NASCAR Can’t Catch A Break
Wednesday, August 16th, 2006 4:28pm CDT
By Tim Spencer, Thunder Lounge
Published on Thunder Lounge.
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[image:364:l:s=1:l=http://thunderlounge.com/articles/nascar/features/the-way-i-see-it/]It doesn’t matter what NASCAR Officials do, they will never be right in the eyes of someone. Whether it’s a judgement call that falls into a gray area, or an issue that is as plain as night and day. Regardless of the decision, someone is going to make a fuss. You can please some of the people all of the time, and you can please all of the people some of the time. You can not, however, please all the people all of the time.
Did Kurt Busch get screwed by the night and day call made by NASCAR at Watkins Glen? Yes he did.
NASCAR made the call according to the book and for that they have been doused with criticism because of it. Had it went the other way they would have heard the same amount of criticism for not sticking to their guns.
With the call on Sunday it was something that should have been a judgement call. There was not any way for Kurt Busch to avoid hitting pit road. He was already committed to coming down pit road. There was no physical way he could have avoided it. There was a mere 5 feet or less between him and the so-called commitment line. In that distance he could not have swerved back onto the track because of the barriers at the closest end of the pit wall. Even slamming on the brakes and backing up he would have crossed the line and still been put to the tail end of the longest line, or even if he had just driven through. Didn’t matter, same penalty.
The problem here is not specifically the call by NASCAR. The problem here is where the commitment line is.
If you can not swerve back onto the track, you are committed to coming down pit road. Like it or not.
To put it bluntly, the commitment designated by NASCAR should be far enough back to where someone can get back onto the track if such an incident happens again. If there had been room, Kurt could have done so. Because he couldn’t, and had no choice, that’s where the call by NASCAR has a problem.
And… That’s The Way I See It!!
Filed Under: Features, Guest Authors, Nascar, Nextel Cup, The Way I See It, Tim Spencer
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The course of action he should have taken if his Crew Chief was on top of the rules was to drive through without stopping.
He had plenty of time from the commitment to the pit stall to make that decision.
IMHO
CyberCoder said this on August 17th, 2006 at 3:38 pm
That’s what I thought as well. Granted he would have lost a few spots, but better than the tail end.
However according to the NASCAR Officials, whether he drove through or not, he would still be starting at the tail end of the longest line just for entering the pits. So since they were already there, might as well finish business since the outcome was still going to be the same.
Luke said this on August 18th, 2006 at 7:31 am