NASCAR to drivers: quit your damn whining

Today at the Michigan International Speedway, NASCAR held at meeting in which boss man Mike Helton told the drivers that crap given about the Car of Tommrow needs to stop.

"He (Mike Helton) wanted to remind our drivers about their responsibility to the fans," said NASCAR spokesman Jim Hunter. "He felt it has become a negative environment and reminded them to think about the fans, what they are facing, the rising cost of gas and the hardships, particularly in an area like this that has been hit so hard by the economy." Yeah, okay Jim.

The drivers response to the message was rather positive.

"I think it just got a little out of hand this week, everybody complaining so much about everything," said Carl Edwards. "It's almost a little bit silly."

"He (David Pearson) told me (that) when all those people started putting power steering in their cars, (he) wouldn't do it because it was worth three horsepower," Edwards said. "So he never used power steering. He had some other choice words that were pretty funny."

"It just seems like every week (people) would get out of the car and there (are) more complaints, and I think that's what Mr. Helton was addressing there."

Dale Earnhardt Jr. had his own thoughts about the meeting: "My interpretation was the drivers should be thankful for the position they're in and should be more positive about where this car is going to be in a year or two," he said.

Earnhardt admitted to being very critical when it came to the CoT.

"I was pretty critical," he said. "Overly critical at times. The only reason drivers are like that is we feel like our best avenue is through the media because it's very effective. I try to talk to Mr. Helton once a month on the telephone if I have any comments or input to give to him. I've always had an open door. He's always been great to me."

Earnhardt said the public is very interested in when the new car is going to be fixed and how NASCAR is going to get it done. But he noted it isn't always possible for them to get that information.

"A lot of companies are not eager to give that information out until it's done and finished," Earnhardt said. "I see NASCAR with the same attitude. I think they do a lot of work behind the scenes and they probably agree with us more than we tend to believe.

"They understand that the car is new and it's going to evolve and maybe three years from now we'll look back at today: 'Man, can you believe that is the way we did it?' They're doing more than we give them credit for and us drivers should do less complaining."

Greg Biffle then added his two cents: "I think it was (NASCAR) saying, 'Hey, we haven't raced this car at all the tracks yet' was the message," Biffle said. "We haven't been to Michigan with it, we haven't been to Chicago and all these other places with the car yet. So don't jump to conclusions prior to actually seeing what it's going to be like.

"So, I think it was more like, 'Hey, let's wait and see.' This is our first year with this car. Like they said, they're making a commitment to keep working on the car or working with the teams to make the racing better. If we need to make an adjustment, I don't think they're against making adjustments as we go with this car."

"I took that they are just frustrated that they're not getting a fair shake from us drivers," Denny Hamlin added. "We're jumping to conclusions a little too soon and not giving this car enough time to develop."

Lets just hope that some people out there will realize this too.

NASCAR tells drivers to shut up and drive (FOXSports.com)