'That's racing' should return to sport's vocabulary

Whatever happened to the phrase, "that's racing"?

I know you're not supposed to start stories with a question, but I couldn't help it. I'm asking this question more and more on a rhetorical level when it comes to IndyCar racing lately. Any time there's a questionable pass during a race, or two cars collide and hit the wall, right away the focus on the television broadcast and social media turns to possible penalties. Will race control send him in for a drive-through penalty in the pits? Or just let it go?

It seems to be more frequent than it was in the past, like in the good old days 20 years ago. What about the finish to the 1989 Indianapolis 500? When Emerson Fittipaldi and Al Unser Jr. were racing so close fighting for the lead that they touched wheels, sending Lil Al into the wall and Emmo into victory lane. That was racing.

Taking chances is the name of the game
Race drivers are out on the track fighting for positions, for championship points, for the win. In order to get a step ahead, they often have to take chances or risks to put themselves in a better position. Sometimes, those chances don't work out so well and they find themselves with a busted-up car that's tangled with another.

But that was racing. It was that way on the track, with no penalties to speak of, and you could tell that was the attitude of drivers, too. Media interviews with drivers after they crashed out of a race could be filled with emotion, sure; drivers don't like to watch the rest of the race from the paddock. However, they understood that was an unfortunate consequence sometimes. It's racing.

Not my fault. Give him a penalty for it.
Today, it doesn't seem like you can go one race without a driver or team owner giving a heated interview where they place blame on another driver for his or her alleged stupid move on the track, or getting upset with race control for not doing anything about it. Finger pointing has taken the place or saying "that's racing" or taking responsibility for your own actions.

Not every case is like this, of course, but it is a lot more common than it used to be. Part of it lies in the rules. As sports evolve, there's always more improvement and learning taking place. It's a good thing, because you wouldn't want it to stay exactly the same. Just look at how much faster the cars go these days compared to even a few decades ago. Then there's the constant safety improvements as well.

Everything in moderation
With all of this, more rules have come into play and as a result, so have more penalties. I'm not saying this should be done away with. Not at all. But I think there might be too much emphasis on these aspects of the sport. Sometimes, it really is just racing.

Instead, we have drivers getting drive-through penalties, (when I would actually like to see those be stop-and-hold penalties in the pits), fines being assessed and probation terms given out. Rules are fine, but we shouldn't get too caught up in them either. One other thing: Consistency. No matter what rules or penalties are out there, make sure there's as much consistency as possible to be fair to everyone.

Just don't forget the heart of the sport. That's racing.