Throwing caution to the wind

Tony Stewart is usually full of hot air. He's said so many stupid things over the years, but he finally said something I agree with.

On his radio program 'Tony Stewart Live' last night, Stewart said that NASCAR is "playing God" with the debris cautions that they throw.

He is absolutely right. Cautions labeled as 'debris' have been thrown 19 times in eight races this season. Three races experienced debris cautions four times apiece and twice did a debris caution wave with less than 20 laps to go.

The yellow flag should only be waved for one reason: driver safety. How many times have you watched a race where there was a 'debris caution' and the television camera was unable to find any debris? I guarantee it was more than a handful.

During the race at Phoenix, I noticed a trash bag in turn three before the drivers had reached the 15 lap mark. NASCAR waited until Lap 38 to display the caution for the same piece of debris. Over 20 laps later! This screams of arrogance by NASCAR and how stupid they think their fans are. We understand what's going on.

NASCAR sees the field stretch out and passing becomes fewer and fewer. How do you make for a more exciting race? Throw the caution! That'll bunch the field back up and make for more exciting racing (at least for a while).

Just stop trying to deceive us! If you throw a caution because you want the field bunched up, say so! We're not fooled. If all you're after is better television ratings, than by all means, keep throwing these 'debris cautions.' Why don't you use pyrotechnics and scripted play like the WWE does and just throw all competition out the window.

NASCAR used to be a sport where the best driver with the best car won. Now, I'm not so sure.