The CARS Tour decision on Tuesday night to suspend Brandon and Dennis Setzer for the remainder of the season due to their involvement in the post-race fight on Saturday night at Hickory Motor Speedway was not taken positively from within the short track industry.
While a degree of fan vitriol was to be expected any time a driver is involved in a post-race fracas, it was surprising to see the amount of support the Setzers received from inside the short track industry. Several notable current and former drivers chimed in on Twitter to support the Super Late Model winner and his NASCAR legend father.
A sampling of the feedback can be found below:
I don’t agree with the @CARSTour full-season suspension for @BSetzerRacing6 – he and his dad are good people. They have passion and it showed this weekend. As a promoter the whole ordeal brought a lot of exposure for the series too. #FreeBrandon #TooHarsh
— Bob Dillner (@bobdillner) May 9, 2018
Worst move ever. Setzer’s are the best. Maybe find out what got them that mad and fix that instead
— Brian Keselowski (@KeselowskiBrian) May 9, 2018
— Trevor Rizzo (@_TrevorRizzo) May 9, 2018
Bad idea. Dumb
— Bubba Pollard (@bubbapollard26) May 9, 2018
Back when I was a little kid our short tracks would promote rivalries, remember seeing Lanier and Gresham have “boxing” style posters highlighting rivalries and competition. Racing needs that and people like you and your dad buddy! Hardcore racers who eat,live, sleep, breath it
— Spencer Davis (@SpencerDavis_29) May 9, 2018
#FreeBrandon @CARSTour @BSetzerRacing6
— Deac McCaskill (@Deac08) May 9, 2018
#FreeBrandon pic.twitter.com/OovtyCe18B
— Josh Berry (@joshberry) May 9, 2018
Wrong driver getting fined in @CARSTour #FreeSetzer
— Ricky Turner (@RickyTurner28) May 9, 2018
I can’t believe they would suspend him all year when he races clean and with respect because he actually has to work on his own stuff and he gets flat run over and got mad. I would have been every bit as angry as him https://t.co/E9cd35lbqm
— Matt DiBenedetto (@mattdracing) May 9, 2018
Big shoutout to @CARSTour for the suspension on @BSetzerRacing6 and promoting the video of what all went down. If you’re going to suspend someone who supports your series and has been loyal to it since day 1, don’t use the footage as a ploy to sell tickets. Just my two cents.
— Payne Train. (@nickpain) May 9, 2018
Hours later on top of it. Bad look for the tour. The longer they wait the worse it looks for them IMO. You can’t use something to promote racing and then announce the driver is suspended shortly after. Pick one
— Kyle Souza (@ksouza261) May 9, 2018
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Matt Weaver is the owner and founder of Short Track Scene. Weaver grew up in the sport, having raced himself before becoming a reporter in college at the University of South Alabama. He also has extensive experience covering NASCAR, IndyCar and Dirt Sprint Cars.
Germain gosselin
May 9, 2018 at 12:29 pm
I don’t think the penalty fit the crime just racing incident and some pationate racers!
Kenneth Maurice
May 9, 2018 at 2:52 pm
Bad decision. Brandon Setzer races hard but he races clean. In a series that could use more drivers capable of winning races you choose to suspend a driver who always competes for the win. A season long probation would have been a sufficient and more realistic penalty. As a fan who sits in the stands I can guarantee you that a CARS tour race without Brandon Setzer will cost you many fans, he is a fan favorite and with good reason. CARS tried to send a message but the message they sent was to shoot themselves in the foot. Change this suspension to probation, it will still send the same message to other drivers. You are wrong on the suspension decision!