b]Cup News[/b] Harvick's Helmut Fails Post Race Inspection "It appears there was something that failed NASCAR's post-race inspection after Sunday's Daytona 500 -- the uniform and helmet worn by race winner Kevin Harvick." Nobody wants to race in California "While 52 entries have been filed to seek the 43 positions in Sunday's 500-mile Cup race in California, just 41 cars are entered for Saturday's Busch race which is open to a maximum of 43 cars, and 32 entries have been received for Friday night's truck race that can start a maximum of 36 cars." - Spydertrader
Martin was the crowd fave... so they whined. I wanted him to beat Harvick too, but really, who wants a race to finish under caution??? Nobody, unless you feel sorry for someone! Glad it stayed green. Concerning your Gordon comment, I still think Stewart and Gordon are the best talents out there!
The finish was exciting, but it highlighted a growing problem, NASCAR's inconsistent application of its own rules. Clearly the yellow should have come out when cars started piling up as the leaders came to the trioval. For most of NASCAR's history, the rule was that in the event of a caution, you raced to the line and the field was frozen at that point. The problem was obvious. Guys could get caught up in a wreck racing to the line. In addition, the practice of letting lapped cars "get their lap back" by passing the race leader who obliged them by slowing down was beginning to cause issues. So NASCAR instituted a sensible rule. Race positions were frozen the moment the yellow appeared. They used that rule to award the 24 car a victory at Texas a couple of years ago over the 8, and the fans showed their appreciation by pelting Gordon's car with cans of beer on the "victory" lap. No one wanted to see Daytona end under a caution, but it seems like an odd rule when you apply it selectively. A similar incident happened in another race, I believe the truck race. Three guys came to the line together and one passed for second place by going below the yellow "out of bounds " line. NASACAR allowed it, despite the fact that other guys have been penalized before for the exact same move. There was post-race justification that he "had room" to pass and was just trying to be safe, but that never flew in the past. Again, they clearly suspended the rule to allow an exciting finish. NASCAR has always had a bit of a "make it up as you go" culture, but if they want to be a big time serious sport, they need to tighten up application of these rules. Or just say they reserve the right to suspend them if they think it will make a more exciting finish.
Can't agree more...All this crap about who was ahead when the caution came out is silly....I loved the dual to the end..let em win it on the track...that's why i hate football sometimes...a few seconds left and the refs start throwing pass interference calls left and right and all of the sudden, without a completion a team is at the 20 yd line and can kick the winning field goal!! RE" Jeff....He's my driver...he and TS are the best...HOWEVER..Iver noticed over the last two years that when his car is not perfect, he complains over the radio ( like at the Shoot out) and almost seems to sulk and give up on the race...TS however, could have a 2 by 4 sticking out of his car and he finds a way to not only compensate for it, but to figure out a way to get back in the top.
It was a no-win situation for Nascar. Throw the yellow... everyone's mad a race ends under caution. Don't throw the yellow, everyone's mad because Martin doesn't win Daytona. I agree though, there's a bit of inconsistency going on.
...or don't throw it and get someone killed. Very smart I was watching something and Fat Helton was on talking about the reason they didn't throw the caution was the cars involved were spinning to the inside of the track... PURE RUBBISH. Kenseth slid from the middle groove up to the wall and back across the ENTIRE FIELD of cars,. sans 3, MM, Harvick and the shrub (Kyle Busch). IMHO, na$crap went for the dramatic and ignored the safety of all the drivers in the field. Oh, and the penalties and fines for the 9 and 17 are WAY out of line in comparison to what Knaus and the 48 crew did last year. The 24 is too low and these cars don't handle properly if the suspensions aren't controlled. Yet, the 24 wins the dual race with a broken rear shock mount that just happens to lower the car... yeah right.
Listen, i was there...i sit in the Nextel Tower between the D and the A.....at the end of almost every race for $$ when they are finishing under caution, there is a messy end....it came right to us and Harvick and Martin were nose and nose...the caution would not have a done a single thing to protect them or the other drivers...it happened so fast that everyone was already on the breaks. Nascar did the right thing...they paused about five seconds thats all.
The point is that during a race, any race, they would have hit the yellow the second someone spun in traffic. Not waited for a thrilling run to the line. It's not a matter of favoring one driver or another. I've never been a Mark Martin fan at all, and I will say he got screwed. It's understandable why they held off on the yellow, but that doesn't make it right. Maybe a quick yellow would have prevented a wreck or two at the end, but I do agree that most of the wrecking would have happened no matter what they did. I don't think it was clearly the wrong thing to do. They are in the entertainment business after all. It just opens them up to complaints of favoritism the next time, because now they have a precedent of handling the same situation differently. If you expect your rulings to have legitimacy, you need to handle similar situations consistently.
Guys........the final laps (202 in total) were run because they were under caution to begin with at the end of the race.....after gordon won a couple a years ago and showered the track with beer cans, they made this change....and its a good change....nobody wants a race to end under yellow.