Was Turkey Derby pretty? Far from it. Too many wrecks, many of them unnecessary. But to say "Wall stadium is not made for these cars" is like saying "guns kill people". No, PEOPLE kill people, and the problems at Wall don't stem from the track itself. Is Loudon not made for these cars because over half the field was in the garage the last race there? Is Thompson not made for these cars because half the field was behind the wall a few of the past World Series races? Maybe, just maybe, the problem really is these cars were not made for the way many of the current crop of drivers choose to race them. I've seen excellent races at both Wall and Riverhead, along with NHIS and Thompson, when the guys behind the wheel choose to race each other with respect instead of the increasingly more prevalent " win at all costs" mentality. I've seen great races at these tracks with guys running with far inferior equipment than the drivers of today-no power steering, basic brake packages, tanks for cars-yet they managed to make up for their lack of equipment with an abundance of talent and respect. Those races are what turned so many of us on to racing in general, specifically the Modifieds. We all know when done right-there is no better racing than what gets put on by the groundpounders. However, when done wrong ( far too often an occurrence these days), it's a great source of bitterness from those of us that grew up watching how racing is supposed to be, and you can't tell me it's not a major ingredient why so many tracks are struggling with attendance. Can you change it, can I change it? No, but we can keep going to support the tracks and events we do, in the hopes that the ones that hold the wheel and push the pedals take a good hard look in the mirror and finally figure out that the people in the stands come to see guys racing side by side, putting on a show, and not sitting there watching caution laps because Driver X didn't have the car or talent to pass Driver Y, but " did what he had to do" to gain the position and the other guy is going off on the hook. May the best car and driver win, not the one willing to stoop the lowest to steal a trophy.
