dictate the race instead of the drivers doing it…I don't know that they've run a fair race all year." Stewart also made references to professional wrestling institutions such as WWE, which have long been known for scripting matches.
In an unrelated interview, driver Matt Kenseth said, "There's for sure entertainment cautions, there's no doubt about that, but we're in the entertainment business and you're going to get some of that and group the field every once in a while." Driver and commentator, Kyle Petty, said, "We're in the entertainment business, if they want to throw a caution every 40 laps to keep everybody bunched up, so the fans have a better experience, more cautions, the better."
Read more about this topic: Criticism Of NASCAR
Famous quotes containing the words manipulating, outcome and/or races:
“We can escape the commonplace only by manipulating it, controlling it, thrusting it into our dreams or surrendering it to the free play of our subjectivity.”
—Raoul Vaneigem (b. 1934)
“It is always the moralists who do the most harm. Abortion is the logical outcome of civilization, only the jungle gives birth and moulders away as nature decrees. Man plans.”
—Max Frisch (1911–1991)
“Arrive at New Orleans, a city of ships, steamers, flatboats, rafts, mud, fog, filth, stench, and a mixture of races and tongues. Cholera, “some.” [At] Planters’ Hotel. Mem:—Never get caught in a cheap tavern in a strange city.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)