Banned for What? Life?
Talladega Superspeedway has permanently banned 14 fans from buying tickets at the speedway following their arrests Sunday for throwing objects on the track after Jeff Gordon’s victory in the Aaron’s 499.
Forgive me for being slightly dense, but what does this accomplish?<div style=”clear:both;”
Certainly these 14 drunken dunderheads have enough marginally operational brain cells to figure out Mama or crazy Uncle Jeb can put the tickets on their credit cards.
Some around the racing ’sphere have called for a ban on fans ability to carry coolers into the track with the idea no coolers equals no beer cans.
Maybe it’s U.S Navy experience that shys me away from that solution. The navy loves to play the “peer pressure” game by penalizing an entire crew for what a few have done. 5 or 6 idiots out of a crew of 350 can easily ruin a good port stop.
By the same token 14 idiots (or a few more if the tale of the tape nabs a few more) in Talladega would ruin the weekend experience for 100,000 plus if a cooler ban was instituted.
It’s my understanding Talladega sells canned beer. Soooo… bring on the 16oz paper cups. I have no problem with that.
Solving the sockpuppet ticket buyers is a little more problematic. I suppose additional penalties would be warranted.
Anyone caught entering the speedway that has been previously banned could have a monetary fine imposed on both the person using and the one purchasing the ticket. 5 C-Notes should make an impression and a nice dent in the wallet.
The ban should also be imposed on all NASCAR sanctioned tracks and Series’. Whether the venue is Talladega, Charlotte, a local bullring or a NCTS, Whelen Super Modified, or NEXTEL Cup event any penalties should be handed down by NASCAR and not the local officials where the offense occurred.
If the locals can tack on disorderly conduct of any other charges so be it, but the main enforcer should be the suits in Daytona and Charlotte. It matters little where the idiots decide to be so, it does matter who looks bad when they do.
NASCAR, and by extension ISC, have the most to lose in the court of public opinion and they should be the ones taking the lead to solve the problem.
UPDATE: Some think F1 fans could stand to learn something from beer throwing NASCAR fans.
UPDATE II: Talladega president Grant Lynch thinks like I do - great minds think alike I’d say - “I’m going to be notifying all my fellow track presidents across NASCAR of the people we’ve banned to see if they’ll also [participate in the ban],” Lynch said. “They’ll make their own decisions, but I expect great participation from the [International Speedway Corp.] tracks.”
UPDATE III: Remember, “NASCAR is for Lovers, not for bubbas!” - Jon
NASCAR, NEXTEL Cup, Sports, Talladega, Auto Racing, Motorsports, Full Throttle
The banning of the dirty dozen plus two! Another great FranceCar smoke and mirror show!
On the contrary, that was a Talladega show, NASCAR just sit back and watched.
The Detroit Baseball club had a similar problem with bleacher fans back in the early eighties. All beverages are served in plastic cups and no achohol is sold after the seventh inning. In addition, local ordinances are strictly enforced.
Marc, I don’t see how NASCAR could levie fines on customers. They could force promoters into actions similar to what baseball has done.
Welcome back.
That’s what happens when you let rednecks drink for the whole day.
NOTE The url and link contained within the body of this comment was deleted as per my comment policy. EDIT -ed
You caught a bit of discombobulated thinking Charlie.
NASCAR couldn’t impose any monetary fines but local officials via their legal or law enforcement systems can.
The July 12, 1979 Tiger-White Sox game will live in infamy Charlie.
This fit’s in with my Mao Tse Tung analogy- shoot one convert a thousand - from a previous post. You are correct however that banning a person from purchasing a ticket is pretty lame.
It needs to be a criminal charge similar to the system in Australian Cricket for pitch invasions & English soccer for hooligan behaviour. A multi year or life ban (depends on the severity of the offence) & incarceration for defying the ban & attending a event. I have read of a notorious offender in Brit soccer who was sent to prison for such a transgression of a ban.
14 fools (& anybody else they can snag off the video) copping life bans will scare the crap out of like minded morons & next year the remaining idiots will behave. The danger in doing nothing is that you run the risk of drunken thugs establishing virtual no-go zones e.g., the top of the mountain at Mount Panorama at the annual Bathurst 1000. How the hell the organisers & the local police have allowed the premier date on the Australian V8 calendar to degenerate to a drunken, Molotov cocktail throwing, car burning tournament is beyond my level of comprehension.
I realise an oval is a little different, but consider this, how many genuine race fans may not be prepared to take their wives, daughters & partners to an event if they are of the belief that they will be sitting amongst hooligans? Monza had the same problem in the late 70’s early 80’s, where the tifosi would literally elbow people out of the their seats before draconian baton wielding security was introduced . Nip it in the bud early before it spreads like disease
Unfortunately, I think that we may see ISC and Speedway Motorsports use these incidents to ban coolers in the grandstands. They could make a great argument that they cannot let fans bring coolers in because of safety issues. They would then get to sell fans $7 draft Budweisers like Fenway Park does.
I am always amazed that they continue to sell beer at Daytona as the fans are leaving to go back to their cars after the races. It is amazing there are not more problems.
Bill:
“They could make a great argument that they cannot let fans bring coolers in because of safety issues. They would then get to sell fans $7 draft Budweisers like Fenway Park does.”
And they’re not doing that now?
Sure they are, if you want to claim ISC or any other venue would gain more revenue by banning coolers I’d agree with you.
I would also agree it’s “a great argument” for the safety of all concerned, fans and drivers alike, and without any qualifiers attached to the argument such as increased revenue.
Much to learn here from how the British government and the FA dealt with the football hooliganism issue.
And PeterG - I was planning on flying out to Asutralia for Bathurst this year. Should I reconsider?
I agree Neil there’s much to learn from Peter.
Unfortunately passports and visas aren’t required to go from state to state in the U.S. Too bad actually, it would be a great way to keep these idiots confined to one or two locations.
Neil I apologise if I have scared you off the entire event. The bad element is confined - deliberately - to a camping area at the top of the mountain. The remaining 80% of the viewing areas are fine. The real problem is not even when the race is running on the Sunday, but rather the fools who camp & drink up there from Friday, through practice & qualifying, Saturday night is a just drunken binge.You can even go up there in the daytime when the race is running (although I wouldn’t take my girlfriend with me).
You will have no problems if you attend the race, ten of thousands of people & families do each year. My post an example of what happens when authorities tolerate a unruly element & let them take over an area.
Still, we’re talking about a fraction of a percent of folks that can’t hold their liquor, so to speak. Or shall we say become belligerent under the heavy influence. Banning coolers won’t fix it. They’re already past the breaking point and they’ll buy more under the stands.
It also takes away from the rest of the fans who can control themselves, and it would also hurt families that bring in their own pop and juice for the kids. Oh, and bottled water too.
With that taken away, you know the prices down below would go up. Oh, we have what you want… Beer: $9, Pop: $6, Water: $4. All in 12oz cups.
Point being… The more they crack down on these idiots, the sooner the message sinks in.