Are NASCAR Drivers Pansies Now?

Recently I reads a comment from Greg Biffle about the World 600, where he said that NASCAR needs one endurance-type race to test the drivers' stamina and the stamina of the cars, but that other events are too long - he singled out Pocono, saying it would be a better television package if the race was shorter.

This is just the latest example of the decreasing toughness of NASCAR drivers. Whenever drivers mention the SAFER barrier they gush over it and the supposed improvement in safety it brings - never mind that Indianapolis saw Buddy Rice knocked out of the race after crashing into the SAFER, never mind a very serious injury a couple of years ago to Craig Dollansky in an Indy Pro Series race after he hit the SAFER.

Drivers used to never be concerned whether they hit "unprotected" concrete; now they act as if they're going to die even if they so much as brush a concrete wall. It isn't that the SAFER isn't useful, it's the attitude drivers now have that is of concern to me.

It shows most graphically whenever drivers gripe about restrictor plate racing. They always cite "the big one," but that's not what worries them about this kind of racing, because they know it's never the "big" ones that cause injury, but the small wrecks at "safer" tracks that hurt more. What really worries drivers is that in plate racing they have to actually race each other without letup for the entirety of the race. This is by far the most stressful kind of racing there is, and is by far the most competitive.

Whenever drivers criticize something as "too long" or "too competitive," they're giving away a lack of toughness on their part that is reprehensible. They are in much better shape as race drivers when they have to run these 500-mile marathons and they are made to be much better racers when they have to actually fight for the win for 500 miles. 500 miles of nonstop combat for the win is by far the best test of machinery and driving in motorsports.

Pocono says no to shorter races, and they are to be commended for that. Drivers need to get back the toughness they need for this sport.