Why NASCAR was right for holding the yellow

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Forty-eight hours removed from the running of the 49th Annual Daytona 500 and it seems the controversy surrounding the final lap won’t go away.

Should NASCAR have thrown the caution flag once the wreck started to occur? Let’s take a closer look at the entire situation, first looking at the rule. NASCAR implemented, a few years ago, a rule that ended racing back to the stripe on a caution to promote safety of all drivers. That created the so-called Lucky Dog rule, placing the first car one lap down back on the lead lap unless the car is the cause of the caution.

Scoring loops are used to determine where a driver is in the field at the time of the caution.

Now, let’s go through those final few moments of the race. Kevin Harvick was racing on the outside with a strong run on Mark Martin, who was guarding the lower line. The higher line was prefered off the draft, especially with the push Harvick received from Matt Kennseth. Coming off turn four, Harvick and Martin shared the lead at several moments, with Harvick finally taking the lead at the line. When the wrecks started to occur, the cars were going off the track, making it relatively safe for drivers to complete the race. Once drivers, like Clint Bowyer, came back into the track is when the caution was displayed - after Harvick and Martin had crossed the line.

The time difference - 1.9 seconds. That is how long it was between the wrecks and NASCAR throwing the caution out. I can’t decide what I want to order at McDonald’s in 1.9 seconds, let alone decide to end a race in caution.

Let’s say NASCAR threw the flag out prior to Harvick and Martin crossing the line, then you have to go to scoring loops to determine the winner of the biggest race of the year. Is that really how you want the Super Bowl of Auto Racing decided? Think of it like this, in April you’re watching the NCAA Championship Game and a referee calls a foul with no time left on the clock sending a player, who missed the shot, to the foul line for two shots. The game is tied, so the game is decided on the foul line. You wouldn’t want that.

The wreck had no reflection on the outcome of the race, but NASCAR was in a situation where it was in a no-win situation.

However, the controversy boils down to this - would there be much discussion about the finish had Martin held Harvick off to win the Daytona 500, giving the media the story of the retired driver wins the big one? Would the fans be as concerned?

My answer - No and No.

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