NASCAR drivers are getting too much help from technology. Ty Gibbs just said the digital mirrors in the car are like an iPad. He believes this tech keeps bad drivers in the Cup Series. According to Motorsport.com, Gibbs wants to go back to the old mirrors. The system is too good and it hurts the racing.
Gibbs was talking with Dale Earnhardt Jr. about the rules. He joked that if you took the camera out, many drivers would not be in the series anymore. “Honestly I think if you took the digital camera out of the car, it would be a mix of drivers that probably wouldn’t even be in the Cup Series anymore,” Gibbs stated. This is a huge admission from a young star. It means the field is padded with talent that cannot survive without a screen.
The iPad Problem On Track
The digital mirrors let drivers look at a screen instead of checking their blind spots. Gibbs says you can just sit there and look at your iPad. He argues this allows drivers to mess with others on their line. “I think it would — obviously we’d want to have a car that races a little better in dirty air, but for the time being, I think if you took those out, I think it would make the racing a little better because you couldn’t just sit there and look at your iPad and go up and screw somebody on their line,” he explained. This is not about safety. It is about cheating the competition.
He compared the tech to something you see on a bus. “We have the same mirror as like, a bus, like a transit bus,” Gibbs stated. He even rode a transit bus in L.A. and realized the mirror was the same. If the best drivers are using bus tech, the sport has lost its edge. Real racing requires skill, not a high-def display.
Why The Old Way Was Better
When Dale pitched returning to the mirrors used in his days driving, Gibbs agreed. He did not hesitate to say he would support the change. “I would 100% be for that,” Gibbs stated. The old mirrors forced drivers to turn their heads and look. That is how you learn to race. You feel the car and you see the track. Now they just stare at a glowing screen. It is like playing a video game instead of driving a race car.
Gibbs also noted that the system might be a bit too good. He realized this even when he benefited from the use of his digital mirror. “I swear sometimes, if there was no digital cameras in here, some of these guys definitely would not be in Cup,” he said. The truth is finally out. The tech is protecting drivers who do not belong. It is time to tear the screen out and let the real racers compete.