Let’s hear it, albeit temperately, for NASCAR. It made good on a warning to its drivers that swearing in broadcast interviews wouldn’t be tolerated. So it fined Dale Earnhardt and assessed him a stiff 25-point penalty. He had blurted out on air — in Victory Lane — that his win at the EA Sports 500 at Talladega “don’t mean shit, (oops, earthy expletive).”
Of course NASCAR had been motivated by the Federal Communications Commission’s crackdown on foul language over the airways. But it’s more than that.NASCAR is alone among the major sorts in this country in ensuring that its well-cultivated fan base — including a number of families — always comes first. This is a function of that. A refreshing one.