Mike Helton is going to let the boy's race....

[Mark in Oshawa]

Dave Moody (Sirius NASCAR's Speedway program) had a blurb on his Facebook page on how NASCAR is announcing they are backing off on the bumpdraft restrictions, they are going to let drivers police themselves on a lot of stuff, and they will be getting a bigger plate at plate tracks this year.

So for all those who think NASCAR doesn't listen, the fans have had their say, and if the racing is dull, don't blame NASCAR...

Someone else I am sure will find the official link, I just read it off Dave Moody's Facebook page, so I cant really post HIS posting....so in time, you will just have to confirm this yourselves.

[Hoss Ghoul]

http://nascar.speedtv.com/article/cup-nascar-changes-big-track-rules/


Time for some balls out racing, from the sounds of it.

The underlying hilarity being all the restrictions were put in for "safety". No mention of that besides keeping the yellow.

I'm of the opinion that the sport is inherently dangerous and its best not to overly inhibit that.

I think we'll see over 200 in the draft again at Daytona.

[Mark in Oshawa]

A poster on Facebook on this topic said DW can now say "Boogity Boogity Boogity! GET Out of My WAY boys!!!!"

I would like to think that the measures NASCAR was taking towards safety vis a vis yellows wont be just casually tossed aside. If they are, then they truly were gimmicking up the race to tighten the field up for non-safety reasons.

I do know this much. If we have a snoozer or two of a race, I don't want to hear people whining.....but I know we will because there isn't a form of racing out there where you don't have a race or two that just is a runaway...

[Sparky1329]

I'm not much of a fan for the no-racing-back-to-the-yellow rule either, Hoss. The rule was implmented because Dale Jarrett could've been hit. Well, he wasn't. He was out there racing with other professionals who didn't hit him.

It broke my heart to lose my favorite driver in 2001. He would've been the first guy to pooh-pooh all the nitpicky rules. At that time NASCAR was encouraging drivers to wear the full-face helmets yet Dale refused to wear one. “If you’re not a race driver, stay the hell home. — Don’t come here and grumble about going too fast. Get the hell out of the race car if you’ve got feathers on your legs or butt. — Put a kerosene rag around your ankles so the ants won’t climb up there and eat that candy ass.” ~ Dale Earnhardt

There were several race-related deaths in NASCAR within a short period of time back then. I think there was knee-jerk overreaction by NASCAR and too much micromanaging, other than their mandating the use of the Hans and the safer barriers, following the death of Dale Earnhardt. Racing is inherently dangerous as you say and no rule can keep a driver completely safe. There will always be that one freak incident that nobody could've anticipated that takes somebody's life.

[Mark in Oshawa]

Sparky, the thing is, they will err on the side of caution. Dale, for all his bravado is dead because he pooh poohed things like full face helmets, having his belts set properly (there is much discussion how he could have moved enough while belted in) and the idea of the HANS device. He was a good man, but on safety, sorry, he wouldn't be the guy I would ask an opinion of.

The no racing back to flag yellow doesn't restrict or hurt anyone's ability to race. The "lucky-dog" automatically given out is the problem. I am of the opinion the only time they give that lap back is to any lap down cars within 2 seconds of the leader. THAT's it......do that, and you don't see guys getting laps back all day and finishing on the lead lap when they clearly had a sub-standard day and got lucky....

[Sparky1329]

Sparky, the thing is, they will err on the side of caution. Dale, for all his bravado is dead because he pooh poohed things like full face helmets, having his belts set properly (there is much discussion how he could have moved enough while belted in) and the idea of the HANS device. He was a good man, but on safety, sorry, he wouldn't be the guy I would ask an opinion of.

The no racing back to flag yellow doesn't restrict or hurt anyone's ability to race. The "lucky-dog" automatically given out is the problem. I am of the opinion the only time they give that lap back is to any lap down cars within 2 seconds of the leader. THAT's it......do that, and you don't see guys getting laps back all day and finishing on the lead lap when they clearly had a sub-standard day and got lucky....

Dale made his choices with full knowledge of the possible consequences. At least he was honest about it.

I don't like the abuse of the Lucky Dog rule either but in fairness it needs to be in place. If we don't lose the yellow rule that makes it necessary then drivers should be limited in how many they can use in one race regardless of their distance from the leader. Using a two second rule is too much micromanaging to suit me.

[harvick#1]

so since Nascar is gonna "let em race"

will Nascar still throw a caution for a hotwrapper floating on the track. or if the debris is off the track on the apron or up against the wall?

we'll see if Helton stays true to his word when Hamlin and Brad K go at it again and put other in danger of their girlish attitudes.

I wouldn't mind seeing them go back to racing back to the caution, although most of the drivers now today have not been in that situation before professionally, but really Bill Elliott was the one who really caused all that trouble at New Hampshire because when he was leading he didn't know what to do. and that log jam occurred and that was the end of the "racing back to the caution".

it should be leaders choice if he wants to give a car his lap back, that was the true beauty of the system, if the leader had just lapped a guy he had a grudge with, guess what, hes screwed and he aint getting that lap back :laugh:

[Wade91]

this is awesome :D

[call_me_andrew]

Racing back to the caution is the worst thing NASCAR can do. Let's remember that a safety team cannot be dispatched while cars are still "racing" on the track. So when they're "racing back to the line" at a leisurely pace at Pocono/Indy/Watkins Glen, some driver might be bleeding to death in his car.

[Mark in Oshawa]

Dale made his choices with full knowledge of the possible consequences. At least he was honest about it.

I don't like the abuse of the Lucky Dog rule either but in fairness it needs to be in place. If we don't lose the yellow rule that makes it necessary then drivers should be limited in how many they can use in one race regardless of their distance from the leader. Using a two second rule is too much micromanaging to suit me.

Sparky, they know what the last loop the leader crossed before the track goes yellow. All they have to do is take any lap down cars 2 seconds (or 5, it is arbitrary to how far back they would be and still get a lap back in the old days) back of the leader as of the last green flag passing on the last loop before the yellow. It is not hard to do, and a hard and fast rule would be fair to all, and make more SENSE. In the old days, the only guys getting that lap back on a crash and racing back to the yellow were the guys the leader had just passed going back to the second place car.

[call_me_andrew]

The Lucky Dog rule is nothing more than two wrongs attempting to make a right. Just leave the dog in the woods and drive away.

[Mark in Oshawa]

The Lucky Dog rule is nothing more than two wrongs attempting to make a right. Just leave the dog in the woods and drive away.

Well they could just not let anyone back on the lead lap and keep not racing back to the yellow. God knows the only racing organization of a major sort on earth that gave laps back like that IS NASCAR. That wouldn't have sucked, but giving guys a lap back within a fixed amount of time at the last passing on the loops would have been the way I would have done it since that would duplicate to more or less what used to happen back in the "ole" days.

That said, I really am not a fan of giving any laps back, but alas, this is NASCAR where they love guys coming back from 2 laps down. Never mind only in NASCAR really does it have a shot at happening....

[slorydn1]

I agree with altering the lucky dog rule to allow those people between the leader and p2 on the track to get a lap back....that would make it more like the old days than this giving it always to the first car one lap down...who could be 20-30 seconds back. By doing it that way we wouldn't even have to worry about how far back, or how many laps down car x is, just where t is on the track in relation to the 2nd place car.

As for racing back to the yellow, I like the fact that the racing stops when the yellow comes out, but since there is NO chance for a GWC if the yellow comes out on the white flag lap, they should let them race back then. I keep thinking back to the 2007 Daytona 500 and how we all argued about who won that race, and exactly when did the yellow fly, etc, etc. The finish line SHOULD be the ONLY determining factor as to where a driver finishes the race.

[ms0362]

They won't race back to the caution because of the safety card dispatch thing. They've made so many ridiculous rules and punishments over the years to kill the racing they may never get good competition back. We'll see.