Last Lap: Free laps?

Only in the inexplicable realm that is NASCAR, where absurdity of the highest degree seems commonplace, can a plot unfold this way:

Twenty-four hours after the sanctioning body holds a closed-door meeting to inform its competitors of a quirky procedural change does said alteration decide the outcome of the ensuing event.

What are the chances? In NASCAR, damn high. And get this:

As part of the new ruling -- which at the core disallows racing back to the caution -- the first car not on the lead lap automatically regains a lap, regardless its relation to the leader. No questions asked.

In other words, the first car not on the lead lap could be on the verge of going two laps down, and if the caution flew at the proper moment could return to the lead lap.

Seems way too easy in a sport where first and 31st are separated by hundredths of a second, doesn't it? Ryan Newman certainly thinks so.

Ironically, Newman moseyed into the Dover International Speedway media center last Sunday morning and questioned the change, then six hours later promptly took advantage of it to win the MBNA America 400.

Therefore, it shall henceforth be termed The Newman Rule. (At least, in my paltry world, it will be.)

What are your opinions on the rules changes regarding racing back to the yellow and improving pit road safety?

Note: I must apologize to those of you who responded late. The responses were so amazing, I had to stop reading or this column would never have been completed.

EMAIL Marty

One thing is for sure, most of you strongly disagree with at least one aspect of the current rules situation regarding racing back to the caution.

Most of you, however, agree wholeheartedly with a new pit road ruling that requires drivers to come down pit lane in single file formation and disallows passing to the left while on the pit lane.

Both sentiments are precisely mine, as well. I completely agree with the pit road ruling, therefore this column will focus mainly on the yellow flag situation.

Bowtie5: At face value, the rule sounded OK. But the Caution Rule really sucked at Dover. Newman should not have won that race and would not have with the old rules. He was almost two laps down, did not get even close to passing the leader and he just got the lap back.

There should be some way of giving this "Lucky Dog" pass to someone that is closer to the front while still keeping safety in mind. Maybe if the Yellow drops, the passing must stop and if you are within 5 cars of the leader, then you get the lap back?

Charles Osgood is onto something, here. While I understand the premise of willfully permitting the first car a lap down to return to the lead lap, it doesn't seem to have been executed exactly right. Here's what I mean:

Winston Cup director John Darby said last Saturday that a major reason the sanctioning body used this logic was that "previously, the leader of the race would sometimes slow to allow one or two cars back on the lead lap."

Right, I get that. But that's the one or two cars closest to the leader at the moment the caution flag is displayed, right? Oftentimes those cars have to be right on the leader's butt, or at least within a few car lengths, to even have a chance at benefiting from the leader's courtesy.

And, moreover, sometimes the cars closest to the leader were two or more laps down. They weren't always fighting to get back on the lead lap.

Heck, the first car not on the lead lap might be nowhere near the leader. So Osgood's point is well taken. Wouldn't it make more sense to hand a lap back to the car closest in proximity to the leader at the time the yellow falls?

Major Harris thinks so:

NASCARWV: For the most part, I agree with the decision to not race back to the flag. Safety of the drivers on the track is paramount. However, I have two points of contention. The driver that should get a lap back is the driver that is behind the leader on the racetrack whether he is 1, 2, 3 or more laps down, not necessarily the first driver one lap down.

If a driver is working his tail off trying to get back on the lead lap after a green flag pit stop put him two or more laps down and is ahead of the guy only one lap down on the racetrack, he should be rewarded, not slammed.

Also, if the caution comes out and NASCAR does not red flag the race for a green flag finish, the finish should green, white and checkered. Give the guy in second a chance to race for the win.

Not so fast, Major. Aside from the last aspect of your argument, I agree with everything you said ? especially the part about guys who under the old rules would have regained a lap, but won't have that chance under the new policy.

Well done.

That said, I disagree with your green, white, checkered argument. G-W-C finishes are exhilarating to witness, but they inevitably result in a pack of wadded up racecars. If you agree with NASCAR's ruling that racing to the caution won't be tolerated, you have to live without green-white-checkered finishes.

Think about it. By outlawing racing to the caution, NASCAR has eliminated the threat of drivers being injured in the ruthless jockeying for position that inevitably occurs. See New Hampshire two weeks back.

And if you think that's bad, imagine how they'd act coming to the checkers. You said it best, my friend. The safety of the drivers is paramount.

TruckFan: If someone knows they're going to get the free pass back to the lead lap, then there's no incentive to be quick in the pits.

While everyone else is trying to get everything done in 14 seconds, the guy with the free pass can spend a couple of minutes.

With only a handful of laps remaining in the race, when the caution comes out you're much better off being the first car one lap down than anywhere in the back half of the lead-lap pack.

Since "fair" seems to be the new NASCAR buzzword, how fair is that to the team that's worked their tail off to remain on the lead lap?

Wouldn't it work better if the team that got the free pass was the team next in line after the pit stops, rather than before the caution?

Interesting question, Bigfoot. Newman obviously took perfect advantage of his position. Knowing they had no chance of losing positions in the running order, Newman and Matt Borland pitted three times under caution to completely pack the fuel cell.

Hence, when everyone else was forced to stop for gas late in the game, the 12 team was able to stay out, garner vital track position ? all the way to the lead, in fact -- and stretch a tank of fuel 104 miles to the checkers.

Think about how it could have unfolded under the old scenario: If Newman hadn't been given the free pass, he'd have restarted at the front of the inside row.

Hence, he wouldn't have been able to pit again and again for gas without losing track position, and would have been forced to race his way back onto the lead lap, which also uses up fuel faster. No way he makes 104 miles under those circumstances.

As it was, however, they were able to make multiple gas stops, which Borland said added an extra 10 to 15 laps to the fuel run.

Codymil1: The thing I want to know is what happens towards the end of the race? If there are 5 laps to go and the leaders are racing for the win and the caution comes out...is the field frozen or can they race back to the line for the possible win?

NASCAR needs to implement a rule that will be almost identical to the red flag rule for every track. The red flag and yellow flag rule should be the same.

At every race NASCAR determines the lap number where they will no longer throw the red flag to finish the race under green. NASCAR should allow after the red flag lap number that racing back to the caution is legal to determine the winner of the race!

The race is over, agent Banks. Under NASCAR's red flag rule, if the caution flies with five laps or less remaining, the race ends under the yellow. Always.

Fordrulz: I think DJ put it best, "it is unfortunate that NASCAR has to treat us like children but we all act like children out there". The new rules look good to me and the drivers I have heard interviewed all seem to agree. Bravo NASCAR.

Edsel is correct. Racing back to the caution had gotten way out of control and something had to be done. Jeff Burton even said that had the drivers done what NASCAR asked of them, this rule wouldn't be necessary.

But it is, so NASCAR made a decision. It needs work and opinions vary on the subject, but most agree it's a solid start.

"I thought it worked really good," Ricky Rudd said. "I thought it was real safe. They could move the emergency crews a lot quicker the way they've got it. I was actually a benefactor of one of those situations.

	Tony Eury Sr. Credit: Autostock

"We had just gotten lapped and the caution came out. It sure was nice not having to go up there and trying to beat up on the leaders to try to get your lap back. I think it's a good rule and it should have been here a long time ago."

Tony Eury Sr., crew chief for Dale Earnhardt Jr., disagrees.

"If a man is not capable of getting his lap back, he doesn't need his lap back," Eury said. "These leaders run the race hard all day to lap people and get them a lap down and NASCAR gives it back to them. So, it's a stupid rule and it's going to be stupid as long as they use it."

Rudd's comment about safety crews is a crucial part of this equation. Slow response times from safety crews have drawn criticism this year from competitors on several occasions.

But with the field now forced to slow down immediately, safety crews can confidently respond in an expeditious manner, without fear of impeding speeding racecars and causing a larger accident.

Even Mayfield, who may have won the race Sunday had Newman not been handed a free lap, was okay with it. And if he is, who are we to judge?

"Overall, I thought it was a good thing," Mayfield said. "As they said yesterday in their meeting, there might be some adjusting going on. It just so happens (Newman) was part of the deal, and he was still a good enough car to win the race. I don't think that's what won the race for him.

"He would have made his lap up anyway, probably."

As I said above, I don't necessarily agree with Mayfield. I think it had a lot to do with the race's outcome.

smokeyfan: I think the rule overall is good but there are some kinks they need to work on. giving the first car down a lap back is not fair to the next few cars that are down a lap.

So many races have been won by a driver being a lap down and able to get it back and then ends up winning the race. Like Newman on sun.

But what about the next person that was 1 lap down before the rule that person could have got their lap back and had a better finish. NASCAR needs to work out the kinks because the way they have it set up right now it's to confusing. For pete's sake, Jeff Gordon doesn't even understand the new rule.

Very true, RJ. Considering the perplexed look on the drivers' faces after learning of the new rules, you'd have thought they'd just attended a lecture on quantum physics. Example:

"Is it the first car that's one lap down? Is it the car however many laps down that's the first car behind the leaders? I'm still confused," Gordon said Saturday. "I'm still confused. I heard everybody talking as they left the driver's meeting, trying to figure out who, exactly, is getting their laps back."

Immediately, I asked Gordon, "If you don't understand it, how the hell are we supposed to explain it to fans?"

Luckily, the procedural alteration offered no noticeable hiccups Sunday. Well, aside from the fact that it determined the outcome of the race, anyway.

Marty's mailbag appears every Tuesday at 3 p.m.

The opinions listed here are solely those of the writer.