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MIC DROP
By Kelley Carlton AS OF LATE, there has been much chatter about the lack of respect that has been exhibited on the racetrack over the last several months. It seemed to go into hyperdrive during Speedweeks this year – particularly at East Bay. Things got so wild that you had veteran guys like Tim McCreadie expressing exasperation about the inability to handle this type of disrespect as it may have been handled in a former time. As McCreadie so eloquently pointed out, losing one’s front teeth was a triedand-true method of demanding (and usually receiving) respect. However, the dirt racing world has become a much more sponsor-aware and politically correct sport at the upper levels. Throwing hands with someone just is not an option like it once was. If you take matters into your own hands now you will end up with a lap full of trouble from both the sanctioning body and/ or racetrack. Then there is also all the potential legal implications that are common now. For me personally, it was disturbing to see and hear some of the fury and vitriol that several guys expressed verbally and even physically on the track. Maybe the thing that bothered me most was the total lack of forethought of consequences related to using their 2,300-pound missiles as a means of retaliation. Perhaps it is a generational thing, but I do not get that at all. Under yellow there are just too many things going on that can turn 70
GET YOUR HEAD RIGHT
that into a really bad situation. I realize that some of it can be chalked up to the heat of the moment but some of it, well, just was plain not good use of common sense. We all know that things happen in a split second in this sport. One official trying to get out. One hung throttle. One insert horror story here.
Many of these guys are racing for a living and the only way to substitute getting hit in the mouth now is to get hit in the wallet. As innocuous as Tyler Erb’s glancing blow on Mason Ziegler after the checkers of an East Bay heat race was, it held the potential to be much more. You can what-if any situation to death but in the case of a sport that is inherently dangerous, those what-ifs can very easily happen. The Lucas Oil Series took immediate and appropriate action to park Erb for the night. And while it might not be popular with some fans, it was absolutely the right thing to do. Many of these guys are racing for a living and the only way to substitute getting hit in the mouth now is to get hit in the wallet. Of course, in some cases, the hit in the wallet does not seem to matter either. I know Chase Junghans fairly
DIRT EMPIRE MAGAZINE | APRIL/MAY 2021
well and I do believe that his comments about destroying cars were said completely in anger. However, I also believe there must be a shift away from that mindset, especially in a moment of anger. There is just no good that can come from it. In this sport, a bad decision in a moment of anger could cause someone to be seriously injured or even killed. That is something that none of us that love this sport can afford to happen. I am just a race who gets to work in the sport I love. I do not know what the best way to fix it is. But racers must find a way to put the idea of personal responsibility first. Be respectful of others’ equipment and more importantly their health. Drive others how you want to be driven. Find a way to suppress the need to get revenge. Get your head on right before you get in the car. And, as my dad used to tell me, “just don’t be an asshole”. Otherwise maybe us promoters should just set up boxing rings in the infield to handle it afterwards. I am sure some would stay and pay to see that show. Hmmmm.
A BJ Parker disciple, Carlton serves as the Director of the Ultimate Series and is the race director at the Gateway Dirt Nationals and the Wild West Shootout. Carlton serves on the Board of the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame. He is a father of one daughter (Katie).
