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The great Pat O'Connor was passing Eddie Sachs at Winchester and made contact as he did - he slowed and motioned Eddie to go around him - which he did and Sachs won the race. In victory lane Eddie said "I hope you all saw what Pat did". Which is why Pat was as revered as he was by fans and peers alike, and why HARF's Pat O'Connor award is in so many ways the most important award bestowed on a driver. Looks what happens in NASCAR now days - there has been a dramatic drop in this level of civility and responsibility. in it is often excused as the "move he had to make" Had to? Really.
The ends justifies the means mentality (which has manifested itself at nearly every phase of the sport) is simply wrong, and when officials look the other way they aid and abet this culture. How it gets handled can take many forms - but it needs to be handled in some way.
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