A vote for personality

Of all the signals that NASCAR sent last week about renewing its emphasis on “hard-core” fans, none was clearer than this: The league plans to be less aggressive this year when it comes to penalizing drivers for doing a little cussing, and maybe even a little shoving, at the track.

It would be a mistake to read into this that NASCAR is going in the opposite direction of other sports leagues, many of whom are cracking down on athlete behavior issues. NASCAR isn’t condoning criminal behavior, nor is it encouraging fisticuffs in the garage. It’s simply trying to give a little leeway for people to be people.

The way we see it, that’s a good thing. NASCAR has been criticized in the last few years, and rightly so, for turning many of its drivers into automatons who won’t do or say anything without first checking with their sponsors. No one gets offended, but no one ever finds out whether a driver has a personality that’s worth getting to know.

It may be that there will be a few times this year when NASCAR will regret this move. Whatever the rules are, there’s always someone who will push past the limit now and then. But we’re betting that this move is the right one, and that fans will appreciate being able to see that drivers are as tough and determined off the track as they are on it.