More proof NASCAR manipulates races

UPDATE A reader adds, Isn't it interesting that more and more NASCAR drivers, especially more top name ones, are starting to complain about the dubious officiating that has been pervasive in NASCAR for decades? Even ones that have been the clear beneficiaries of such calls in the past? Again, the one thing NASCAR can't control is that race drivers are race drivers. They are competitive by nature and if they are pulling away from the field, so what? They want to be rewarded for the hard work of their crew and themselves for getting the setup on the car right. If they win, they want to know it was earned and not staged.

And NASCAR wonders why their ratings and attendance are dropping… Mika Malehorn, Annandale, Virginia

05/15/07 With high-profile drivers openly questioning officiating after Sunday's Dodge Avenger 500 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, NASCAR vice president for competition Robin Pemberton on Monday defended the sanctioning body.

"We stand by what we do and the calls that we make," Pemberton said. "Obviously, no matter what call we make people are going to be divided on whether it's right or wrong. But I feel we do a good job.

"We're going to march on and we're going to make the best calls possible for the entire field."

Winner Jeff Gordon and runner-up Denny Hamlin both leveled criticism at NASCAR about why a caution for debris on the track was not called in the final laps.

"There was somebody's entire fender and underbody on the race track," Hamlin said. "I saw that and I literally pumped my fist in the car because I knew a caution was going to come out. But no caution, and Hendrick (Motorsports) gets another break. I don't mean to open up another can of worms on that one."

It's not a new can. Tony Stewart, Hamlin's teammate at Joe Gibbs Racing, said after he finished second to Gordon at Phoenix last month that NASCAR throws cautions for debris when there's no debris to manipulate competition, and he compared stock-car racing officiating to that seen in professional wrestling.

But it's not only the people finishing second who are questioning NASCAR.

"Absolutely (there) should have been a caution at the end," Gordon said after a fourth straight Hendrick victory and eighth in nine races. "But there shouldn't have been one before that when we really checked out and those guys never even had a chance at catching us. That comes back to the inconsistency." More at ThatsRacin.com

[Editor's Note: NASCAR not being consistent on debris yellows just goes to prove that they throw them only when they want to manipulate the finish. An entire fender on the track and no caution Sunday? We guess NASCAR liked the way the finish was looking and did not have to manipulate a thing.]