Junior's yellow line move prompts debate

TALLADEGA, Ala. -- NASCAR was forced to defend a race-determining judgment call for the second consecutive week Sunday, this time after Dale Earnhardt Jr's winning pass of Matt Kenseth with three laps remaining in the Aaron's 499 appeared to take place below the yellow line.

Voluntarily passing below the yellow line to improve position is illegal at Daytona and Talladega, but NASCAR ruled Sunday that Earnhardt had already passed Kenseth when he went below the line and therefore issued no penalty.

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The decision triggered significant post-race speculation, but NASCAR vice president for corporate communications Jim Hunter said the sanctioning body had thoroughly reviewed the replay and that the issue was closed.

"If you look at the tape, look at the replay, the 17 (Kenseth) went up the track and left a lane and a half on the racetrack," Hunter said. "There was a hole and it was above the line. By the time (Earnhardt) went below the line, he had passed the 17. The 17, to avoid a wreck, went up the racetrack.

"As we said in the driver's meeting and as we say before races here and at Daytona where the yellow line rule is in effect, it's a judgment call, and we made a judgment that he did not use the line to improve his position. He had already done that before went below the line."

	Jim Hunter

That was of little consolation to many drivers, including Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick. Harvick's GM Goodwrench team was puzzled by the ruling and requested clarification, first on pit road during the final laps and again after the race.

Johnson said Earnhardt's move contributed to the accident that sent him from the top five to a last-lap spinout.

"He was clearly below the yellow line, in my opinion," said Johnson, who finished 15th. "His pass got me shuffled out and that's when I started falling back. He was clearly below the yellow line.

"I watched him drive across the flat up onto the track. Anybody else who ever dances down there gets in trouble. From my vantage point, I didn't think it was a legal pass under the current rules."

Harvick's team agreed, prompting a post-race visit to the NASCAR's command center for a thorough explanation.

"Right now it's a judgment call on everything that goes on, and NASCAR made their judgment," said Richard Childress Racing team manager Gil Martin. "They made the case that the 8 car had already passed the 17, and the 17 was starting to come down. And when he realized he was there, he pulled up to try to avoid a big wreck and the 8 car just got by.

VIDEO CLIPS Earnhardt Jr.'s controversial pass Play video Victory Lane Play video Johnson spins, finishes 15th Play video Harvick finishes second at Talladega Play video

"I'll just say we agree to disagree. We've got to go state what we think is right and wrong on it. It's a tough rule. We're just in there addressing that we want to make sure the rule is the same for everybody, because I can promise you, if Kevin Harvick went under that line one half-inch, he was done."

Regardless of who thinks what, the issue is no longer up for debate. Earnhardt said after the race it should never have been questioned.

"I didn't really pull down under the line on intention, nor did it have any affect one way or the other on getting by Matt. I was going by Matt whether I had the left sides underneath the line or not."

According to the rule, even the slightest voluntary crossing of the yellow line constitutes a black flag penalty, which requires the driver to come down pit road for a stop and go.

But if a driver is forced below the line, the driver that forced him below the line may be black-flagged. Hunter said Junior neither voluntarily attempted to gain position nor was forced below the line.

"Again, it's a judgment call, very obviously," Hunter said. "In our opinion there is no question that he went below the line. Where the judgment call comes into effect is that he did not go below the yellow line to improve his position."

Kenseth said he didn't see enough of the pass to offer an opinion, but wasn't upset by the decision.

"Obviously there's no penalty, so it must have been okay in (NASCAR's) eyes," Kenseth said. "I didn't feel like I was really trying to block very bad. I was half a groove off the white line and he got under me. There was a car on the outside and nowhere to go. I'm just going to mind my own business and be happy with my (ninth-place) finish."

NASCAR spent the past week defending its choice to black flag race leader Brian Vickers in the Busch Series race for attempting to pass on the left on a restart last week at Texas, a decision adamantly defended by Dale Jarrett this weekend.

NASCAR admitted making a wrong call last Sunday, when Kenseth slowed under caution in an effort to let Kurt Busch and Ricky Rudd back on the lead lap, only to be passed by Jeff Gordon before the start/finish line. NASCAR gave Busch and Rudd their laps back, and left Kenseth as the race leader.

"Everything's their judgment right now," Martin said. "We just have to go to Martinsville with it and let 'er ride."