NASCAR now finds itself in the middle of a major cheating scandal, right on the eve of the Daytona 500.  I can’t help but observe (and admire) the fact that NASCAR has brought much of this on itself.  What were they thinking going after these top shelf racing teams right before the first race of the season - the Daytona 500!?  They had every opportunity to start cracking down on the rampant cheating at a less important race.  Surely they knew that some of the older salts would confess that this has been going on for year.  Why wave their dirty laundry when everyone is looking?  Heck, why crack down at all?  From the sounds of it, it has been going on for a long time.  It didn’t appear to be hurting anyone.  Right?

I hope leaders in the horseracing industry are taking notes.  There are some lessons here.  Here are my observations…

• I’m not enough of a NASCAR fan to know if docking Michael Waltrip 100 points is damaging enough to affect his chances for the championship, but I think it is.  If so, that is a step in the right direction.  It would stand in stark contrast to horseracing, which just awarded Todd Pletcher an Eclipse award while serving a suspension.
• Fining the crew chief $100,000 and suspending him indefinitely is very different from the slap on the wrist that horseracing offers its offenders.  Trainers caught cheating may serve a suspension, but the fines are inconsequential and the trainer’s assistants just carry on with the principal trainer in the background.  Word has it that the crew chief will be fired.  He won’t do this again for the same team.
• Toyota is clearly embarassed and angry over this situation.  They have served notice that another offense and they will revoke their sponsorship.  I’d be more impressed if they didn’t wait for another violation, but this isn’t bad.  I’ve never seen an owner take that kind of stance with a trainer who gets a suspension.  Toyota has said that Waltrip’s team has violated four areas of Toyota’s code of ethics.  I know a little bit about Toyota.  I think they actually have a code. 
• Most impressive, is NASCAR themselves.  Talk about making a statement.  If you are looking for a parallel - this is like thoroughbred racing suspending Todd Pletcher, Bob Baffert, and Nick Zito the day before the Derby.  NASCAR has made a statement.  Almost nothing they can do now can possibly be a shock to a racing team.  This is much more than a warning shot. 

I know wagering on NASCAR does take place, but it is not such an integral part of the sport as wagering is to horse racing.  So why does NASCAR get it when horseracing appears to be paralyzed by the cheating problem?  Why does NASCAR appear to have the sense of urgency over this issue that horse racing is struggling to get the nerve to display?  Sure all sports should be clean, but horseracing has a higher calling to protect those of us swimming in the parimutual pool.  We all would like to believe the playing field is as even as possible.

Nice job NASCAR.  NTRA, please take note.

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