Ryan Newman vs. Joey Logano

I was starting to freak out as I read in numerous places that Ryan Newman should let Joey Logano have it at Bristol. The posts referred to the Michigan race when Logano first, got loose and hit Newman's car causing him to spin out, and then second, Logano was overly critical of Newman for racing too hard.

I'm a little more comfortable now as I see that both Newman and Logano are racing in the Nationwide series at Bristol. That would be the place for a little payback. Normally, I wouldn't condone such a thing, but if I was Newman, I'd want to provide Joey a little racing lesson. 

For some reason though, I don't see this happening either. I think Newman is bigger than that. He just won the Whelen Mod race. I doubt he is thinking about payback. Then again, if the opportunity presents itself, I say, what the heck!

It is called racing, Joey

While it was obviously hot inside the race car, at Sunday's Michigan race, it may have been a little hotter once Ryan Newman got out of the car. Newman went looking for Joey Logano, who finished 10th, at Newman's expense. Newman finished 23rd, despite having a good race car that ran laps as quick as the leaders for most of the race.

When it was all over though, there was an altercation between the two. Instead of telling Newman he was sorry about causing him to spin, Logano got an attitude. ESPN reporters caught up with Logano as he proceeded to bash Newman for not giving him some slack. What wasn't shown on camera was visible this video from Fox Sports.

Clearly, Logano crossed the line as he told Newman, "Give someone an inch, man."

To that, Newman responded, "No." It escalated from there.

Hello Joey, don't you get what you are doing at the race track? It is called racing. It is not a Sunday afternoon drive.

Newman had every right to be ticked off. Logano clearly got into him and spun him, nearly ruining his day.

Newman had so much more to lose than Logano, which Joey failed to take into account, apparently. Newman, is 14th in points and was contending for a Chase (for the championship) berth; the top 12 in points. It looked early on like he had a good shot to achieve it too, had it not been for Logano ruining his day. Logano had nothing to lose, as he is in 21st place, with no chance to race his way into the chase. Newman had so much more to lose.

I'm sure that if Logano had simply admitted that his car got loose and he didn't mean to hit Newman's race car, all would have been forgotten. But that isn't what Logano did.

Not only was Logano at fault for the incident on the track, according to the NASCAR video, but he had the audacity to call Newman out for his driving style. Logano got into Newman's face complaining that he isn't the only one to mention how Newman makes it hard to pass.

Well, Duh Joey! Newman gets paid to race. He gets points for passing people. He would have gotten three more points for passing you, which he did until you hit him. What don't you get?

Shhhh! More on secret fines

I have just spent the morning engaged in a tedious discussion about Ryan Newman and Denny Hamlin and NASCAR's secret fines against them for speaking their minds.

My view was pro-driver and free speech. The woman who authored the opinion piece took the pro-NASCAR view. The story was entitled NASCAR will never win with fans; proof in driver fines backlash. She defended NASCAR's actions with the same voracity that one would expect from NASCAR brass.

Her article was well written, but she accused fans of wearing rose-colored glasses even as she looked through her own pair. Admittedly many of the comments agreed with her defending NASCAR's actions. The ones that were not quite so generous were met with a near immediate response by the writer defending her position and theirs.

The writer was accused of kissing-up to NASCAR. I can't disagree. Up to 64 comments later, I've spoken my peace.

I hope NASCAR hires her to do public relations work for them. 

NASCAR wrong to fine drivers for free speech

NASCAR finally came clean; identifying the drivers penalized for who they say made disparaging remarks about the sport. No congratulations here, for they had little choice, given the deserved criticism they got for their silence.

I was appalled to learn that Ryan Newman was one of the drivers named as being fined. Clearly, Ryan Newman is one of the smartest guys in the entire sport. He is open, honest, ethical, fair, is an independent thinker, and has an excellent sense of humor. Newman speaks his mind, which is one of his most cherished assets to race fans. It is unthinkable that NASCAR would attempt to muzzle him. Ryan growls a little, but he has way too much class to bite.

The growling is necessary. After all, the man has looked death in the face more than once. He, as much as anyone, has every right to question NASCAR when his life has been on the line. I would hate to think of what might have happened to him, had Kevin Harvick's car not broken the fall of his pirouetting race car at Talladega last year. It was heart-stopping to watch his race car tumble like a dish rag in the spin cycle while pieces and parts of the sheet metal ripped from it. Ryan had every right to complain about how NASCAR helped create that scenario through its restrictor plates and COT car. And he was big enough and smart enough to help them come up with a potential remedy.

More recently when Carl Edwards booted Brad Kezelowski out of the way at St. Louis during a Nationwide Race, the move had potential catastrophic consequences. Newman spoke out about it. He has been racing long enough and is smart enough to know how dire such actions can be. For cripes sake, he had already been the victim of the battle between the two — again at Talladega in last year's Spring race when Edwards' race car crashed into Newman's windshield.

NASCAR might not like drivers they cannot control, but it is morally wrong to try to censor them and even worse to fine them. I question how NASCAR can fine a driver—actually take money out of his pocket—for such an arbitrary and capricious excuse. Fining a team for trying to manipulate a race by using unapproved parts on the race car is one thing that NASCAR might have jurisdiction over, but to fine a driver for speaking his mind is something our country has fought against since its inception.

Who is Ryan Newman's fan base? Look at his sponsors. Does NASCAR think U.S. Army troops who follow racing will be pleased to know that the sanctioning body is dissing their boy Newman? Isn't the U.S. Army the entity that fights for our freedoms, such as freedom of speech which is guaranteed by the Constitution? Perhaps NASCAR ought to consider that as the Star Spangled Banner is sung and the jets fly over the track on race day?

Challenge NASCAR reporters

I just learned through DearNascar, that NASCAR in its infinite wisdom has chosen to keep secrets from reporters and subsequently the fans it covets. 

Apparently at least two drivers have been fined for dissing NASCAR. Hmm, as a former reporter myself, nothing was more infuriating to me than when someone tried to keep secrets. Nothing inspired me more to dig deep.

I challenge all the reporters who cover NASCAR to find out just who are these drivers that NASCAR has censored. Race fans really want to know.