bad boy silk

[csammy]

ron silk spins the leader tc bangs off santos at thompson tc gets penilized ronny silk nothing i guess chad little does not have the balls to black flag silk oh thats right silk has a spec motor cant do anything to a team running a nascar political correct motor

[NC Mudcat]

Better watch the tape again. Silk did nothing wrong.

[JMB]

It looked like Silk was part of the way past him and Szegedy came down a lane.

[shep 06]

Not a fan of Silk but seems to me he was far enough under him.I dont think Todd even knew he was there.Cant expect Silk to back out when he got that good a run.JMO

[csammy]

not in my view i think silk pushed up besides silk is in chads back pocket spins the tires at thompsons ice breaker chad gives him back the lead run the spec motors you can do no wrong i got a kick oit of this weeks aarn when chad said i think the spec motor needs a smaller plate come on who is he kidding chad an nascar got what they wanted a spec motor win and yes i know silk did not run the spec motor at the ice breaker

[Racer1_NC]

Best I could tell the 2 took himself out......of course I haven't seen the replay yet....

[Modtour4]

Not being there, from what I saw on tv, there was a spin on the backstretch and I think Todd's spotter may have told him caution was out. Todd definitely slowed going into turn three and Silk got under him. I don't think Todd knew he was there. The yellow came out because of Todd's spin. If that didn't happen, no one had anything for Todd.

[MJProcko]

It was nice of Todd to help Ron with his victory 360's..... despite the big one and the continued loss of contenders it was still much better than the truck race. I dozed off for a few laps of the trucks - the last 25 laps were good though. To think that some folk don't belive the mods belong at Bristol and don't need to be there. They go like peas and carrots - lets hope Bruton and Nascar doesn't abandon this now that they have squeezed UNOH for the big bucks for the trucks.

[DaFingz]

The Mods belong at Bristol huh? Yeah great race. Eight cautions for 54 laps, 2 of which were red flags. Half the tour regulars got junked in the race, Lia junked in qualifying and Szegedy's backup car gets wrecked too. Really not much different than a Thompson show, at least when the Tour decides to put on a wreckfest at TIS they don't have to travel 15 hours to do it. I would much rather see the Tour back at Richmond or Martinsville than continue the carnage at Bristol.

[JE711618]

Silk was clearly under Szegedy and had a wheel by his door when Szegedy came down on Silk. By the looks of the footage, none of them backed off the throttle. I liked Szegedy, but after the little temper tantrum he threw I think he's got a lot of growing up to do behind the wheel. He made a heck of a run at the end, but all that was washed away when he pulled that pathetic stunt after the race.

Other things that really shocked me was how much of an ego TC really has. Asked about being in the legendary Boehler Modified, he replies; "It's just another race car." ??? Way to respect the history of the sport you compete in, TC. I thought it was a great match, Boehler/TC, but TC's "Nobody's bigger than me" ego driven attitude threw that out the window. Now I hope Rocco gets the seat once he's healed. TC doesn't deserve it.

NASCAR schedules the race for a Wednesday. Guys take food off their family's tables with time off of work to crew for their respected Modified teams and they spend all this money to travel to Bristol. In return they get told if it gets close to 7:30 and your race isn't over, we're going to cut the race short for the Truck Series broadcast. Then they cut the victory lane ceremony short and don't allow the crew to celebrate with their driver? No wonder why Silk was so straight faced after winning. What a total buzzkill. For a sanctioning body who boasts about their great history, NASCAR sure knows how to treat their beloved first sanctioned division. What a disgusting display of treatment for the Modified division.

The only good that I can take away from watching that event was at least they had guys in the announcer's booth that truly love and respect the Modifieds and have never forgotten where they came from. Way to go Mike and Dick!

[PitGirl35]

Silk was clearly under Szegedy and had a wheel by his door when Szegedy came down on Silk. By the looks of the footage, none of them backed off the throttle. I liked Szegedy, but after the little temper tantrum he threw I think he's got a lot of growing up to do behind the wheel. He made a heck of a run at the end, but all that was washed away when he pulled that pathetic stunt after the race.

Other things that really shocked me was how much of an ego TC really has. Asked about being in the legendary Boehler Modified, he replies; "It's just another race car." ??? Way to respect the history of the sport you compete in, TC. I thought it was a great match, Boehler/TC, but TC's "Nobody's bigger than me" ego driven attitude threw that out the window. Now I hope Rocco gets the seat once he's healed. TC doesn't deserve it.

NASCAR schedules the race for a Wednesday. Guys take food off their family's tables with time off of work to crew for their respected Modified teams and they spend all this money to travel to Bristol. In return they get told if it gets close to 7:30 and your race isn't over, we're going to cut the race short for the Truck Series broadcast. Then they cut the victory lane ceremony short and don't allow the crew to celebrate with their driver? No wonder why Silk was so straight faced after winning. What a total buzzkill. For a sanctioning body who boasts about their great history, NASCAR sure knows how to treat their beloved first sanctioned division. What a disgusting display of treatment for the Modified division.

The only good that I can take away from watching that event was at least they had guys in the announcer's booth that truly love and respect the Modifieds and have never forgotten where they came from. Way to go Mike and Dick!

Can't you just be happy they showed the whole race and didn't stop it at 7:30?

[fastbackss]

The Mods belong at Bristol huh? Yeah great race. Eight cautions for 54 laps, 2 of which were red flags. Half the tour regulars got junked in the race, Lia junked in qualifying and Szegedy's backup car gets wrecked too. Really not much different than a Thompson show, at least when the Tour decides to put on a wreckfest at TIS they don't have to travel 15 hours to do it. I would much rather see the Tour back at Richmond or Martinsville than continue the carnage at Bristol.

I don't know - from my couch it was a pretty exciting race. I would have liked to have seen some less torn-up equipment but hey...

I know it is tough for the teams on a Wednesday race that far from home, but the fact is that they got live coverage on TV, played twice in prime time (I watched the replay which started at 10:15) and had lots of time on NASCAR radio during the day. Would this occur at Martinsville or Richmond, which typically have more compact weekends? Perhaps a Thursday night race at Richmond? For the record, using Stafford as a starting point Martinsville is 106 miles closer and Richmond 165 miles closer.


For comparison:
2011 - 9 for 51 laps (one red flag , five multi-car accidents),
2010 - 3 for 15 laps, including competition caution (no multi-car accidents)
2009 - 4 for 33 laps (one multi-car accident, and one caution for rain)

So - 50% of the races have had a lot of torn up equipment, and 50% have not...

[Howie]

Jared, you are wrong on so many points, but that's only my opinion and by reading this I can tell yours is the only one that matters to you. You say Silk is wrong, Szegedy is wrong, TC is wrong, Speed is wrong, NASCAR is wrong!
Silk was clearly under Szegedy and had a wheel by his door when Szegedy came down on Silk. By the looks of the footage, none of them backed off the throttle. I liked Szegedy, but after the little temper tantrum he threw I think he's got a lot of growing up to do behind the wheel. He made a heck of a run at the end, but all that was washed away when he pulled that pathetic stunt after the race.

In MY opinion original contact was a racing incident, hard racing, no blame. Then after the race the cars didn't spin until Ronnie jumped on the brakes hard enough to raise the rearend on the 6 and the 2's front bumper went under the 6's rear bumper and they spun. Did you notice that? Nothing's ever happened like that before? A great drive all day by BOTH drivers, and some emotion after wards, no harm done.

Other things that really shocked me was how much of an ego TC really has. Asked about being in the legendary Boehler Modified, he replies; "It's just another race car." ??? Way to respect the history of the sport you compete in, TC. I thought it was a great match, Boehler/TC, but TC's "Nobody's bigger than me" ego driven attitude threw that out the window. Now I hope Rocco gets the seat once he's healed. TC doesn't deserve it.

TC's opinion I took to be when you in a car, any car, it is just another car. You are just a TC hater. Tons of respect for Old Blue and what's been done in it, but none for TC and all he has accomplished in anything he has driven.

NASCAR schedules the race for a Wednesday. Guys take food off their family's tables with time off of work to crew for their respected Modified teams and they spend all this money to travel to Bristol. In return they get told if it gets close to 7:30 and your race isn't over, we're going to cut the race short for the Truck Series broadcast. Then they cut the victory lane ceremony short and don't allow the crew to celebrate with their driver? No wonder why Silk was so straight faced after winning. What a total buzzkill. For a sanctioning body who boasts about their great history, NASCAR sure knows how to treat their beloved first sanctioned division. What a disgusting display of treatment for the Modified division.

First they didn't end the broadcast at 7:30 and they didn't cut victory lane short. Just because you didn't see it on TV doesn't mean it didn't happen. If you know Ronnie, he is "straight faced" when he is intent. He has a great smile too. Check out this photo of Ronnie and the crew in victory lane at Bristol. http://hometracks.nascar.com/NWMT_NWSMT_Race-Recap_Ron-Silk_Weathers_Storm_In_Thunder_Valley

The only good that I can take away from watching that event was at least they had guys in the announcer's booth that truly love and respect the Modifieds and have never forgotten where they came from. Way to go Mike and Dick!

You got this one right!

Sorry about my rant on your rant. I am just so tired of all the b!tching that the mods aren't on TV. Then all the b!tching afterward because they were on TV. Thanks to Speed for going above and beyond to show us the whole race including victory lane despite the time constraints

[Jaws]

What Howie said!

Except for the lap 3 wreck which took out many cars, I would take that race every day of the week.

It was on TV and while not the best race there was some great racing all afternoon.

Thanks Speed!!!!!

Oh and great job Ken Heagy!!!

[MOD JUNKIE]

I felt that the Silk Szegedy deal was just racing and I am glad speed tv covered the race, well done.

[Racer1_NC]

The Mods belong at Bristol huh? Yeah great race. Eight cautions for 54 laps, 2 of which were red flags. Half the tour regulars got junked in the race, Lia junked in qualifying and Szegedy's backup car gets wrecked too. Really not much different than a Thompson show, at least when the Tour decides to put on a wreckfest at TIS they don't have to travel 15 hours to do it. I would much rather see the Tour back at Richmond or Martinsville than continue the carnage at Bristol.

So by this logic as long as they don't have to travel so far to do it...it's ok to lose half the field in a wreck in the open laps. I'm sure parts cost less and the work load is less repairing a car trashed at Thompson vs. Bristol. Gimme a break.

The tour got exposure at Bristol. People saw modifieds last night that have never heard of Thompson, Stafford or any other track they run on. Was it the best race? No. Was it the worst? No. It was a race...well promoted and on TV. I'll take that any day.

[Brian Hawks]

So by this logic as long as they don't have to travel so far to do it...it's ok to lose half the field in a wreck in the open laps. I'm sure parts cost less and the work load is less repairing a car trashed at Thompson vs. Bristol. Gimme a break.

The tour got exposure at Bristol. People saw modifieds last night that have never heard of Thompson, Stafford or any other track they run on. Was it the best race? No. Was it the worst? No. It was a race...well promoted and on TV. I'll take that any day.

Actually, he is on point. Yes, Bristol is good exposure. But, that's a long drive (So is Thompson for the SOUTHERN TOUR)

Prices to compete in this NASCAR Tour keep going up, and cars keep disappearing.. 88/23 not there yesterday.. two of our big dogs..

Believe what ya want, Time to get SMART if ya know what I mean.

[JWfor8x]

I thought the Silk/Szegedy accident was just that, an accident. The only thing that I didn't get about it was why the caution had not already been thrown for the first spin. It's a shame that so many got caught up when Newman spun, but at a place like Bristol, it sometimes happens. I was just glad to see both the southern and northern tours get some national exposure and I really did enjoy listening to an announce team that knows and loves the modifieds. Thank you SPEED for airing the race.

[Axel]

I never thought I would like Ted Chirstopher, but now I like him. He's stood up to NASCAR, spoken his mind and is a hell of a wheel man.

My take on his comment was that when all is said and done, it's another race, he's in a racing machine and he's ready to give it his all. I dont think any disrespect was intended.

[Goldy]

My thoughts..
Kinda odd how that 77 car is all the sudden a top 10 car vs. a top 2 car; not sure if he had a tire going down but it sure blew that all those cars got trashed..
It's a matter of time before Teddy puts that 3 car in victory lane - he had a car to contend for sure..

I think the class of the feild the last couple years has been that 2 car - really hooked up and Todd gets that thing around in a hurry there. What a run he had!! As for the thing with Silk - I don't really think Ron had to stick his nose there then - meaning, he could have been more paitent.. I beleive Todd would have won but we should take notice that the Silk was there in the first place for a reason - he was fast as well right?

I think it's something - folks bust on Todd for "spinning out" Silk (if you can even call it that).. but isn't that what we've all grown up on the last 15 years or so in Cup? - that's the way it's done boys and that's what people expect - take these matters into your own hands right? gezzzz... ya know - we all know Todd's a much better guy and champion than that and I actually credit him (by today's standards) for not slamming into him and causing real damage or injury. Think back to all those retaliations / brain fades that we've seen over the years eevn in our lowley modified tour.. most notables have been on the dishing out side - Lia comes to mind, stoving Coby into the wall at Thompson under caution, that was a good one.. a learning experience for Lia for sure. Todd on the other hand doesn't really have much to learn.. Me? When filled with road rage, nothing beats a FIRM one finger salute - it always gets the message accross and harms no one or equipment.. but then everyone is left wondering - why didn't he retaliate?..

All in all the racing was ok and thanks SPEED for the coverage.. like someone else said.. I'll take Richmond; we don't really need to go back to Bristol..

Oh and.. good runs by the 51 (although he forced it) and the 09.. I didn't really like what I saw from that 88 car there for a few laps, if I were Yuhas I might have given him a firm one finger salute..

[Sicklajoie]

The 88 was a squirrel out there for sure!

[Goldy]

... and I forgot the 7-10th place finishers.. the Bohn kid, Heagy, Stinson and Speeney.. all from deep in the starting line up.. well done.. Nice to see Ray on TV talking up Danny and his roots...

[MJProcko]

Really not much different than a Thompson show, at least when the Tour decides to put on a wreckfest at TIS they don't have to travel 15 hours to do it. I would much rather see the Tour back at Richmond or Martinsville than continue the carnage at Bristol.

I think they belong at Richmond and Martinsville also..... by the way Richmond 9 hours and 480 miles; Martinsville 11.5 hours and 675 miles... Bristol 12.5 miles and 750 miles not really much of a difference now is there goes your distance arguement. Add in the 20k+ fans and TV coverage and yes they belong there.

I arrived in Chattanooga at midnite after 5 hours of flying.
Drove the 3.5 hours to Bristol spent the day at the races.
Left the track at 11:30 got back to Chattanooga in time for my 5 am flight back to FL.
Was back to work at 1:00 and still went to school tonight.
Worth every minute.

[JE711618]

Jared, you are wrong on so many points, but that's only my opinion and by reading this I can tell yours is the only one that matters to you. You say Silk is wrong, Szegedy is wrong, TC is wrong, Speed is wrong, NASCAR is wrong!

Sorry about my rant on your rant. I am just so tired of all the b!tching that the mods aren't on TV. Then all the b!tching afterward because they were on TV. Thanks to Speed for going above and beyond to show us the whole race including victory lane despite the time constraints

I am sorry you think my opinion is the only one that matters to me. Coming from someone who has my utmost respect and admiration, I am sorry you feel that way, Howie.

I went back and re-read my post and in many ways you are right. I did go off on a rant and some of it was pretty harsh and wrong in some ways. However, I feel the need to clarify what I said and defend my opinion on some things.

I never said Silk was wrong. I said Silk was clearly under him and had a wheel by Szegedy's door when Szegedy came down on Silk and neither of them backed off. It was a racing incident and that's exactly what I was saying. I've also seen plenty of incidents like what Szegedy pulled after the race was over, but I don't have to like it or think it's okay. Matter of fact I think it's just showing weakness. There's no need to throw a fit and wreck machinery because you feel you were wronged. All Szegedy did was make himself look like a fool in my opinion and that includes any driver who stoops to that level. These actions have become common place thanks to what everyone sees televised almost every other race in Cup, Nationwide, and Trucks, so, it's become an acceptable action. Acceptable by most doesn't mean it's right or I have to like it. It's just one of the reason's I no longer watch any of Nascar's Big Three Series.

I said I thought Boehler/TC was a good fit. I agreed with Mike Joy regarding TC's answer. TC's comment just goes hand in hand with some of his past comments through the years. Prime example; New Smyrna this year and his excuse for packing up and heading home after not allowing a tear down. It's on youtube and was already discussed plenty somewhere on this board as well. I've heard enough from others who have competed against him and have been around him in the pit area. I admire his competitive nature and his driving ability, but he's parked more competitors in the fence or infield than one can count. I don't care for dirty drivers. So, no, I am not a fan at all of TC no matter how much he's accomplished in the Modifieds. For that matter I was never a fan of Reggie either, regardless of all he accomplished in Modifieds. I watched him lay the bumper to way too many competitors through the years rather than go around them and had plenty of experiences with his attitude after the races and his approach with some fans. Spencer too, and he was good friends with my father, but it didn't erase the fact he was a dirty driver. All three are/were extremely talented behind the wheel and no one can deny that, but we all have opinions. That's the great thing about being a fan. You have the choice not to like someone based on what they do on the track as well as off.

From what I was told by a couple friends is that they held the crew back from joining Silk during the victory lane interview to get the interview in and switch to the Truck race broadcast. If that's not the case and those friends were full of it, then I'm sorry for my harsh words. I'm glad SPEED gave the modifieds television exposure. Any television exposure involving the Modifieds is a good thing.

I'll never change my view regarding Nascar until they start showing some kind of effort and respect towards the Modifieds (owners, crews, and fans). They dropped them down a notch when they brought in their sponsor friendly, full fendered truck series. They took focus off the Modifieds to pump the truck series as the third elite division rather than give the Mods the push. Now we as Modified fans are supposed to be thankful for any bone that Nascar throws our way? No, sorry, with the string of broken promises year after year regarding TV exposure and whatnot they've got a lot to make up for by their past actions. Big steps forward rather than a few crumbs here and there is what is deserved. I'm not a sheep. I never believed stock car racing was started by moonshiners and I did love the Mike Joy and Dick Berggren's little piece mentioning Modifieds pre-dated Nascar, because most fans brought into the sport via television exposure believe Nascar's blurry story, hook, line and sinker. I could go on and on about Nascar, but I'll end it there.

I support the Modifieds, period. Every time I go back to the Northeast I hope to attend at least one Modified race during the vacation time I am allotted. It doesn't mean I have to like the sanctioning body. It's the division and environment I have always enjoyed.

It was very wrong of me to say the only good thing I could take from watching the race were the announcers. That was wrong of me. It was a good race and was great to be able to turn on the TV in the Mid-West and watch the Modifieds compete. I appreciate SPEED telecasting the event and hope they open their airwaves to multiple Modified exposure in the years to come. The pig pile in the opening laps was unfortunate. With the ground down surface and taking into account the Mods were the first to compete after the re figuring, it was bound to happen. Most of the Mods were squirrely during the race. That has to be factored in when singling out drivers some believe were road hogs or hacks on the track.

So, again, I apologize Howie. I do respect everyone's opinion and have never been above admitting when I may have gone overboard or was wrong. Have a safe and enjoyable weekend of racing.

[DaFingz]

So by this logic as long as they don't have to travel so far to do it...it's ok to lose half the field in a wreck in the open laps. I'm sure parts cost less and the work load is less repairing a car trashed at Thompson vs. Bristol. Gimme a break.

The tour got exposure at Bristol. People saw modifieds last night that have never heard of Thompson, Stafford or any other track they run on. Was it the best race? No. Was it the worst? No. It was a race...well promoted and on TV. I'll take that any day.

Obviously TV exposure is great for the Tour, there is absolutely no arguement there. SPEED did a great job with the broadcast and whether I think the race was good or not I am still happy it was televised. At no point did I say that the work load is less wrecking at Thompson vs. Bristol, no clue where you got that from. Also, I'm not sure where I said it was acceptable to lose half the field in a first lap wreck? In fact if you read my original post that I indicate that the fact that half the Tour regulars got junked made it a poor race. That would include the early wreck that took out Pennick and Stefanik amongst others. I personally hate to see a massive pileup that balls up a bunch of mods whether it is at Thompson or Bristol or any track.

Now let me eloborate on the point I was trying to make on the comparrison between Thompson and Bristol races:

Last week's race at Bristol had 8 cautions for 54 laps and 2 red flags (huge multi car wreck on fronstretch)

2011 Icebreaker - 12 cautions for 61 laps and 2 red flags (multi car wreck on frontstrecth with Silk airborne)

2012 Icebreaker - 12 cautions for 45 laps and 1 red flag (mulit car pileup into turn 1 and multi car pileup on frontstretch)

These 3 races are all close in caution laps and red flags and cars expired from the race due to accident (about 10 in each race). I seem to remember people ripping on the past 2 Icebreakers, referring to them as wreckfests. In my opinion from attending the Thompson races, they really weren't much differnent than what we saw at Bristol, which was considered to be exciting? Was it more exciting becuase it was televised? What made this race so much better than the product we get at Thompson? I'm just saying that it's a long way to haul to smack up your equipment.

[DaFingz]

I think they belong at Richmond and Martinsville also..... by the way Richmond 9 hours and 480 miles; Martinsville 11.5 hours and 675 miles... Bristol 12.5 miles and 750 miles not really much of a difference now is there goes your distance arguement. Add in the 20k+ fans and TV coverage and yes they belong there.

I arrived in Chattanooga at midnite after 5 hours of flying.
Drove the 3.5 hours to Bristol spent the day at the races.
Left the track at 11:30 got back to Chattanooga in time for my 5 am flight back to FL.
Was back to work at 1:00 and still went to school tonight.
Worth every minute.

You are right there is no arguement for the mileage to Martinsville or Richmond over Bristol. I used those two tracks as examples of tracks that I thought the mods would put on better shows at over Bristol, particuarlly Richmond. If the tour is going to incur the costs of leaving the region I think Richmond would put on a better show without the carnage. Also, sorry if my original response came off as an attack at you. That was not the intent.

[RGeeProductions]

Wonderin' what happened to csammy????

[csammy]

went to newhampshire for the weekend working on a small shack i have i still say silk came up and in my opinion if that was tc he would of been black flagged and most of the board would be saying typical tc how ever nothing will happen to silk because he is the front man for the spec motor and it would take a major infraction that other teams would be in on in the tech inspection to be penalized by chad little its always we did not see it or its a judgement call
as far as the tv exposure its great for the mods i do agree it is a long haul but in the 80,s the teams ran a much longer schedule and traveled just as far and loged in more miles then they do now the comment on tc in ole blue lets face the last few years ole blue has been just another car its taken tc to make it a front runner and its led more laps these last few races then all of last year no disrespect to matt hirshman the team just did not click

[csammy]

found a box of old speedway scence papers from around 01-03 in the house was thinking of throwing them out any value to them its a hap hazard mix of papers

[BigMac]

That was a good race. The big wreck hurt but damn, the 2 put on a show at the end. Ten more laps and it would have been a great finish. I'm not sure how anyone can say they don't belong there. They should be there twice a year.

[NWMT PR]

When can we realize we're fortunate to have what we have right now? Richmond and Martinsville are not picking up the phone asking for a race. That's not to say we can't go back there in the future, and it would be tremendous if we could, but it's just not in the cards right now.

Conversely, we have a track in Bristol that has been more than happy to have us four years in a row now, and those races get live national TV. Subtract that event and its exposure, with nothing of similar status to take its place, and then tell me how you feel about the schedule.

Is the Wednesday race a challenge for teams? Sure it is, and we realize that, but it is also a challenge for the Truck teams too. They may not have to haul 12 hours, but they're racing on a Saturday in Michigan and then unloading in Bristol on a Tuesday. Thursday-Saturday is simply out of the question, so no need to even bring it up, and to think that we could get a better slot than Trucks or Nationwide is unrealistic. Let's also think about the exclusivity we get on a Wednesday. A large part of the NASCAR community is watching us on Wednesday nights, which is much less likely to happen on a weekend.

[Sicklajoie]

Is the Wednesday race a challenge for teams? Sure it is, and we realize that, but it is also a challenge for the Truck teams too.
That's a poor analogy.
For most crew members in the Truck Series, that's their regular job, working on a Truck Series team.
For mod crews, most of them have regular fulltime jobs besides working on a race car. They have to burn time off from work in order to attend races.

[mod35]

What about Dover i think it would be a good show much better than K&N Its closer to home for most of the teams

[fastbackss]

Agreed that most truck series teams have full time employees that handle it - however the series does need a marquee race. The Tour requires very little vacation time, compared to most professional (even regional) touring series. Save for Bristol, and getting the car into NHIS 2x per year, there is one weekday race (which is near the home base of most teams) I think? The NE dirt modifieds for example would require a whole lot more vacation. I do not disagree it is tough on the teams for a mid-week show...far away...but I think the exposure for the singular race is worth it provided it does not become the rule.

Dover is independently owned. Interestingly the tour(s) race at 3 SMI tracks - Bristol/NHIS/Charlotte, while the aforementioned Richmond/Martinsville are ISC (which in all fairness Daytona is too). I will just leave that as an observation with no further inference...

[mod35]

NHIS was independent before SMI bought them