Sport's issue is perception the rules change constantly

Controversy in NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series? Are you kidding me?

Controversy sells, and that's usually a good thing. But confusion doesn't, and when it reigns that's another sordid story altogether.

The two were intertwined at the conclusion of this past Sunday's Amp Energy 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, when Regan Smith beat Tony Stewart to the finish line but was not awarded the victory because it was ruled he had crossed the yellow "out-of-bounds" line at the bottom of the track to improve his position (watch video).

There is no question Smith was guilty of this. While he feinted briefly to the outside on his final run at Stewart and the race victory, he clearly had no strong conviction of trying to pass anywhere but on the inside -- yet to pass Stewart on the inside of that part of the track at Talladega, a more experienced driver would have known it only could be accomplished by flirting dangerously with dipping below the yellow line.

Smith thought he was allowed to go below the yellow on the final lap. He said it was his understanding that on the last lap, with the checkered flag in sight, "anything goes." He argued that his only other option would have been to wreck Stewart, and perhaps himself, while going for the lead.

Muddy waters

Other drivers said afterward they had the same understanding that "anything goes" on the last lap. But Jim Hunter, NASCAR's vice president of corporate communications, insisted in a post-race statement that the rule had been clearly spelled out for all the competitors at the pre-race drivers' meeting.

"You cannot improve your position anytime you go below the yellow line. At the drivers' meeting, we clearly state that you cannot improve your position by going below the yellow line," Hunter said.

As for Smith's contention that Stewart forced him below the line, Hunter was unsympathetic as well. And for all those fans out there who could not understand why Smith wouldn't at the very worst be credited with second, Hunter explained why Smith eventually was scored with an 18th-place finish instead.

"We do not feel he was forced below the yellow line. In our judgment, he improved his position and the penalty for that is a pass-through, so he was moved back to the tail end of the longest line [of the cars on the lead lap] or the 18th position," Hunter said.

"Anytime you get into a situation like this, there are going to be two different opinions. We respect Regan's view, but we made the call, we think it's the right call and the finish is final. NASCAR has to maintain some kind of control -- and that's the reason we say you cannot advance your position by going below the yellow line. If he had not improved his position, he probably would have been awarded second place."

All of which sounds perfectly logical, even if the part where he said "NASCAR has to maintain some kind of control" drew more than a chuckle or two. The bottom line in this part of the argument is that Smith had plenty of room to attempt passing Stewart on the high side and chose not to do so, thus opening up this squirmy can of worms.

But there is more to the story, which breeds the unwanted confusion. (Continued)