Paul Newman and Dale Earnhardt understood the consequences of racing hard

New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd wrote in her column this Wednesday that Paul Newman once stated that in politics, as in auto racing, “You can do anything if you are prepared to deal with the consequences.” When I read this the first name that came to my mind was Dale Earnhardt.

With a nickname like the Intimidator, he had no choice but to deal with the consequences of his actions. We can all remember instances when Dale took heat for his maneuvers on the track and then handled the criticism with a quip about having big shoulders or thick skin. He wasn’t much for whining in front of the cameras and his willingness to face the music is what made him one of the most popular and endearing athletes in the history of the sport. I’d like to see a little more of these characteristics in some of today’s drivers.

I almost met Dale Earnhardt once. Well, actually, I almost met the hood of his car once. I was walking around the garage area at a track, minding my own business, when Dale came ripping around a corner in the No. 3 car and almost took off my toes.

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I’m sure you’ve read the recent news that Kansas Speedway has received approval to build a Hard Rock Hotel & Casino at the property. What will be next, cocktail waitresses in the grandstands? Actually, this may be a good way to fill all those empty seats we’ve seen at the races lately.

The casino project paves the way for a second Sprint Cup date at the facility. Obviously the decision to add a second race would have more to do with the bottom line than the start/finish line. I’m probably naive to hope that NASCAR would respect the fans’ intelligence enough to be honest about this plan instead of trying to pass it off as part of its continuing effort to bring more racing to fans outside of the Southeast.

Which track do you think should lose a race to Kansas?

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