Money Cools NASCAR’s Hot Heads

Kevin Harvick and Jamie McMurray traded paint a couple of times under a yellow flag at Talladega on April 29th. NASCAR officials fined both gentlemen racers $25,000 and placed them on probation until October 3. What's odd is that neither team filed a complaint. Officials weren't even aware that the cars had made contact until they watched the videotape after the race. In days of yore, such incidents would have typically ended in a fistfight and a formal complaint.
NASCAR has become so officious and nanny-like about the image its drivers convey that it’s no longer worth listening to the interviews before and after races. The stench of money chases the fun from this once raucous sport.