I’m just curious…Who made the decision that it would be this at the end of the Aaron’s 499 at Talladega last Sunday…
Instead of this?
There are a couple of possible answers to this question. First let me make it clear I don't think Richard Hendrick would demand a specific outcome, so let's throw out that theory right off the bat. Do you think it was ultimately an agreement made between crew chiefs? Was it an agreement between the drivers? or... Was it just a matter of timing?
I'm leaning toward one of the drivers making a conscious decision to be a good teammate and if this is so, will Dale Earnhardt, Jr. ever win another Cup race?
_______________________________________________________
Leading to the first picture up above we all witnessed several hundred feet of this as HMS’s Johnson/Earnhardt tandem sacked their teammates…
How’s that rule about the yellow line go again? You can tell me that while the 48 and 88 rode the yellow line they weren’t improving their position, but it doesn’t hold water… The simple act of moving to the inside while rounding turn four combined with two sets of cars racing in tandem immediately in front and on a headwind killing angle automatically set up “5 Time” and Junior to be sucked into the lead. The proof is that Johnson won the race…
What did Denny Hamlin do in the Shootout?
Oh… He was below the line at Daytona… Those HMS cars at Talladega were just on top of the line. I see...
You know what? There’s too much gray area involved here. The appearance is that NASCAR is doing a smoke and mirrors deal in terms of who it is, not what they've done. The grand hoopla of NASCAR has gotta revisit this “over the line” rule. I was reading somewhere that in the spirit of “Have at it” NASCAR should throw out their yellow line rule on the Superspeedways for the final, white flag lap of the race only. Let the drivers go for the gusto! This year alone it would have already affected the result on one exhibition race and would have eliminated any potential questioning concerning the outcome of the most recent Cup race…
I agree about the yellow line rule Dwindy. I know it's there for safety, which is probably the excuse for it to never change, but it sure does cause a lot of controversy and, honestly, it was fun to see cars six-wide and in the grass down at Talladega.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of spike strips instead of a yellow line...lol
ReplyDeleteLast night on Speed TV, they were showing the top truck finishes, and they showed last year's Dega truck finish. Kyle had all four tires below the line while passing Amirola coming to the flag. Hard to believe that he wasn't penalized.
I dont think the rule is that unclear - cross below the lowest yellow line and improve your position and its a foul. The controversy is always around when NASCAR enforces it and when they do not.
ReplyDeleteAs far as 88/48 - I am sure there were no team orders and partially it was timing/position coming out of the pits. Once they hooked up at the end they couldnt afford to swap b/c they would fall back too far doing so. Although I would have liked to have seen a more concerted effort getting Jr up front rather than JJ earlier on. I think Jr wanted to be the "good teammate" to JJ after moving in the shop and into Gordon's cars/crew. Being mature or stupid - your call!
Hey jmayer!
ReplyDeleteI guess what I'm after is a much higher level of transparency concerning the NASCAR rules. How about publishing a rule book? Is the sport really changing that fast?
The way it stands now it reminds me of our great political system where the good old boys make the important decisions behind closed doors while all the time claiming they've opened up the proceedings...
Thanks jmayer!
Gene,
ReplyDeleteYour example lends a lot of credence to the "who it was" verses "What they did" theory. If it would have been Amirola pulling that move on Kyle would it have stood?
I guess since NASCAR (King Brian) doesn't put their rule book out there for the world to see, they must want the end result: controversy...
Thanks Gene!
Kristen,
ReplyDeleteIf you had to choose the type of racing Junior is best suited to it would undoubtedly be the superspeedway drafting style. So here he is with the guy who's won the last five championships in a row and he hasn't won a single race out of the last 100 and guess who gets to be the pushee and look who's doing the pushing as the race winds down!
The only news out of the 88 camp prior to Talladega was that Dale Jr. doesn't like the new two-car drafting style that's become the norm at Talladega and Daytona... Maybe he figures if he doesn't win under the new circumstances Junior Nation will rise up and demand changes (I know that's a stretch)...
Let's face it, the guy doesn't get that many opportunities to win and his most recent chance was, IMHO, handed to the one driver in all of NASCAR that doesn't need it...
Hope everything's going along well out west. Have a Happy Easter!
Thanks Kristen!
Hey Dwindy - they do publish the rule book - I dont have the latest version with the yellow line rule but I can read it when I am with the crew at Sonoma. Media gets a rule book every year.
ReplyDeleteYea, Junyer doesn't like depending on someone to push him - he likes to push and sling shot past people so this style no good for that.
Happy Easter!
Kristen, are they going to give you an Etch-a-Sketch? Because that's seemingly what the rule book is drawn up on.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was CLEAR that if you EVEN TOUCH the yellow line AND improve your position, that's a foul and you revert back to your original position. Guess NASCAR wanted JJ to win.
jon,
ReplyDeleteIt's one gray area after another... Since we as fans don't have direct access to the rule book, it leaves the door wide open to slanted interpretation. Kinda like, "How much is it worth to ya?" At least that's the feel I get from it. The talking heads will never question what's going on for fear of being drummed out of the corps... So we, as fans are left to speculate and let me tell ya, we do that job pretty damned good! LOL!
Thanks jon!
Well I didn't like the close finish for JJ. It was obvious running that close or on top of the yellow line certainly gave Jr. and JJ a better advantage. It would be much simpler to do like Gene said. However, that rule might end up with the really big one.
ReplyDeleteSadly, we will have to endure the flexible rules put forth by the NASCAR tlaking heads.