Originally posted by whiteman
Go back and look at the tape or a replay, they threw the yellow soon as Harvick and Martin crossed. Bowyer was still sliding at that time and hadn't even come to a stop. It's a dangerous sport and they all know what their getting into.
The flag was thrown, it was a delayed flag to let the leaders race.
And find me a series were the teams and body's aren't about the money. Teams and series don't live with out it. Thats how a lot of those guys make a living.
You have managed repeatedly to completely miss the point....
What purpose does a yellow flag serve? It's called a CAUTION flag for a reason. Waiting to display the yellow flag disregards the safety of the drivers. I spent several seasons working as a volunteer corner worker at SCCA and EMRA events. I worked several pro road racing events as well. Yellow flags serve one purpose, to minimize the risk to the drivers by alerting them that there is a problem ahead of them. We had the ability to throw a local yellow, one that governs on the area between flag stations. If the event is serious enough that it requires a tow truck, or the track is blocked, we would ask the steward to display a full-course yellow. That means a waving yellow at all flag stations and at the start-finish line.
The number one goal is to protect the drivers.
NASCAR really isn't interested in protecting the drivers; at least their behavior was diametrically out of phase to their talk on Sunday.
In 2005, at Talladega, on the final lap, with Dale Jarret leading and Stewart gaining fast coming out of the last corner, there was a wreck mid pack. NASCAR threw a yellow, freezing the field. Stewart passed Jarret a second later and beat him to the line. However, since the field was frozen at the time of the yellow, Jarret was awarded the win. When asked why they didn't let them race to the finish, since the wreck was well behind the leaders, NASCAR replied: "It was too dangerous for the other drivers to allow racing to the line with cars spinning down the racetrack."
Fast-forward to February of 2007, and NASCAR does the exact opposite.
This is the type of inconsistency that crushes NASCAR's already shakey credibility.
NASCAR is talking out of both sides of their collective mouths since Sunday. Moreover, with the TV audience having significantly dropped from last year's race, maybe they should consider that manipulating race results is bad policy.
The Press is justifiably leaning all over NASCAR. A writer for the Associated Press wrote the following today:
"It’s why Johnny Benson wasn’t flagged for driving below the yellow line in Friday night’s Truck Series race, even though NASCAR has made that part of the track a strict no-no. But NASCAR deemed Benson’s move legal.
It’s why in a week that saw six people thrown out of the garage for cheating, Jeff Gordon received only a slap on the wrist when his car failed an inspection.
It’s why Elliott Sadler and Scott Riggs were penalized for infractions that car owner Ray Evernham insisted are not even addressed in the rule book.
And it’s why Michael Waltrip wasn’t kicked out of the Daytona 500 after NASCAR found a fuel additive in his new Toyota Camry. The transgression was so blatant Pemberton said he was personally insulted. NASCAR cracked down on Waltrip with stiff penalties, but his presence in the race infuriated rival drivers.
The one constant of Speedweeks? Every incident proved it’s past time for NASCAR to have a very clear rule book. Otherwise, everything will always be arbitrary — even fantastic finishes like Sundays."
My regards,
Widewing
