This is the Statt Mann Baby!! Time to Scatt a little bit.

The Mauricia Grant and Boston Ventures/Petty Enterprises headlines from NASCAR this week are serious as gas prices.

First, I don’t doubt Grant’s allegations in the least. When I met her she was an intelligent college graduate who had a dream and pursued it. Sadly it was based in the new south that, in my opinion, isn’t new at all.

Read her allegations. They aren’t all fiction. No one would believe the story.

It’s arrogance of the first order that NASCAR let this get to paper. After Texas and Kentucky you’d think NASCAR would try to avoid court cases and costs especially those with even a hint of truth.

And, second, we should be real careful how we look at the Petty/Boston Ventures deal. Having the sport’s iconic team in the hands of Wall Street investors may not be a good thing.

Remember, we thought the Nextel partnership would be long lasting and how’d that work out?

This is a different corporate deal than, say, the George Gillett partnership with Ray Evernham. George Gillett owns things. Boston Ventures invests in things. There’s a difference. Not all money’s good money.

I truly hope I’m wrong in this. Because if you love what Wall Street is doing to your gas pump, you’ll love what it could do to your racing.

Peace.