|
Post by 221dayton on Nov 18, 2011 9:46:17 GMT -5
AP Sources: Keselowski fined for critical comments By JENNA FRYER, AP Auto Racing Writer
MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP)—Brad Keselowski has been fined by NASCAR for criticizing electronic fuel injection, The Associated Press has learned.
Multiple people familiar with the punishment told AP on Thursday about Keselowski’s fine. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because NASCAR did not publicize the fine.
NASCAR has been privately punishing drivers for making disparaging remarks about the series over the last two years.
The fine is believed to be $25,000.
“We’re not doing this because it’s better for the teams,” Keselowski said last week during an appearance at the NASCAR Hall of Fame . “I don’t think we’re really going to save any gas. It’s a media circus, trying to make you guys happy so you write good stories. It gives them something to promote. We’re always looking for something to promote, but the honest answer is it does nothing for the sport except cost the team owners money.
“Cars on the street are injected with real electronics, not a throttle body (like in NASCAR). So we’ve managed to go from 50-year-old technology to 35-year-old technology. I don’t see what the big deal is.”
NASCAR has called the move to electronic fuel injection part of its green initiative and said engines should run more efficiently by controlling the fuel mixture through electronics.
NASCAR spokesman Kerry Tharp acknowledged there had been conversations with Keselowski.
“We did talk to Brad following his recent comments that were highly critical of the series moving to electronic fuel injection next season,” Tharp said. “We made it clear to him that these kind of comments are detrimental to the sport, and we handled it accordingly with him.”
In the past NASCAR has quietly fined Ryan Newman for criticizing racing at Talladega and Denny Hamlin for posts he made on Twitter.
Earlier this year, Newman was fined $50,000 for an incident with Juan Pablo Montoya. NASCAR has refused to discuss the fine or what happened with Montoya to earn Newman the penalty.
|
|
|
Post by myles on Nov 18, 2011 11:00:28 GMT -5
Not sure how I feel about this yet because of a few things.
1) I'm usually in favor of letting people be and feel who they are. PC crap sucks.
2) I can't publically badmouth my corporate offices and not expect to hear about it.
3) I don't like Brad
Put this all together and it equals the reason why I'm not sure how I feel about this. ;D
|
|
|
Post by espnisgone on Nov 18, 2011 15:02:36 GMT -5
1) I'm usually in favor of letting people be and feel who they are. PC crap sucks. Agree PC is restrictive and phony or in your words sucks.
2) I can't publically badmouth my corporate offices and not expect to hear about it.
Brad is not an employee of NASCAR but still governed by them so your point is understood.
3) I don't like Brad
I do like him so my points are on the other end of yours.
Put this all together and it equals the reason why I'm not sure how I feel about this.
I have one more wrinkle in my thinking than you as I feel a lot of the Green effort today is poorly thought out and just done for PR purposes. For example ethanol in racing gas. So I am sure how I feel about it. The article taken in full illustrates that NASCAR executives (Brian France) hinder free opinions from those that compete. His Dad did too....but picked his targets better. Brian is not half the administrator his Dad was.
|
|
|
Post by hmsrulestheovals on Nov 18, 2011 17:58:35 GMT -5
What a load of crap. Apparently NASCAR hasn't heard of freedom of speach. But then on the other hand I guess you don't bite the hand that feeds you.
But its still a load of crap.
|
|
|
Post by jackman on Nov 18, 2011 21:33:29 GMT -5
That is one of the major problems with Nascar racing. Even the reporters have to be careful not to annoy the almighty or they can find their credentials pulled.
Remember a few years back when ESPN pissed off Nascar and they were not allowed into the tracks? I think it was the first year FOX had a contract.
$25K for offering an opinion....not right.
|
|
|
Post by Yogisd1 on Nov 19, 2011 0:21:10 GMT -5
Hitler & Stalin would be proud of their boy France.
|
|
|
Post by 221dayton on Nov 19, 2011 15:19:38 GMT -5
NASCAR chairman Brian France defends secret fines
By JENNA FRYER, AP Auto Racing Writer Nov 18, 5:16 pm EST
HOMESTEAD, Fla. (AP)—NASCAR chairman Brian France defended the policy of fining drivers who make critical comments about the series, and said Friday he saw no benefit in making those penalties public.
The Associated Press on Thursday reported Brad Keselowski was fined $25,000 for critical comments made last week about NASCAR’s move to fuel injection next season. It marks at least four times in two years drivers have been fined for comments and NASCAR has not announced them.
This latest incident has overshadowed NASCAR’s championship weekend, which was being celebrated for the tremendous title fight between Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart before word of Keselowski’s fine spread.
“When you cross a line that denigrates the direction of the sport or the quality of the racing, we’re not going to accept that. Not going to accept it,” France said. “Happy to have any other criticism, any other complaint, happy to hear them all. If I own a restaurant and I say you know what, the food in my restaurant is not very good, we’re not going to accept it. It’s as simple as that.”
But he didn’t offer a clear reason why NASCAR doesn’t announce the fines.
“What would be the benefit? The drivers know exactly what we’re after,” he said. “They know exactly what we expect out of them and when they don’t handle that, the only way we can control that is, obviously, a fining system.”
The NBA and NFL both fine coaches and players for critical comments about the league and officiating, but NASCAR for a long time had no such policy. That’s changed in recent years as NASCAR toughened up when drivers made comments that could potentially damage the brand.
Denny Hamlin was fined last year for questioning on Twitter the legitimacy of debris cautions, and Ryan Newman has drawn two fines—one for complaining about racing at Talladega, another for an incident with Juan Pablo Montoya inside the NASCAR hauler at Darlington this year.
NASCAR did not publicize any of them, but the AP learned of all four. Asked Friday if there were others, France didn’t answer.
“There could be. That’s why they’re private, right?” he asked.
Pressed repeatedly on the issue, which on Friday clearly overshadowed NASCAR’s three title races, France seemed to get exasperated as he explained the policy will be reconsidered.
“Look, don’t panic over this,” he said. “We’ll look at it over the offseason. If we need to change it, we’ll change it. Not a big deal.”
Fans, though, do believe it’s a big deal and have often complained that NASCAR makes arbitrary rulings, makes things up to fit the situation and plays favorites. So when word comes out that the sanctioning body did something in secret, fans hold it as proof series leaders aren’t always operating above board.
France dismissed the notion.
“Sort of this idea that there are a bunch of things going on behind the curtain—we’ve never been more transparent,” he said.
Hamlin admitted Friday his fine last year curbed his participation on Twitter and his willingness to be outspoken,
“I stopped quite a bit when I did get fined, and anybody would in that situation,” Hamlin said. “So, yeah, you reserve your comments to outside of the sport, talking about your day. It definitely changed the way I use my Twitter account. I’m not going to keep getting fined.
“I for sure want to go out there and speak my mind on some things I do and don’t agree with, but I am not going to just keep hacking up a fine every time I have an opinion.”
Newman said NASCAR walks a fine line in monitoring driver comments.
“I think it is a good thing that NASCAR manages that, I think it is a good thing that they do it the way they do,” Newman said. “It is not anything that is fun to talk about or any part of it that we need to go into any deeper, but it is tough to speak your piece sometimes when your piece is not what some people want to hear.
“I’m sure you could go talk to every driver out there, where they wanted to say something at one point and they decided not to … there’s things that I’ve heard people say that I questioned. There’s things that I’ve said that I don’t think should have ever been an issue but they were.
“It’s not black and white, it’s not cut and dry. It’s not that simple. Period.”
It’s not clear how this latest fine will affect Keselowski, who has developed into one of NASCAR’s most outspoken drivers.
He got himself into trouble last week during an appearance at the NASCAR Hall of Fame, when he called next year’s move to fuel injection “a disaster.”
“We’re not doing this because it’s better for the teams,” Keselowski said. “I don’t think we’re really going to save any gas. It’s a media circus, trying to make you guys happy so you write good stories. It gives them something to promote. We’re always looking for something to promote, but the honest answer is it does nothing for the sport except cost the team owners money.
“Cars on the street are injected with real electronics, not a throttle body (like in NASCAR). So we’ve managed to go from 50-year-old technology to 35-year-old technology. I don’t see what the big deal is.”
|
|
|
Post by grahamcracker on Nov 19, 2011 22:36:40 GMT -5
Nascar is not looking too good these days.
|
|
|
Post by espnisgone on Nov 20, 2011 10:01:48 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by espnisgone on Nov 20, 2011 10:05:29 GMT -5
After reading the above article it got me to question if these fines are "secret" are there others that are also secret and that we have not heard about?
France also makes it pretty clear that the change in policy to allow the fines is a direct result of his being in charge and did not exist prior to his position as "God of NASCAR".
|
|