Danny Dietrich

Sprint Car driver Danny Dietrich has been vocal on Twitter over the last week concerning tracks and other competitors. (Jeremy Elliott | jelliott@pennlive.com)

Stand at the front gate or walk through the pit area after a Sprint Car race this weekend anywhere in the country, and watch the cell phones fire up.

Fans, drivers, crew members and even some media types will have busy fingers. Because when action on the track finishes up, Twitter, Facebook and message boards take over.

Most of the comments will be harmless and center around results...who won and finished where. Drivers and crew members will keep their dedicated followers informed by summarizing the night.

Last Saturday night, however, it took a different turn. Twitter blew up with drivers and some fans taking tracks, events and other competitors to task.

Danny Dietrich, one of the standout Sprint Car drivers in central Pennsylvania, was at the center of the fodder, but he wasn't the only one. It extended from the Port Royal Speedway USAC show all the way to Iowa's Knoxville Raceway, where the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series was taking place.

Going through all of the rhetoric would take too long. And there is no reason to lecture about social media being for the sport.

I have no problem with what is said on Twitter, Facebook or message boards. It's your prerogative. However, when you hit "send" or "post" and make something public, you are responsible for the fallout.

It's not like the old days. Drivers got mad at each other, a couple of shoves ensued, maybe a scuffle and, in most cases, it was over. Someone got mad at a speedway, they went to the tower and talked to the powers that be.

Now, the damage occurs with one click of the button. Once something goes viral, tempers flare and a pack mentality can develop that leaks over for weeks to come.

Promoters, especially, are starting to take notice. Drivers have received a few tongue lashings over the last couple years and one track, Susquehanna Speedway, has started suspending crew members and, recently, a team because of a social media rant.

"I look at it as a business," Susquehanna Speedway general manager Kolten Gouse said. "If I own a business and have an employee working for me who is running his mouth about terrible pay or whatever on the internet and doesn't tell me, I'm probably going to eventually fire them.

"A racetrack is no different. Race teams are like contractors. If they are coming here to race, we have to give them a good facility, but they have to be able to represent the speedway like they represent their race team.

"If someone spins out on the speedway and makes the show late, we don't go on the internet and say they caused two red flags. The race teams have to be the same way."

Again, I have no issue with what people say on social media. You could say you get used to it in this business. Besides, it's interesting.

But people who think harsh words and pounding endlessly on a topic doesn't have an effect on what happens in the sport are sadly mistaken.

According to a source, sponsors have walked away from forking over money to put their name on a division at a local speedway because of what drivers in that particular division said on Facebook.

There are other instances of social media outbursts stunting the growth of events in both purse and prestige. It has also cost some drivers rides.

Social media isn't going anywhere. If anything, it will get even bigger. There is no doubt something new and instantaneous is around the corner.

The old guard will blame Twitter, Facebook and other outlets, but it's not social media's fault. It's the people who use it.

There is nothing wrong with expressing an opinion. Say what you want. But know that there are consequences for not taking a few minutes to think about what you are saying and why you are hitting that button.