The race season is nearly over, money is running out, rain keeps falling, the battle for points is tight and simmering tempers finally are boiling over. This is the scenario as every season winds down.

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Wheel-to-wheel racing over the course of a year is bound to stir emotions. When drivers climb out of their cars, confrontations often occur. The hostility usually results in nothing more than an abuse of the English language before cooler heads prevail and drivers retreat.

But incidents this season seem to be worsening. No longer do conflicts involve only the drivers. Fathers and mothers, wives and crew members are getting in on the action at an unacceptable rate. Two weekends ago, a crew chief in a fight at Jennerstown Speedway was injured so severely he required surgery for broken bones in his face, and Friday at Lernerville Speedway, the parents of one driver attacked a track official.

It is important to note that these occurrences are not confined to one facility or one region, and they certainly are not a new phenomenon in racing. That is why each speedway has rules to which everybody must adhere. Lernerville's rulebook states that a driver or owner is responsible "for all actions of all members" of his team. In addition, "No participant shall subject any track official to verbal and/or physical abuse ... Anyone taking part ... may be disqualified and/or suspended."

While penalties usually are not publicized, tracks do take swift action. After the Jennerstown fight, owner Dave Wheeler placed everybody involved on probation with a $500 fine looming should it be violated. Lernerville also acted quickly, suspending the driver for the next race and barring the parents forever. It was the fourth driver to be suspended this year at Lernerville, with the others for fighting in the pits and rough driving.

Two other tracks in the region, Motordrome Speedway and Pittsburgh's Pennsylvania Motor Speedway, operate with a zero tolerance policy toward fighting. Red Miley, who owns Motordrome and operates PPMS, doesn't believe there has been any increase in violence, but estimates he still takes action six to 10 times a year in an attempt to curb it. A team's first infraction most likely will result in a fine, followed by a fine and suspension for future occurrences. Two years ago, Miley issued a permanent ban to one driver after continued on- and off-track incidents.

"I just feel that in any competitive sport, [fighting] is part of it," Miley said. "I do clearly think it's our job to set the rules to have a punishment for it. You need to have it be expected by the racers that if you fight physically in the pits or use your car as retaliation on the racetrack, there will be a penalty for that. It's going to be money or time off, or a combination of both.

"We've been very consistent with it. I have a file already prepared [on my computer] for Monday mornings. I just change the names and the dates."

Wheeler, a former racer, also understands that tempers run hot at this point in the season. He said Jennerstown reviews any situation on a case-by-case basis, unless a track official is involved.

"If they touch an official, they're getting fined immediately," said Wheeler, who recalls only two incidents at Jennerstown in the two years he has owned the facility. "Among two drivers, we try to look at the circumstances, what made it happen and so forth."

Whatever makes it happen, whether it be a disagreement over the speedway's rules or bumping and banging during a race, it certainly is disappointing to witness.