The shit has officially hit the fan in terms of how NASCAR takes on the lingering racists in its ranks. Pardon my French, but it’s no time to be polite: This is serious business.

In case you weren’t awake when the story broke late Sunday, the horrific news is that a noose was found in the garage stall of the 43 team at Talladega. The 43 car is driven by Bubba Wallace, the lone black driver in the Cup series. This is, of course, right on the heels of NASCAR banning the Confederate flag after Wallace pushed for a ban. 

It’s a clear case of racist retaliation from an evil remnant of the past squealing their last breath before they are excised from the sport. It also comes on the same day racists flew a Confederate flag over the speedway, with a sign reading “Defund NASCAR”

Let’s have a little history lesson, folks.

The year is 2003. Matt Kenseth wins the Winston Cup championship, with a grand total of 1 win. 2nd place points finisher Jimmie Johnson had 3 wins and ended up 90 points behind Kenseth in the standings. Meanwhile, Ryan Newman won a stunning 8 races that year (by far the most wins in his career in one season), but finished just 6th in points. Kurt Busch had 4 wins, and he came in 11th in points.

Matt Kenseth showed us in 2003 that consistency will win you a title, even moreso than wins. In addition to his 1 win, he had 11 top 5 finishes, and 25 top 10 finishes in 36 races. His average finish was 10.2, with only 2 DNFs. Newman, meanwhile, had an average finish of 13.9, and 7 DNFs. Stay out of the wall and finish well every week, and you’ll be champ without a showroom full of trophies.

The outcry was, of course, plentiful (yes, even before social media, people complained about everything in NASCAR). “How can you have a champion with only one win?” was the refrain often heard. 

And so we got (drumroll, please): The Chase. Yes, starting in 2004, NASCAR launched its own version of the playoffs, in large part a reaction to how Kenseth won in 2003. Winning through consistency was boring, and they wanted drama. And drama they got that first year.

I’ve never liked the ‘what about?’ crowd.

You know the type. Any time somebody says or does something so wrong that everybody knows they shouldn't do it, this group is quick to jump online and defend, saying, “What about _______ ?” (fill in the blank for a completely unrelated matter that in no way excuses what was said or done).

If a politician says or does something inexcusable, the retort from this crowd is, “What about that unrelated thing their opponent did 10 years ago?”

If a person says something clearly offensive, they say, “What about if so-and-so said that? Would it still be offensive?”

This stupidity literally never ends. It’s one of the worst parts of being on the Internet. Everybody thinks they are correct, and there are always ‘two sides to every issue’.

The reality is, of course, that on many issues, there is only one side.