No thread on Smoke

[MI Dirt Fan]

I'm wondering who NASCAR is going to give the golden restrictor plate to for Daytona Qualifying. Usually the person making headlines gets it which would most likely been Tony for retirement. Last year it was Gordon for retirement. Dillon had it for the #3. Danica had it.

[kidrock]

I'm wondering who NASCAR is going to give the golden restrictor plate to for Daytona Qualifying. Usually the person making headlines gets it which would most likely been Tony for retirement. Last year it was Gordon for retirement. Dillon had it for the #3. Danica had it.

Word on the street is that Richard Petty is coming out of retirement to drive Tony's car and will the golden plate.

[nuff said]

It sounds like the same kind of injury Bill Elliott had when he flipped an landed hard on the wheels.No give in the seat mounted directly to the cage if you land hard,there is some give/flex to absorb impact if your body moves in any other direction.

[zach51]

I'm am not defending Tony, in fact I was critical of his actions during the Chili Bowl incident for reasons similar to what CNB mentioned about this incident (you can't go screwing around and messing with your main liveliness that brings in tens of millions each year and you have hundreds of employees with families depending on that same liveliness), but Tony is always going to be Tony. These guys don't get to the top by not eating, sleeping, and breathing race cars, engines, and anything that goes fast and is dangerous. As a previous poster mentioned, you still have to have a life outside of your day job. If you ride a motor cycle on the weekends and break your leg and can't go to work on monday does that make you a bad person or irresponsible? Maybe so, but not in my opinion. Accidents happen, however there is a fine line when you are that big of star. I'll tell you one thing though, Tony has a lot more "business" being in a sand car if he desires to than the thousands of people that go out there and ride every year and had never driven a race car in their lives. Just my unsolicited opinion.

[CIRF]

The United States is still a relatively free country so if Stewart wants to go dune running then more power to him, it's no skin off of my ass either way. He has enough resources at his disposal that if he's an invalid or a vegetable for the rest of his life he'll not have to worry about paying his bills and the tax payers won't have to foot the bill for his remaining existence.

However, for a common, ordinary middle class schmoe like myself the considerations are a bit different. I've been a small businessman for over 2 decades now and my personal perspective has to be a bit different! If I don't have the physical or mental capabilities to fulfill the obligations no one is going to do it. Not my wife, children or my siblings, no one. Therefore I have foregone many non-essential activities because of the fear of a debilitating injury that would preclude me from making a living and feeding and supporting my family. That includes making an attempt at driving a race car, owning and riding a motorcycle, etc., etc., etc. The risk outweighed the benefit, or at least I thought so. But, I might have been wrong, we'll never know for sure.

Some would say that I just didn't want it badly enough or that I should be regretful of missing out on experiencing some activities in which I dearly wanted to take part in the name of making a living. They may well be correct. But it was a frightening prospect for me personally to risk my whole career and all I'd worked so hard for to be lost because of participating in a risky pastime.

I'm not knocking anyone who has a different set of priorities but some things just weren't/aren't worth the possibility of losing it all for. We all have to be comfortable with those decisions and so far, I am.

[chupp n bloomer fan]

The United States is still a relatively free country so if Stewart wants to go dune running then more power to him, it's no skin off of my ass either way. He has enough resources at his disposal that if he's an invalid or a vegetable for the rest of his life he'll not have to worry about paying his bills and the tax payers won't have to foot the bill for his remaining existence.

However, for a common, ordinary middle class schmoe like myself the considerations are a bit different. I've been a small businessman for over 2 decades now and my personal perspective has to be a bit different! If I don't have the physical or mental capabilities to fulfill the obligations no one is going to do it. Not my wife, children or my siblings, no one. Therefore I have foregone many non-essential activities because of the fear of a debilitating injury that would preclude me from making a living and feeding and supporting my family. That includes making an attempt at driving a race car, owning and riding a motorcycle, etc., etc., etc. The risk outweighed the benefit, or at least I thought so. But, I might have been wrong, we'll never know for sure.

Some would say that I just didn't want it badly enough or that I should be regretful of missing out on experiencing some activities in which I dearly wanted to take part in the name of making a living. They may well be correct. But it was a frightening prospect for me personally to risk my whole career and all I'd worked so hard for to be lost because of participating in a risky pastime.

I'm not knocking anyone who has a different set of priorities but some things just weren't/aren't worth the possibility of losing it all for. We all have to be comfortable with those decisions and so far, I am.

Well CIRF, once again, well said. Other than Bloomer, we pretty much agree on stuff.

And yeah, Tony can do as he pleases, as he does. But so many people depend on him, and his health, for a living, as does he, that once and a blue moon, he outta step back and look at the big picture. But is what it is, and now he's hurt again. And sponsors aren't paying for whoever his fill in is, they want Tony.

[chupp n bloomer fan]

I'm am not defending Tony, in fact I was critical of his actions during the Chili Bowl incident for reasons similar to what CNB mentioned about this incident (you can't go screwing around and messing with your main liveliness that brings in tens of millions each year and you have hundreds of employees with families depending on that same liveliness), but Tony is always going to be Tony. These guys don't get to the top by not eating, sleeping, and breathing race cars, engines, and anything that goes fast and is dangerous. As a previous poster mentioned, you still have to have a life outside of your day job. If you ride a motor cycle on the weekends and break your leg and can't go to work on monday does that make you a bad person or irresponsible? Maybe so, but not in my opinion. Accidents happen, however there is a fine line when you are that big of star. I'll tell you one thing though, Tony has a lot more "business" being in a sand car if he desires to than the thousands of people that go out there and ride every year and had never driven a race car in their lives. Just my unsolicited opinion.

Good post, though I'm curious as to what happened. Was his just bad a$$ with not a lot of safety, or a freak accident and it was top notch all the way around. You can have the most bad a$$ ride, but still not be put together right. But who knows what he hit or landed on.

[Clayton_Wetter]

Grow up. So after the cup race I guess he should just sit on the couch in his firesuit till the next race... So you don't have any activities you do after work? I thought so. What a Tard.

No he should go out and get injured repeatedly and retire 6 or 7 years early because of it. That's fine with me.

[CIRF]

Well CIRF, once again, well said. Other than Bloomer, we pretty much agree on stuff.

And yeah, Tony can do as he pleases, as he does. But so many people depend on him, and his health, for a living, as does he, that once and a blue moon, he outta step back and look at the big picture. But is what it is, and now he's hurt again. And sponsors aren't paying for whoever his fill in is, they want Tony.

Oh, I think you and I agree on most points concerning snort blowquist, too. Not completely, but mostly.