Full Throttle

On TV shows like “CSI,” viewers get to watch as investigators find and collect evidence at the scene of a crime, making blood appear as if by magic and swabbing every mouth in the vicinity­.

Many of us believe we have a pretty good grip on the process and understand crime scene investigation is the meeting between science, logic and law.

That said, television’s CSI units are fictional.

NASCAR’s “CSI Unit” on the other hand is all too real, although it can be reasonably argued there is no such meeting between “science, logic and law” when called to a crime scene and publish the results of an investigation.

In the Jimmy Watts case NASCAR got two of the tree tenets of CSI investigation correct.

Science dictates a round object, a Goodyear tire or a stone that gathers no moss, will in fact roll until stopped by an outside force (enter Mr. Watts) or when forward momentum ceases to exist. (enter Newton’s Laws of Motion)

As for the law, sad to say NASCAR got this right also.

Somewhere within the apparition known as the Mythical NASCAR Rulebook there’s a section about tires rolling about pitlane unattended, or otherwise. And probably a section on moss gathering rocks, but one can’t be sure as no one can get their grubby little hands on a Rulebook without paying Tribute to NASCAR’s capo di tutti i capi.

It’s the third leg, logic, where this case falls flat. Where’s the logic in sitting Jimmy Watts down for the next four events? Not to mention crew chief Frank Kerr being placed on probation until the end of the year.

For the sake of argument lets assume Watts never acted as he did. Lets say that Goodyear Eagle would have continued unabated across the manicured lawn of AMS.

One of two thngs would have happened and both are dictated by the aforementioned Newton’s Laws of Motion.

The tire would have continued on it’s merry way into a line of 190 mph race cars reeking untold havoc on a significant portion of the starting field.

Or… the tire would have lost momentum, flopped over on the grass like a dead gopher (enter your Digger wishes here_______ ), and sat there like a pimple on a teenager’s Prom day.

Working with NASCAR’s scenario - that an object sitting in the grass between pitlane and the racing surface is a safety hazard mandating a yellow flag - what difference does it make whether it’s the object, or Watts retrieving said object?

The realty is there is no difference whatsoever. Other than Watts placing himself in physical danger, voluntarily and to save 43 drivers from danger, he gets slammed with a four race suspension and probation for the remainder of the season.

Without the Watts intervention the danger would have been present - the video clearly shows it would have stopped shortly after the time Watts was on the scene - and the yellow would have flown regardless.

And OMG, 75% of the field goes a lap down!

The argument has been made by some the yellow “ruined” the race for many valid competitors. In support they cite the “small” number of drivers on the lead lap at the checkers.

Been there, done that. AMS has a long history of having a Baker’s Dozen on the lead lap at the finish. It’s a specious argument. At Best. At worst it’s an argument offered by those whining because “their driver” got screwed.

The person the really got screwed was Watts.