Dear Brian Redux
      © 2005 Matt McLaughlin  2/27/05
  RacingStalkers.com  http://www.racingstalkers.com
[Cru: If this website causes u problems, don't blame me, it was really whacky today.]

      Dear Brian,
      I hope you enjoyed your holidays and the brief off-season and you’re now
      ready to rock and roll through the long season ahead.
[CRUSnip to a very major issue pointed out by Matt:]
      Now, let’s get down to the brass tacks. The most positive reform of your
      reign as NASCAR czar has been eliminating racing back to the yellow flag.
      It was long overdue, but you took that bull by the horns and made it happen.
      (Don’t be scared. There are no bulls. This is an analogy.) Bravo.
      I’d strew rose petals along your path for that call, but I’ve got this
      allergy to pollen, and frankly, better things to do with my time.

      But, all of a sudden, that important reform seems in jeopardy. Late last season, we
      started hearing about those electronic timing lines buried in the track
      that could sort out the field "at the moment of caution." But, now,
      there’s one of those unexpected codicils that NASCAR will use "any and all
      means necessary" to decide the finishing order on the final lap if a
      caution flag flies. That was the method used to determine that Bobby
      Hamilton beat Jimmy Spencer in last Friday’s truck race. And it doesn’t
      seem like that’s a road we need to travel again. The message you are
      sending, inadvertently I’m sure, is that when a wreck occurs, all drivers
      should keep the throttle buried until they see the yellow lights illuminate.

      The amount of time that passes between someone in race control
      calling for a caution and those yellow lights coming on might seem short,
      but when you’ve got vehicles traveling the length of three football fields
      in a second, that’s a dangerous precedent to set. Yeah, yeah, the wreck
      occurred behind Spencer and Hamilton. This time. Next time, the wreck
      might occur ahead of the leaders and they’ll keep their feet buried,
      driving right into the midst of the accident until they are sure the
      yellow lights have come on. That’s a recipe for tragedy. Last year, the
      message you tried to convey to the drivers was when an incident occurs,
      the field is frozen. Get out of the gas and slow down. The field is frozen.
      Well, that’s what Spencer did. He clearly got off the gas prior to
      Hamilton passing him.

      Help me to understand this rule. If it starts raining with 50 laps to go,
      well after the race has reached the halfway point to make it official, and
      it appears the weather will end the event prematurely, does that mean
      you’ll use "any and all means necessary" to decide the running order when
      the caution for rain flies or is that only on the last scheduled lap of
      the race. If it starts raining, are you going to use the electronic
      scoring lines? If not, what if the rain passes quickly and you are able to
      restart the race. Will you go back to the running order at the time the
      caution flew as scored electronically or will you use the "any and all
      means necessary" running order?

      I’d like to know before that happens so there won’t be an impression left
      that NASCAR is making up the rules as they go-
      a perception that has dogged your organization as of late.
      You remember the mess with Paul Tracy and Helio Castroneves at Indy that one year?
      You want that sort of nightmare on your hands?

–
Crusader