Life in a Talladega economy
Forty-three finely tuned race cars run in a pack, front bumper to back bumper, side by side, at speeds approaching 200 mph on the steep banked turns at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama. With so much steel at such velocity in a tightly confined space, there’s no room for error.
But error happens. Somebody makes a wrong move, maybe just a slight bobble, and boom! Drivers have no time to respond. The result is so common at Talladega that they have a name for it —- “The Big One” —- a disastrous chain reaction that sends race car piling into race car piling into race car, sometimes wiping out a third of the field.
There is no justice to it, no fairness to it. The Big One shows no mercy —- it takes out the great drivers and the not-so-great, the rookies and veterans. Sometimes the guy who caused the Big One drives off scot free, while those sitting in his wake, their cars reduced to steaming wrecks, are guilty only of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
It’s racin’, Talladega style.
These days, we also have what you might call a Talladega-style economy, with its own Talladega-style Big One under way. As it turned out, there also wasn’t much margin for error in our high-velocity, pedal-to-the-metal, global race to success; certainly much less than the experts predicted.
Some mistakes by top drivers up front touched off a chain reaction, creating an economic crash of mass bankruptcies, foreclosures and layoffs that still continues. In the first quarter alone, the nation’s gross domestic product fell by more than 6 percent.
As a result, millions of Americans —- many of them smart, experienced and highly skilled workers, people who thought they had paid the price for success —- find themselves sidelined, out of the race through no fault of their own.
Unlike NASCAR drivers, they don’t have another race coming up next week. This is their one life, with their career, family and home at stake. Shaking off the unfairness of what has happened is a little difficult; many have lost faith that hard work and sacrifice are truly rewarded.
In Washington and on Wall Street, experts are still trying to figure out how the economic Big One happened and how it might be prevented in the future. They’re trying to install new safeguards and restrictions without changing the basic nature of a highly competitive and highly productive capitalist system. The goal is to keep risks and rewards in place for individuals and companies while minimizing chances of another Big One that wipes out the deserving and the undeserving.
It’s a hard balance to find, and some argue that government shouldn’t even try. While acknowledging the unfairness and destruction of an economic Big One, they argue that more regulation will sap the vitality out of the system and diminish the importance of the individual. It’s a legitimate danger.
As it happens, the folks at NASCAR have been going through that same thought process for years. Modern race cars are so powerful that if left unregulated, they would literally fly off the asphalt and into the crowds at Talladega. So cars running that track are equipped with a plate that restricts the flow of air into the carburetor, which slows them down a bit.
A lot of diehard fans despise restrictor plates, pointing out that in “plate racing” cars run more or less at the same top speed. So a few years ago, NASCAR put driver Rusty Wallace out on Talladega by himself, in a car without restrictor plates, and told him to let it fly, to see what would happen.
After a few laps, Wallace found himself hitting speeds of 228 mph on the straightaway. He had himself a great time. But after bringing his car back to Pit Row, his verdict was telling.
“There’s no way we could be out there racing at those speeds,” he said. “It was neat to be out there running that fast by myself, but it would be insane to think we could have a pack of cars out there doing that.”
With a single car, and a single driver, unrestricted speed is fine. With a lot of drivers on the track, each chasing the same goal, it would be insane.
Restrictor plates aren’t the only safety devices at Talladega. In the race a few weeks ago, Carl Edwards lost control and his 99 car went airborne, heading off the track and toward the crowd. A special safety fence kept his car out of the grandstand, saving scores of lives. Mandatory safety devices inside the car —- some of them resisted in the past by drivers —- saved Edwards’ life as well.
He walked away, escaping the true “Big One” to race again the next week. Competition and safety do not have to conflict.
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114 comments Add your comment
DB, Gwinnettian
May 18th, 2009
7:39 am
Who among us does not enjoy NASCAR?
DB, Gwinnettian
May 18th, 2009
7:40 am
Second?
DB, Gwinnettian
May 18th, 2009
7:46 am
Toid?
DB, Gwinnettian
May 18th, 2009
7:47 am
First to correctly identify the source of the quote @ 7.39 wins absolutely nothing.
N-GA
May 18th, 2009
7:50 am
NASCAR doesn’t have steroids, HGH, or blood doping. What they do have is a bunch of good ole boys who will cheat at every opportunity. They get caught, slapped on the wrist, and than they’re back at it. It wasn’t until recently (in NASCAR terms) that they even got punished a little.
It’s a little like pro basketball. They don’t call fouls on stuff that would’ve been called 30 years ago. Naismith would be spinning in his grave if he saw the game today.
NASCAR should be called pro-bumper cars…or demolition derby.That is what the fans really want. And I don’t enjoy that. Formula 1 is better. Watch what happens when 2 open-wheel race cars bump one another. Nope, that tactic just doesn’t work in auto racing that requires real skill!
Mrs. Godzilla
May 18th, 2009
7:55 am
Life in a talladega economy.
Sure glad I’ve stuck with my sensible, responsible commuter-mobile!
Redneck Convert
May 18th, 2009
8:00 am
Well, Bookman’s finally writing about something worth the while–NASCAR. I don’t keep that big 3 on my Ford F-450 for nothing.
But Bookman don’t seem to be able to stick to the topic.
No, he’s got to get in a dig at the Free Innerprize system and Wall Street. Which is the heart of Free Innerprize. He seems to be saying it’s OK to put some restrictor plates on big banks and the stock people. I hate restrictor plates. And I hate regulations that people want to put on other people making money.
The sooner people like Bookman come to realize it’s a jungle out there and only the strong should make it, the sooner we’ll get back to what makes America great. Fudging as much as you can and knocking the little fellow in the head with a 2 by 4. That’s the Conservative way of looking at things. If people feel like they’ve been cheated out of their life savings they’ll just look for somebody else to invest with next time they build a life savings. Guvmint needs to leave Wall Street and the banks and the auto cos. alone to work things out and stop shoveling money at them and taking them over. Except maybe for Ford, which makes some mighty fine trucks.
But you can’t tell libruls anything. Which is why this country is in such a mess that’s going to get worse. Have a good day everybody.
Joey
May 18th, 2009
8:01 am
Interesting concept that raised many questions. One is:
Are the top 5 or top 10 finishers at Talladega required to deposit 30% to 40% of their winnings into a fund which subsidizes the people who did not finish or finished near the bottom?
@@
May 18th, 2009
8:04 am
What the heck, jay! You’re wearing your “as best us” suit aren’tcha?
Why were we forced to invest in a car that was running on empty?
If General Motors follows Chrysler into bankruptcy court, as many are now expecting, it is likely to be far more painful for both the carmaker and the U.S. economy than its smaller rival’s bankruptcy filing of a few weeks ago.
They could have gone bankrupt without our “help”.
I’m not the kinda person who would willingly invest in a Bernie Madoff scam later claiming myself a victim. If it seems to good to be true…
Obama didn’t even ask, he just did.
N-GA
May 18th, 2009
8:07 am
Well Joey,
It’s kinda like them bible-thumping Christians who tithe because the bible tells them to. Must be tryin’ to buy their way into Paradise! I guess the poor folks will be headin’ to Heaven’s slums!
Mrs. Godzilla
May 18th, 2009
8:10 am
How NASCAR Splits The Money
How come twentieth sometimes earns more than tenth?
here:
http://nascar.about.com/cs/nascar101/a/payouts.htm
georgian by birth floridian because I'm lucky
May 18th, 2009
8:11 am
restrictor plates also cause more wrecks to happen, thus in other words, the restrictor plates cause more of the Big Ones to happen.
Maybe not complete unregulation, however, as Nascar has shown if you make everyone the exact same and put caps on their top performance, then the result has been clear.
There are fewer drivers to win a race each season, thus making them all the same has actually eliminated parody between the drivers.
2nd thing the over restriction and mandation of the cap on cars, has also directly led to there being more wrecks. By making and forcing all of the cars to run at the same pace there is only room for cracshes because they are all held back together by their governing body, but you didn’t mention that jay.
So in essence by the ones in power choosing to restrict racing by using plates, the unitended results have proven true, that if you make them all run the same speed, thennone can completely seperate themselves therfore making an opening for another driver to seperate themselves and so on. The worst thing in my opinion that restrictor plates have done is insure that the ones currently holding the most money will continue to be the best, because of the cap underfunded teams lose because they have no ingenuity to fall back on.
Taxpayer
May 18th, 2009
8:17 am
Unfortunately, the only thing we had between us and an economic disaster was the equivalent of a door lock — it does a good job of protecting us from those that would do us no harm. A few restrictor plates would be a welcome return to reality. People simply cannot be trusted to always make sound decisions on every issue. That is why so many need a Bible,a pastor, a church, for example. Yet, strangely, some of these very people think that they need no rules or regulations imposed on their day to day activities. Strange indeed.
Road Scholar
May 18th, 2009
8:20 am
Are there entry fees, which are mixed with the track and equipment rewards?
BDAtlanta
May 18th, 2009
8:24 am
Excellent op/ed!
If everyone is playing by the same rules, the truly “best” will win the the day whether it’s the best driver, the best mortgage writer, the best insurance salesman, the best investment guru, the best pole dancer.
Some will find ways to get around the “rules” and cheat maybe a little or maybe a lot. Those spouting the endless mantra and crying for “cut my taxes” are a perfect example of people who want to cheat everyone else so they can get an unfair advantage.
Think of a company that manufactures products that uses trailer trucks to get their product to retailers. Their trucks destroy roads that everyone uses but they don’t want to pay taxes which are used to help repair the roads. “Fix those potholes that are damaging my trucks…but don’t tax me.”
AmVet
May 18th, 2009
8:24 am
Jay, I humbly submit that “Some mistakes by top drivers up front touched off a chain reaction…” should be redacted to read, “Countless crimes by many players…”
N-Ga is correct.
In an attempt to win, no matter the cost or not matter the damage to whom, these entertainers cheat at that endeavor, just as the corporate criminals do at theirs…
But one is a “game” and the other is for real. And in the real game, the “referees, umpires and judges” were in on the fix.
And this new president, just like the last one, is apparently not even slightly interested in seeking economic justice on behalf of we the people.
So to give these crooks and swindlers and their co-conspirators in government a free pass and call this “some mistakes” is to me, ludicrous and not telling the true story…
Joey
May 18th, 2009
8:25 am
N-GA:
Not certain I understand your message. I am not a religious person, but I am convinced that tithing is voluntary. That inside the Church, whatever Church, people volunteer to help those that need help.
Mrs. Godzilla:
So you agree with me, NASCAR rewards performance, and there is no requirement to share winnings with the poor-performers and the non-performers.
Wes
May 18th, 2009
8:28 am
Jay,
Your metaphor is great. It illustrates why we need government and how our lives are better for have more rules and order in our lives. There might be one small problem. We don’t understand the economy the way that we understand physics.
I can test almost every attribute that might be found in a race car or even a collision. Newtonian mechanics are fairly reliable, and the equations dictating those relationships have been found true for centuries.
Economics on the other hand has no particularly hard and fast rules. There are no labs where you can test what will happen if you change an aspect of the economy. Many of the worst changes in history have been traced back to well intentioned politicians trying to make a better safer economy.
The most reliable rules we have found were penned Adam Smith a few centuries back. He suggests that for the most part the market tends to self correct.
Andy the NASCAR fan
May 18th, 2009
8:29 am
This fits better over here:
In NASCAR all the cars are outfitted equally to prevent a car from “dominating” thus making it a true test of the drivers not the machines.
But we’re still under a yellow flag and trying to clean up the horrendous chain reaction crash caused by the car of the cocaine cowboy GWB.
There’s still a good bit of confusion as to who was actually driving the car of the cocaine cowboy GWB as there were quite a few people in there when the crash occured. They found Dick Cheney at the wheel and Don “Rummy” Rumsfield riding shotgun with Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson in the back teabagging each other and propping a drunk GWB’s head up to keep the him from vomiting on thier shoes…
ewwwwwww……
BDAtlanta
May 18th, 2009
8:30 am
Georgian by Birth,
The very definition of “stock car” is that everyone is running an almost identical vehicle so the cars are at “parity.” What is supposed to differentiate one car/driver from the next is the driver’s ability, not the car’s ability. The best driver’s should usually end up at the front at the checkerd flag.
I’ll add this to see what it starts:
That is why Kyle Bush is always near the top. He’s the best driver in NASCAR at the moment.
Copyleft
May 18th, 2009
8:31 am
And that millions of lives are destroyed in the process, which could be easily prevented with appropriate government intervention.
Joey
May 18th, 2009
8:31 am
AmVet:
Good points.
Jay has steadfastly refused to write the names of the Democrats who created, or helped create, and maintained, or helped maintain, the environment that allowed this behavior that he so strongly indicts.
BDAtlanta
May 18th, 2009
8:33 am
Off topic:
The most stunning and least reported news about President Barack Obama’s press conference with health industry executives this week wasn’t those executives’ willingness to negotiate with a Democrat.
In saying they can voluntarily slash $200 billion a year off the country’s medical bills over the next decade and still preserve their profits, healthcare companies implicitly acknowledged they were plotting to fleece consumers and have been fleecing them for years. With that acknowledgment came the tacit admission that the industry’s business is based not on respectable returns, but on grotesque profiteering and waste — the kind that can give up $2 trillion and still guarantee huge margins.
http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2009/05/16/sirota/
Taxpayer
May 18th, 2009
8:41 am
In the end, there can be only one. Try applying this mentality to reality (not really though, especially not while we are trying to recover from the last application of this failed philosophy). Suppose that the winner takes all and re-invests nothing into the game. Before you know it, you have no more competition, no more game, no more interest in the game and the game dies. Sure, there will be one winner but if the winner is left standing alone in the infield with no one around to see him accept his trophy, then did he really win.
Mrs. Godzilla
May 18th, 2009
8:46 am
Of course Joey, Nascar does not make winners share with the losers. Of course, Nascar does not have to defend itself from a nuclear attack by the Formula 1 folks. Nor does it have to send it’s drivers over to man the “front lines” in LeMans.
caz1158
May 18th, 2009
8:56 am
Jay-”many have lost faith that hard work and sacrifice are truly rewarded”, boy those words should make even the most moderate of the left tear up with pride. With the lefts’ beliefs that all should share in the hard work & sacrifice (not to mention success) of the few who acually work hard,& sacrifice.
@@
May 18th, 2009
8:57 am
Off topic too, not 2:
The bulk of Obama…
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20090518-705335.html“>While more than two-thirds of young adults in the U.S. view health insurance as a necessity, more than half acknowledged that they lack information to make proper decisions about their medical coverage, according to a UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH) poll.
The study found that 69% of those currently covered by their parents’ plans admitted to being unclear about the details of their coverage and 26% admitted they had no idea when their eligibility would end.
The poll also found that, while many young adults are willing to research their options, many felt they lacked the proper resources. More than half of those polled felt their parents hadn’t shared enough information about choosing a plan, while 87% said educators could do more to communicate the basics of health insurance to students.
supporters just waiting to be !?!educated!?!
Scary!
Mrs. Godzilla
May 18th, 2009
8:58 am
yep those nasty leftist beliefs about sharing…..good thing Jesus kept those loaves and fishes for himself!
TW
May 18th, 2009
8:59 am
And where is ‘w,’? Wasn’t he supposed to be one of ya’ll?
Voting for the wealthy was supposed to make you one of them, right? Right? Because he was one of you – remember the chainsaw?
Where is he now, now that you’ve lost your job, your house, your health insurance?
He’s living like a King, that’s where he is. He’s living like a King and laughing his tail off.
Thanks to you
Paul
May 18th, 2009
9:00 am
Looks like the board’s working again.
Nice analogy, Jay.
BDAtlanta [[Some will find ways to get around the “rules” and cheat maybe a little or maybe a lot.]]
AmVet [[Countless crimes by many players]]
Taxpayer [[People simply cannot be trusted to always make sound decisions on every issue.]]
Unfortunately, many people will do anything that is not prevented by law. That’s our system. So when people speak of cheating, subverting the system, etc. – well, that’s the system we have. It’s the old “does anything say I can’t do that” mentality. As weaknesses are found, we get more laws to correct the abuses. Hopefully this is one area where Congress will finally legislation to match their complaints.
Copyleft [[which could be easily prevented with appropriate government intervention.]]
“Appropriate.” Now there’s the rub, finding an appropriate balance. Or, not just balance, but laws/regulations that address the causative factors, not put in as legislation as a benefit for a special interest group.
Notadittohead
May 18th, 2009
9:01 am
Pres Bush, John McCain, others tried to put restrictor plates on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac a couple years back because they were goin’ way too fast. Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, and Maxine Waters said they weren’t needed….
By the way, did Chris Dodd ever explain his sweetheart deals with Countywide Mortgage?
Ken
May 18th, 2009
9:06 am
Jay, this is one of your best. Lets compare to golf. Our government is doing its best to take away the “Indivdual” whom always wins in golf. Always go to the front. Nobody is in your way.
Copyleft
May 18th, 2009
9:08 am
Paul: “Appropriate. Now there’s the rub, finding an appropriate balance.”
Of course. It’s always been a balancing act, as it is with all mixed economies and all governments. Individual freedom vs. societal benefit. Economic flexibility vs. public accountability.
Only the vapid extremists treat it as a black-or-white choice between “Free markets!” and “Socialism!”
Kamchak
May 18th, 2009
9:08 am
TW
I believe ‘w’ is following the adage “out of sight, out of mind.” The most pragmatic thing he has done in years.
caz1158
May 18th, 2009
9:11 am
Ms Zilla-I’m sure God was’nt to keen on those who sat with thumbs stuck up their A*s while others did God’s work. But then again,who knows for sure. I’m hoping he was’nt. The left has tried to create a society that discourages individuality,and pushes for group hugs.SAD
caz1158
May 18th, 2009
9:16 am
Ken@9:06-Great analogy. In the left’s world each golf tournament would have multiple winners (would’nt want to hurt Timmy’s,Bobby’s,and Johnny’s feelings), and all would share in the winning’s.
Taxpayer
May 18th, 2009
9:16 am
We must assimilate the remaining individuals.
Become.
One.
Righteous.
Group.
Kamchak
May 18th, 2009
9:18 am
Paul
“It’s the old ‘does anything say I can’t do that’ mentality.”
There was a time when people reflected on the consequences of their choices whether those choices were permissible or not. The prevailing sentiment is “it’s better to ask for forgiveness, than to ask for permission.” Unfortunately this is akin to closing the barn door after the horses got out.
Billy Bob
May 18th, 2009
9:19 am
Go a little farther west of Talledega to Leeds, AL and you see Barber Motor Sports Park. A nice little 2.5 mile course that’s perfect for the Rolex Grand Am Sports Car racing series. Both GT and Daytona Prototype cars jostling around at 170 mph and driver skill matters (like F1).
Keep an eye open for the SunTrust #10 car – came in third yesterday at Laguna Seca in Monterrey, CA.
Paul
May 18th, 2009
9:20 am
CopyLeft 9:06
Amen. Sometimes stating that which seems obvious causes people to say ‘wait a minute… have we been acting in a manner that makes that obvious statement appear like a new idea?”
Don’t we see the same thing in other areas? “Single Payer Gov’t Takeover of Healthcare” vs “We’re all responsible for our own” “get out of Iraq NOW” vs “staystaystay”
I liked the ‘free markets/socialism’ example. I’d wager most of those at either end of the spectrum would not want to deal with the idea ours is a blend of both, in principle and in practice.
sd
May 18th, 2009
9:21 am
I dislike car racing so much. What a waste!
Mrs. Godzilla
May 18th, 2009
9:22 am
caz1158
God cares for us all.
Even those self-centered and pompous enough to think their own excrement has no aroma.
The left discourages individuality? Where in heavens name have you been since 1960? That’s about as wrong a statement as I have ever heard! Funny too!
Group hugs…hell yes. HAPPY!
Joey
May 18th, 2009
9:23 am
When NASCAR increases the restrictions so that the cars are limited to a safe 120 mph; when they loan the poor and struggling race teams money to keep them in the race; when the remove the chief mechanic and replace with a horse trainer; and when they determine pole positions based on which team need to be helped:
Will attendance die?
Will NASCAR lose its TV contracts?
Will sponsors move on to greener pastures?
Shawny
May 18th, 2009
9:25 am
Interesting NASCAR analogy. Unfortunately, our economy at its peak didn’t have ‘restrictor plates’ on it. By that, I don’t mean that it wasn’t regulated enough. But there was this push on home ownership and high home values that were unsubstantiated. It was a bubble waiting to burst, and it did.
We can learn from it. We can accept the current level of economic indicators as the norm, OR we can do something really stupid and try to get it back to where it was before the crash. Houses shouldn’t have been as expensive as they were. The DOW was overinlated. Why do we think that GDP has to always increase at the same rate? We have to be careful in this push to return things to the level as before. It was artificial. Spending at the current administration’s rate is going to come back and bite us big time. It can’t be justified.
On another note, here is a great article about taxing the rich and the pitfalls of doing so: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124260067214828295.html
Nice piece. Note the states that used to be prosperous and are now suffering budget shortages.
Bosch
May 18th, 2009
9:26 am
Nice analogy Jay,
I hate NASCAR.
“Competition and safety do not have to conflict” nor does capitalism and regulation.
caz1158@ 9:16,
No, that’s in your dillusional imagination. Stereotyping people is weak and in most cases, those who utilize such tactics are shown to not be able to hold an abstract thought in their head and rely on sophomoric tactics such as this.
DB, Gwinnettian
May 18th, 2009
9:26 am
remove the chief mechanic and replace with a horse trainer
Brownie, you’re doing a heckuva job!
Bosch
May 18th, 2009
9:28 am
Paul,
The other day I threw out a funny for Mrs. G – but I don’t think she saw it – it went along with some of her other zingers:
Free Marketers – Teeheehee.
Bosch
May 18th, 2009
9:30 am
Ooops!
Hit the button too soon –
Not to say we don’t want a free market – but those who insist that the pure free market is the only way – (to be honest, I’ve never seen anyone on the blog advocate for pure socialism) – well three words:
“Are you crazy?”
HeeHee(formerly HaHa)
May 18th, 2009
9:30 am
Me thinks Jay is just laying out the groundwork for government bailout of the AJC so his arse could be saved and his salary paid by the taxpayers. God knows it’s not “FAIR” for the internet to supercede the print paper and there be no safeguards for the “people who thought they had paid the price for success” (aka people too comfortable in their work and not willing to adapt to a changing environment).
I perused thru the print AJC at the store the other day, I was amazed that this tired old rag was now about as thin as “Creative Loafing” and even less interesting. It’s not even fit enough for me to wipe myself with. And there’s talk about newspapers CHARGING for this nonsense….thanks, but I’d rather give money to the panhandlers downtown.
So Jay, you gonna censor me on this post too? “Cause I sure couldn’t find a legit reason you censored me last night. It might be your last little power trip before the pink slip you get. Enjoy it while you can….
Paul
May 18th, 2009
9:31 am
Kamchak 9:18
True, too. But it’s why we have a number of financial advisors, lawyers, consultants and lobbyists making very good livings exploring practices that aren’t specifically prohibited.