NASCAR needs to suspend Matt Kenseth for Martinsville shenanigans – Orlando Sentinel

Breaking news: Vince McMahon announces headline heavyweight championship match — Matt Kenseth vs. Jake “The Snake” Roberts — in next Wrestlemania.

Everybody has jokes about NASCAR these days, and understandably so, since the sport has gone all-in on the “Boys Have It” brand of racing, which means hidden foreign objects, the occasional pull of the firesuit, and smashing into other cars. It’s all perfectly legal as long as the ref doesn’t see it.

Please stop the madness.

While it may be a good thing for interest and ratings, it also puts the sport’s credibility into a nose-dive. The sport is not embracing its traditional roots by ignoring the mayhem. It’s adopting a new business model where championship hopes are manipulated right before our eyes, and no one is doing a damn thing about it.

Time for NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France to show leadership instead of passive resistance.

Park Matt Kenseth for a race or two, maybe the rest of the reason. Kenseth may have felt that Joey Logano had it coming in Martinsville after stuff that happened a few weeks ago. But what happened in Kansas was a racing deal. Logano and Kenseth were going for the win.

What happened in Martinsville was petty payback.

“I wouldn’t be surprised to see NASCAR suspend Matt Kenseth, and if they do, it wouldn’t shock me if they suspended him for as much as the remainder of the season,” said FOX NASCAR analyst Darrell Waltrip. “When you’re a champion responsible for taking the sport into consideration when you act, there’s no way I can excuse doing what Kenseth did.”

So what’s it gonna be, Mr. France? The WWE Show or a sport that demands integrity from all competitors?

Keep it real, as they say.

 George Diaz can be reached at gdiaz@orlandosentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter @georgediaz