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One more thing......

March 26, 2006
Conspiracy theory du jour
By Carol Einarsson

I can't be the only one that read the headline Saturday morning and was shocked at the glaring favoritism shown by NASCAR. They announced that in this week’s tire test at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, they were replacing Ken Schrader with the series points leader.

It's not important that it's Jimmie Johnson; the bigger issue is that it's the points leader.

Originally, those chosen for the tire test were Kevin Harvick (23rd in points), Schrader (27th), Scott Riggs (32nd), and Bobby Labonte (38th).

What real benefit can be gained by these four guys?

Could this tire test at Lowe’s give any of them enough of an advantage to overtake Kenseth, Kahne, Martin, and Mears in the points? Not likely.

Conversely, what benefit can be gained by a guy that has already dominated the track, but with its OLD surface? Maybe an edge over most of the other competitors because he will have first hand knowledge about the new surface that nobody else will have?

Maybe that free test will be just the thing he needs to stay out front at his own house. Oh wait -- I said it wasn't really about Jimmie Johnson. I digress.

So it's the points leader that is given an advantage. I wonder how the guys that are also in the top ten are feeling about this. I wonder how Ken Schrader is feeling about this.

That's the flip side of the coin -- what about Ken Schrader? Racing for the Wood Brothers and without benefit of all the teammate testing information enjoyed by bigger teams, a small team can surely use extra testing courtesy of Goodyear. And a veteran like Schrader could certainly provide some of the best feedback. And then that offer is rescinded.

I'm not saying JJ cannot provide the same valuable feedback as Schrader, but the point should be made that it's not like Schrader was "unchosen" because of any inferior ability to assess a track or the tires.

And let’s not forget that with Schrader involved, all three manufacturers were represented. And now it’s only Chevy and Dodge.

Wouldn't you like to know what kind of closed-door negotiations took place after the initial announcement and before the adjusted announcement?

Who was involved? Was it Rick Hendrick and Mike Helton? Was it Lowe's calling Brian France directly and pressuring him to use the Lowe's car to test at Lowe's Speedway? Was there money or other "promotional consideration" involved?

Sometimes I ask these questions and even before I know the answers I realize that I'm so much happier not knowing about the dark side.

Surely it exists. It exists in every large corporation and it certainly exists in an organization such as NASCAR.

I just wish they'd do a little better job hiding it from those of us that try not to be conspiracy theorists.

http://blogs.thatsracin.com/the_infield/2006/03/conspiracy_theo.html#more