Who was the Luckiest Dog ?

[RaceFanStan]

2006 Lucky Dog FINAL Totals
11 Lucky Dogs
Dale Jarrett
Sterling Marlin

10 Lucky Dogs
Joe Nemechek

9 Lucky Dogs
Kyle Busch
Dave Blaney
David Stremme
Bobby Labonte
Kyle Petty
Jeff Green

8 Lucky Dogs
Martin Truex Jr
Robby Gordon
Denny Hamlin
Casey Mears
Terry Labonte

7 Lucky Dogs
Jeremy Mayfield
Scott Riggs
Travis Kvapil
Tony Raines

6 Lucky Dogs
Clint Bowyer
JJ Yeley
Ken Schrader
Jamie McMurray
Kenny Wallace
Carl Edwards

5 Lucky Dogs
Kurt Busch
Kasey Kahne
Ryan Newman
Jeff Gordon
Kevin Harvick
Reed Sorenson
Michael Waltrip

4 Lucky Dogs
Mark Martin
Dale Earnhardt Jr
Elliott Sadler
Jimmie Johnson

3 Lucky Dogs
Scott Wimmer
David Ragan (only raced in TWO races)
Ward Burton
Greg Biffle
Matt Kenseth
Brian Vickers
Mike Skinner

2 Lucky Dogs
Kevin Lepage

1 Lucky Dog
Paul Menard
Tony Stewart
Juan Pablo Montoya (only raced in ONE race)
David Gilliland
Chad Chaffin
Johnny Sauter (only raced in ONE race)

Did any driver win in 2006 after getting a Lucky Dog ?
Yes, 2 drivers did :
Kurt Busch won at Bristol March 26, 2006
Kasey Kahne won at Michigan June 18, 2006

Did any driver get a top 5 in 2006 after getting a Lucky Dog ?
Yes, 6 drivers did.
Jamie McMurray, 2nd at Dover, June 4, 2006
Bobby Labonte, 3rd at Martinsville, October 22, 2006 (2 of them)
Dale Earnhardt Jr., 3rd at Atlanta, March 20, 2006
Carl Edwards, 3rd at Charllotte, May 28, 2006
Mark Martin, 3rd at Kansas, October 1, 2006
Greg Biffle, 4th at Richmond, May 6, 2006
Greg Biffle, 5th at Dover, September 24, 2006

Jeff Burton was the ONLY full-time driver (all 36 races) to receive NO Lucky Dogs.

[Sparky1329]

THere should be a limit on how many Lucky Dogs a driver can use in one race.

[harvick#1]

you should only get one lucky dog per race, the rest, you have to earn it back.

but what the hell am I saying, just get rid of this stupid rule and race back to the caution, it should be the leaders decision if he wants to give the lap back or not

[Alexamateo]

For me the luckiest would be who finished high in points while recieving the most passes. Of the chasers, Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin recieved the most. Because Kyle got so many at the Glen (5?) that would mean Hamlin probably benefitted the most and is the luckiest dog of 2006. :dog:

[Alexamateo]

you should only get one lucky dog per race, the rest, you have to earn it back.

but what the hell am I saying, just get rid of this stupid rule and race back to the caution, it should be the leaders decision if he wants to give the lap back or not

I agree with Harvick

[Sparky1329]

I agree with Harvick


I'll third that.

[Alexamateo]

Also, thinking of racing back to the caution, what if NASCAR went to a two tier system. i.e.

debris on track = yellow light, race to the flag
two car crash in turn 4 = red light, slow and hold your position, field frozen
in the rare event there is a serious track blockage a yellow and red together would mean stop right where you are, true red flag.

I don't think it would be difficult to make that kind of snap judgement, they already have to make those judgements anyway on the decision to throw the yellow, this just takes it one step further.

[harvick#1]

its Nascar, everything to them is a very difficult judgement, they would say that the drivers will get confused by it.

[Rusty Spanner]

Also, thinking of racing back to the caution, what if NASCAR went to a two tier system. i.e.

debris on track = yellow light, race to the flag
two car crash in turn 4 = red light, slow and hold your position, field frozen
in the rare event there is a serious track blockage a yellow and red together would mean stop right where you are, true red flag.

I don't think it would be difficult to make that kind of snap judgement, they already have to make those judgements anyway on the decision to throw the yellow, this just takes it one step further.

Why complicate things? The system they've got now with freezing the field works well enough. And with green-white-chequer finishes available it makes little difference whether you race back to the line or not. There will still be a few circumstances where drivers loose out by the field being frozen but there will always be some regardless of the system.

[Lee Roy]

I'd say do away with the "Lucky Dog" rule. If you're a lap down, tough noogies, earn it back.

Racing back to the caution was one of the most stupid things that NASCAR was doing. It was way past time to stop that idiotic practice. I can't believe that anyone would seriously want that insanity back.

[Mark in Oshawa]

Lee Roy, you and I are on the same page on this one. I hate the Lucky dog. Always have, and racing back to the caution was dangerous. Now they freeze the field using the 8 timing loops they have around the track, why do we need to do anything like the Lucky Dog? All you are doing is giving a guy a shot who by his own incompetance, pit screw up or someone's stupidity has put him back there. That is racing. You want that lap back, get your speed up and get there. Or stay out when the leader is in the pits and hope a yellow shows up. Just remember in the case of Robby Gordon, he will be the guy causing the yellow to get the lucky dog!!!

[DavePI2]

let's see, at first fontana this year Jr. was already 1 lap down, stewart was about to get lapped and gordon who had already lost one battery needed to change the second. What happens, yellow flag for debris of course. Jr. gets his lap back, Stewart doesn't get lapped, and Gordon gets to come in on yellow flag to change battery. Amazing how those debris flags just happen to come at the times convenient for the stars.

David

[Jonesi]

let's see, at first fontana this year Jr. was already 1 lap down, stewart was about to get lapped and gordon who had already lost one battery needed to change the second. What happens, yellow flag for debris of course. Jr. gets his lap back, Stewart doesn't get lapped, and Gordon gets to come in on yellow flag to change battery. Amazing how those debris flags just happen to come at the times convenient for the stars.
David

Every caution helps some cars, if it's Scott Riggs, Reed Sorenson & Chad Chaffin nobody really notices or comments.

[Mark in Oshawa]

Jonesei, the number of times it happens at crucial moments for some of the big names has effected the outcome of races. Kahne won a race this year where he got a lucky dog. If he had to race his way back, would he have won? No, any time you give anyone something for free, you are artificially messing with the outcome of the race potentially.

[tstran17_88]

Jonesei, the number of times it happens at crucial moments for some of the big names has effected the outcome of races. Kahne won a race this year where he got a lucky dog. If he had to race his way back, would he have won? No, any time you give anyone something for free, you are artificially messing with the outcome of the race potentially.
It's all if's and but's with your argument about this particular race though.

Kahne won the pole for this race and was dominating the race when he got punted. Would he have won without the Lucky Dog? Probably not because it was Michigan which has very few cautions...limiting his chances of racing his way back onto the lead lap. This race was also a rain shortened race to which they played the pit strategy game correct. Had Nascar decided to re-start this race instead of calling it...he most likely would have not won it with the strategy they used.

It’s not like this was a Ryan Newman win from 2003 when the only reason he won races was because of topping off the fuel tank on every caution lap after he received the Lucky Dog.

IMO...the best car did win this race, even if it was ticky-tacky.

[harvick#1]

the only time when I think I found Nascar fixing cautions was at Pocono a few years agao with Dale Jr.

everytime he was about 4 seconds from being lapped, a mysterious Debris caution arose, they did this about 4 times in the race, and Jr. got his car better to finish in the top ten, but the Caution falgs for Debris appear to be bogus half the time. usually they happen under a commercial period to suspense the viewer when they come back on the air, but then the Broadcasters never say why they went to yellow.

[Speedworx]

Racing back to the caution is a NO NO!

It was always a danger and would have one day caused a big crash. They is the best way to do things.