the transcript of the statement by NASCAR President Mike Helton to the drivers at the drivers meeting: “I think everyone is aware of our challenges right now. Let me remind you of something that most all of us became participants in NASCAR well after it was began and founded with the exception of Richard (Petty). Richard’s been around forever. And I suspect that 50 years from now as there still having driver’s meetings at race tracks there won’t be many of us around to remember this conversation. But I want to remind everybody that this sport is what it is because of its longevity, it’s effort to be correct and fair and the participants that make it up and the officials that run the races and the race tracks that entertain us and the sponsors that become involved. And it’s gotten bigger and better every time we’ve moved and it’s still the greatest form of motorsports if not one of the greatest form of sports in this world. Don’t misinterpret some of the issues we may have with weakness we may have to challenge us. We’ll still police the sport…we will still police what goes on at the racetrack and we will still enforce the regulations of this sport. So, don’t misinterpret anything that may be going on right now as an opportunity to take advantage of any situation. We’re not going to let that happen. In saying that I would also, we seem to go in this cycle of everybody being very respectful to then everyone not being too respectful to get to the point where no body is respectful at all with each other on the race track. I think we’re kinda getting back into the bottom of that cycle where it seems like theres a lot of beating and banging going on at the racetrack thats causing aggression thats causing cautions thats causing things that shouldn’t be caused. So I would suggest drivers that you be more respectful on the race track to start with, with each other and that should go a long way to what goes on on the racetrack and what we have to get involved in. The other thing crew chief’s, we announced last week that when we freeze the field the computer does it, the software establishes it and the messages comes back to you what your position is. When you ask or are told by an official on pit road what your position is thats it. Theres no debate. Go on to something else. Our officials will pay attention to other things but when he delivers the message to you of where your car belongs on the race track theres no debate to it.(XM Satellite NASCAR Radio 144)(6-20-2004)
