October 11, 2008
By Brenda Benedict
The ending of last Sunday’s race at Talladega Superspeedway sent me scrambling for my NASCAR Rules Book. I wanted to see for myself what the rule book said about crossing the yellow line in the last lap. However, I was not successful.
The finish to Sunday’s race at Talladega will not soon be forgotten. Regan Smith’s final lap pass of Tony Stewart that allowed him to cross the finish line first was truly exciting racing. However, the move was disallowed by NASCAR because Smith crossed the yellow line to make the pass. In addition, Smith was penalized and given an 18th place finish.
I was not the only one who was confused about the rule. Dale Jarrett, ESPN NASCAR analyst, was unsure what the call should be. He seemed to believe that there might be circumstances where that pass would be legal.
Jimmie Johnson also seemed confused about the exact rule. He stated, “I didn’t know or think you could go below the yellow line at any point in time. The rumor was circulating you can before the start-finish line if you can see the (checkered) flag. I didn’t know what to really think about it or understood it or had seen it.”
Not improving your track position was another factor mentioned by several people. As long as your time below the yellow line didn’t improve your race position, some thought it was legal.
It was Monday before we had the definitive word from NASCAR. Mike Helton, NASCAR president, said, "Since the end of the race there has been some confusion as to what is allowable during the last lap at Daytona and Talladega. To be clear, as we go forward, there will be no passing under the yellow line at any time during NASCAR races at Daytona or Talladega, period. This includes any passing below the yellow line near the start/finish line on the final lap,"
That clears it up for me but I would still like to have been able to see the rule for myself. So I ‘googled’ “NASCAR Rule Book” and this is what I learned.
NASCAR issues an annual rule book for each of its series, Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Craftsman Truck. These rule books are given to the teams and officials but are not available for fans. Jayski.com answers the question in its FAQ section.
“How can someone get a NASCAR Sprint Cup Rules Book?”
“Only teams, drivers, NASCAR Officials can get a Sprint Cup rules book. NASCAR does not sell them and I can't get them for anyone. You can join NASCAR; last I heard it was $400.”
So I won’t be getting a rule book and I will have to rely on what NASCAR wants me to know.
But as long as I’m on the subject of NASCAR rules, there is another rule that I think they may want to consider changing. It is an improvement to the Lucky Dog rule.
The Lucky Dog is the name given for NASCAR’s rule that allows the first driver who is one lap down to return to the lead lap when there is a caution. The rule was instituted in 2003 to stop the practice of racing back to the yellow flag. The intent was to increase safety on the track when racing under a caution. As with all NASCAR changes, the Lucky Dog rule has been the subject of much controversy. But the rule has been successful in stopping the racing to the yellow flag and I think it should be expanded.
NASCAR should further the use of the Lucky Dog to include racers who are more than one lap down. This would allow the lead driver on any number of laps down to move up to the next lap. For example, if there were two drivers who were three laps down, the lead driver of that group would use the Lucky Dog to move to just two laps down. My intention with this rule change would be to make racing more interesting.
As long as I’m on the subject of changes, let’s discuss the restrictor plate racing at Talladega and Daytona. NASCAR mandated restrictor plates, which are aluminum plates that fit between the carburetor and intake manifold, in 1988. The move was intended to improve safety on these superspeedways by reducing speeds. I wonder if safety is improved because although the speeds are reduced, the effect is to bunch up the traffic. This bunching itself causes many big wrecks. We saw that last Sunday with two ‘big ones’. NASCAR may not being getting their intended result.
As a final note this week, I would like to thank all of you who took time to write me and tell me about your favorite NASCAR-related web site or driver web site. I heard from many of you with very interesting suggestions. One of the driver’s web site developers even wrote and shared the process for writing and updating their web site. I’ve enjoyed going to these sites and I will write a future column sharing what I have learned.
If you have a favorite driver or racing-related web site, podcast or blog, I would appreciate hearing about it and I will include it in a future column.
The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN.
