In hockey, the most exciting, memorable games usually happen when officials let the players decide the outcome. Referees let things go, but fans can rest assured that anyone doing anything truly dangerous will sit in the box for at least two minutes.
It's a fine balance and one that's not easy to maintain, but when it's done right, the game blossoms.
This was likely NASCAR's intention when it announced at the beginning of the 2010 that it would let drivers police themselves and mete out justice on track as they saw fit. But as in hockey, the sport must step in quickly when there's a need to stop dangerous behaviour.
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That should have happened after an incident in the Sprint Cup's early March Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta when Carl Edwards deliberately wrecked Brad Keselowski, sending him flipping into the catch fence. Luckily, Keselowski walked away and none of the fans in the front row seats was hurt.
Television replays showed Edwards pull up to the rear quarter panel of Keselowski's car and then turn hard into the Penske Dodge. NASCAR's reaction to this potentially deadly episode was to put Edwards on probation for three races. Simply put, it was an outrageous decision which sent a clear message that there would be no real punishment for dangerous incidents.
The pair was at it again in NASCAR's second tier Nationwide Series race at Missouri's Gateway International Raceway two weeks ago with Keselowski again getting the short shrift. And while Keselowski got a rough ride, which included being broadsided by two cars after being spun into the wall by Edwards, the spectacular wreck shouldn't overshadow the simple reality that it was the result of hard racing.
In fact, Keselowski used the same move on Edwards earlier in the final lap to get past and take the lead. His big mistake was tapping Edwards too early, leaving the veteran to return the favour in the final corner and send his rival nose first into the wall.
"I think if he wouldn't have hit me, he still would have been able to beat me. He had a stronger car. I would rather that than the way the race went," Edwards said prior to the Brickyard 400 in Indianapolis last weekend.
"I mean, we had an unbelievable race 30 laps previous to that. We raced side-by-side. It's just a little bit coincidental that at the last lap he, oops, he accidentally messed and got the winning advantage."
Like it or not, the Gateway battle and the crumpled cars it created was exactly what NASCAR wanted to see when it instructed the boys to "have at it." Instead, the series seemed compelled to punish both drivers because of their history.
What makes even less sense here is that Edwards' probation to the end of the year also applies to the Sprint Cup and the same goes for Keselowski. Many thought the penalties were retroactive punishment to make up for NASCAR's failure to act more decisively in the Atlanta incident. Others disagreed.
"I thought the penalty was less than it could have been, so that tells me they're sticking to that boys have at it," said Cup driver Jeff Burton.
"I thought, honestly, Saturday night I watched the race, I thought on Tuesday I would read a much, much bigger penalty than it was."
If NASCAR let things go too far, the IndyCar Series heads in the opposite direction as evidenced by the Honda Indy Edmonton race last weekend when it slapped Helio Castroneves with a time penalty for blocking on a late restart and stripped the win from the Penske driver.
Now, no one wants to see a driver make his car so wide that it is impossible to pass, but letting the scales tip completely on the opposite side is not the solution. Essentially, IndyCar does not allow drivers at the front to "have at it" at all as it destroys any semblance of racing.
This rule apparently does not apply to drivers about to be lapped who block the leaders with no threat of punishment. Anyone who doubts that fact needs to watch tape of Marco Andretti almost crashing leader Will Power several times in last year's Edmonton IndyCar race as the Penske driver tried to put him a lap down.
When it comes to the front-runners, stewards essentially forbid drivers from taking a defensive line when being chased and force them to play sitting duck to all challengers.
Perhaps it is a crazy notion, but it is difficult to believe that leaving the door completely open for rivals without allowing any chance of defending is what fans or racers want.
IndyCar needs to follow the Formula One model where drivers are allowed one move to defend a position, but must not change their line a second time to keep a pursuer behind. That rule allows drivers to make it more difficult to be passed while, at the same time, giving the pursuer a fighting chance to get by.
Jeff Pappone