That is what NASCAR is saying behind closed doors right now. After Tony's little on-air snit about NASCAR being God-like in the way they run their races it seems that there are two very distinct camps forming; those with Tony, and those against.
Interestingly enough, I haven't heard any driver comment on what Tony said, everyone is keeping quiet about this one. "What about that weather?", is the reply you'll get from any NASCAR driver when asked about what Tony said.
From some of my various media readings on the topic it seems to me that some people think that Tony is saying that NASCAR dictates who wins each race, not so. What Tony is saying is that NASCAR manipulates the race by what they do with the caution flags. NASCAR is not controlling who wins per-se, but they are guilty of not letting one car dominate. By throwing out the caution every now and then this creates pit-stops so the fans can see action on Pit Road, and anything can happen there, just ask Denny Hamlin, and then the field is bunched up for some side by side racing. So if you were out front by 20 seconds you can loose the lead that you worked for either by a bad pit stop or by some bone-headed pass involving lapped cars or a crashing David Ragan.
NASCAR could really care less who wins, as long as they win by a bumper and they'll do what it takes to make their last race all the talk around the water cooler for the next three days. Have you ever noticed that the "debris on the track" caution usually comes out near the end of the race? I know that near the end of the race the cars are more beat up and they tend to loose parts more often at that time, but they never really show the debris on TV do they?
Tony has a point.
Another thing, why wasn't there such an outcry when Jimmie Johnson made a more subtle accusation a few weeks ago? Because it wasn't the media bad-boy Tony Stewart that's why, and like it or not, people listen to what Tony has to say more so than Jimmie.
If you want a good take on this whole thing go to Nate Ryan's article at USA Today - it even has a link so you can listen to Stewart's comments. David Poole also has a good take on this entitled 'Stewart's Right About Bogus Flags'.
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