There was an email sent this week to us members of the National Motorsports Press Association. Those among the fraternity covering the NASCAR Cup Series race Sunday at Auto Club Speedway in Fontina, Calif., may show their NMPA membership cards and not be charged for meals in the media center. Otherwise, there is a $25 charge to dine over the course of the weekend.
Egads and gadzooks. We are a profession accustomed to our free buffets. Or, as a veteran scribe once noted, our two favorite kinds of beer: free and free lite.
Actually, charging media for meals is nothing new. Major League Baseball has been doing that for years. But for those of us who plan our Talladega week menu around the ritual servings - softball-sized pork chops on Fridays, fried catfish on Saturday, barbecue on Sunday, all of it free - the California concept is just another one of those West Coast trends we'd be perfectly happy to see remain out there.
Anyway, a few tidbits to serve you today:
- Fighting, and what to do about it, remains a topic. Austin Dillon intentionally wrecked Cole Custer in the Xfinity Series race this past Saturday at Phoenix International Raceway rather than simply wait to punch him out. This cane a week after Kyle Busch punched Joey Logano after the Cup Series race in Las Vegas and NASCAR pretty much invoked the self-policing philosophy.
"What I worry about is, what do you want to happen in the future?" Dale Earnhardt Jr. asked in his weekly podcast. "Like next week, six months from now, a year from now. How do you want the next guy, the next driver that is in this situation, that is in Austin's position, how do you want that driver to react? Do you want him to think that it's OK to smash into this car?''
- The best response to my request for reader reaction to the fighting: "LOVE IT !!!!! Has to be careful as you said to not spill over onto the track, but I wish there were more fighting/showing of emotions. Too much goody & corporate two shoes as NASCAR becoming stale & predictable Need more of Cale Yarborough & Donnie/Bobby Allison."
- Carl Edwards continues to deny he'll come out of retirement, most recently in a text to Tom Jensen of FoxSports: "Like I said at the press conference, I had no racing plans then and do not now. There is no hidden agenda."
- Restrictor plates for the Cup Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway? That's the buzz. Instead of plates to help what's become the worst race of the season, make the Brickyard 400 a road course. It would require some layout changes, but it would be worth it.
- Busch smugly repeated "Everything's great" when he met with media at Phoenix in the aftermath of his dustup with Logano. He's now selling T-shirts with those words. The cost: $22. That's Logano's car number.
- Last race: Ryan Newman broke a couple of long dry spells by winning the Camping World 500 at Phoenix. It was his first win since Aug. 28, 2013, and the first for Richard Childress Racing since Nov. 10, 2013, when Kevin Harvick won at Phoenix.
- Next race: Auto Club 400, at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., Sunday, 3:30 p.m. EDT/2:30 p.m. CDT, Fox TV.
- Pick to win: Chase Elliott.
- Pit notes: Brad Keselowski's car failed to pass postrace inspection at Phoenix, the second time in fewer than 20 races. He and team owner Roger Penske were docked 35 points, and crew chief Paul Wolfe has been suspended for three races and fined $65,000. Two-time Talladega winner Pete Hamilton died Wednesday at age 74. I keep missing on picking race winners, but last week's suggestion to keep an eye on rookies Erik Jones and Daniel Suarez was prescient. Suarez finished seventh, Jones eighth.
- Fast Five: 1. Keselowski. 2. Kyle Larson. 3. Martin Truex Jr. 4. Logano. 5. Chase Elliott.
- What they're saying: "If punching is OK, obviously going and punching or karate chopping or karate kicking or roundhouse kicking somebody on pit road is fair game, but smashing into their car on the race track in between the flags has never been good.'' - Earnhardt on his podcast
Contact Mark McCarter at markfmccarter@gmail.com.