NASCAR is Fast Becoming an Embarrassment, Here’s Why [OPINION]

It's been an eventful opening week in NASCAR. NASCAR's opening shocker is in my opinion, their most crucial in their history. Suspending Kurt Busch amidst allegations of domestic violence is a violation of Mr. Busch's rights as an American. In our country, you are innocent until proven guilty. Mr. Busch was never charged with anything, not by law enforcement, or even his ex-girlfriend. Despite those facts, he has been indefinitely suspended by NASCAR. They have taken away a man's livelihood, even though he has not been charged with a crime...any crime. No one is an advocate of domestic violence, to be sure, but the action by NASCAR was premature.

SOLUTION: The proper procedure would have been to wait and see if Mr.Busch is formally charged with a crime, then temporarily suspend him, let it play out in a court of law, and then take necessary action. NASCAR has now left itself open for a multi million dollar lawsuit, and because of their premature actions, Mr.Busch should and probably will win hands down in my opinion. I find it odd that the only sport that starts each race with prayer, will not honor a person's right under the law. How hypocritical can you be?

Safer Barriers: We would have thought after the death of Dale Sr., NASCAR would have made it mandatory for safety barriers. They did make attempts, and did have success with the Hans Device, and also recommended that all  track owners install safer barriers. Unfortunately, NASCAR does not own the tracks, therefore installation becomes the responsibility of the track owner, not NASCAR. Why have they not done so? Money...track owners it seems would rather stuff their pockets with cash than fork over their profits to save someones life. This afternoon, Kyle Busch hit a solid concrete wall at 90 miles per hour. The announcer, Larry McReynolds stated on-air there is absolutely no excuse for it, and fellow racers have publicly stated on-air after the race, their displeasure, even fear.

SOLUTION: An immediate directive to all track owners to install safer barriers around every inch of their track. Upon completion, track to be inspected both by NASCAR and an independent agency/firm. Failure to comply would result in a one million dollar fine, and the track losing it's certification as an official NASCAR track. In other words, they'll pull the race from that track and reschedule it at a track that has passed certification.

Danica Patrick's Rants & Raves: Kudos to Go Daddy Dot Com for laying Danica Patrick's future out for her in black and white. Win, or go home. The problem however goes much deeper. This past week, Danica has accused Denny Hamlin of twice hitting her race car. After careful examination of video, it was found Hamlin's car did not touch Patrick's. Yes, he got close to her, which causes the race car to wiggle, and often times spin out of control. This is in no way illegal or a case of bad sportsmanship...it's racing pure and simple.

It's my opinion Danica Patrick wants special treatment that her fellow drivers don't have. It's also my opinion it's time for her to leave NASCAR racing for the following reasons. She is a whiner ( everyone is picking on me type thing,), she expects to have preferential treatment, and most importantly her actions over the past several years are restricting other women from getting a fair chance to race. A good example of a woman driving a race car is Jennifer Jo Cobb. Never wins a race, she has an underfunded team, often cannot complete a race due to of lack of funding. She never whines, she takes full responsibility rather than blame others, and she encourages other woman racers to enter the sport. She inspires, Danica deters.

SOLUTION: Danica, go home. Go back to Indy car racing, obviously you're in way over your head. If she does not leave on her own accord, sponsorships should drop her immediately (this procedure is used frequently with male drivers who don't perform, by the way.) Women deserve a place in racing. You've had your chance and failed...move on and give others a chance.

NASCAR: To the head of NASCAR, Bill France Jr., you have proven over the years, you do not belong running the good ship NASCAR. You're race attendance is down dramatically, your television ratings are terrible, lucrative racing sponsorships have all but dried up, and the good ship is sinking. The racing public has spoken loud and clear through lack of attendance. NASCAR's biggest race of the year, Daytona, is not even close to being sold out. Enough said.

SOLUTION: Replace him as soon as possible. Sponsors have the clout to do this, in fact I believe they're doing it already by pulling their sponsorships.