NASCAR, for all its faults (real and imagined), got it right. And for those who e-mailed before the dust had settled at Talladega, the knee-jerk reactions --generally something for which NASCAR gets raked across the coals -- were not becoming.

Couple things here:

“

To be clear, as we go forward, there will be no passing under the yellow line at any time during NASCAR races at Daytona or Talladega, period. This includes any passing below the yellow line near the start/finish line on the final lap.

”

-- MIKE HELTON

• Regan Smith chose to drive below the yellow line. The left side of his No. 01 -- not the entire car -- was out of bounds before the blocking maneuver was made by Tony Stewart.

• Stewart did not force Smith below the yellow line; he chose to stay there, ultimately wheeling his entire car out of bounds.

• Smith did have the opportunity to lift off the throttle, ride along side Stewart and keep his spot in second place (thus avoiding the penalty of being placed at the end of the lead lap).

In the end, NASCAR made the post-checkered flag judgment that Stewart won the race and Smith was relegated to 18th place (the last car on the lead lap). And NASCAR got it right.

Now before ripping off an e-mail and railing about Smith this, Stewart that, blah, blah, blah:

Regardless of the "get what you can get" mentality with the finish line in sight, Smith made a conscious decision to try to pass to the inside. It was a ballsy move, right there with Carl Edwards' banzai dash at Kansas.

However, this is the key factor in NASCAR's decision: Yes, Stewart blocked Smith -- but he already was below the yellow line and was in no way forced out of bounds. What Stewart did so well was keep Smith below the yellow, instead of leaving the door open for Smith to move up and in bounds.

Give both drivers credit for not losing focus, wreaking havoc and, possibly, wrecking the field coming to the stripe. Smith held his ground, drove for the flag. Stewart did likewise. And granted, on the last lap Smith had no intention of lifting off the throttle; it's not in a driver's DNA.

What makes NASCAR Nation so passionate is unmitigated opinions. However, don't lose the forest for the trees. Each driver hears the same pre-race speech:

This is your warning: race above the yellow line. If, in NASCAR's judgment, you go below the yellow line to improve your position, you will be black-flagged. If in NASCAR's judgment you force someone below the yellow line, in an effort to stop him from passing you, you may be black-flagged.

In the end, NASCAR president Mike Helton issued a statement on Monday that should settle the issue:

"During the last lap of [Sunday's] race at Talladega Superspeedway the driver of the No. 01 violated NASCAR policy by driving under the yellow line to improve his position. In NASCAR's opinion he was not forced below the yellow line. NASCAR correctly took immediate action to enforce the policy by penalizing the No. 01 [Smith] and scoring the No. 20 [Stewart] as the race winner.

"Since the end of the race there has been some confusion as to what is allowable during the last lap at Daytona and Talladega. To be clear, as we go forward, there will be no passing under the yellow line at any time during NASCAR races at Daytona or Talladega, period. This includes any passing below the yellow line near the start/finish line on the final lap."

Now let's all move on ...

Bump-and-run thoughts after Talladega ...

Date	Track	Time	TV
Sept. 14	Loudon	1 p.m.	ABC
Sept. 21	Dover	1 p.m.	ABC
Sept. 28	Kansas	1 p.m.	ABC
Oct. 5	Talladega	1 p.m.	ABC
Oct. 11	Charlotte	7 p.m.	ABC
Oct. 19	Martinsville	1 p.m.	ABC
Oct. 26	Atlanta	1 p.m.	ABC
Nov. 2	Texas	3 p.m.	ABC
Nov. 9	Phoenix	3 p.m.	ABC
Nov. 16	Homestead	3 p.m.	ABC

All times ET

Winner
• Kyle Busch -- Hey, a 15th-place finish is nothing to sneeze at -- especially when his first three Chase races ended 34th, 43rd and 28th.

The No. 18 team deserves a lot of credit for not mailing it in and beginning to look ahead to 2009 by "testing" down the stretch.

Loser
• Carl Edwards -- Dude, you're killing my fantasy team! But big props for taking the bullet:

"I was worried about the idiots when we came here," Edwards said, "and I was the guy who caused that one.

"I was just pushing Greg as hard as I could," he said. "It was my fault. I apologize to everybody who got caught up in that wreck."

(A very close second: The damn-that's-a-bright-yellow firesuits for the No. 20 team. Look, we all love Subway and we're proud of Jared losing all that weight ... but next time, go green.)

Lucky Dog
• Jeff Burton -- It shouldn't surprise anyone that Burton escaped 'Dega relatively unscathed. Both he and RCR teammate Clint Bowyer sliced and diced their way to top-five finishes.

But would you believe the eight laps Burton led on Sunday were the first he's led in the Chase this year? In fact, that was the first time he'd led a Chase race since Oct. 8, 2006, at Talladega.

And make note that Burton has nine top-10 finishes in the past 10 Chase races, no finish worse than 12th in those races, and an average finish of 6.8. ... Unfortunately that spans two seasons.

Who's hot
• Kevin Harvick -- OK, so he got caught up in the aftermath of Carl Edwards' bonehead bump-drafting-through-the-corner, but Harvick has been on a roll in the past 10 races: three top-five finishes and nine top-10s.

Who's not
• Penske Racing -- In the past 10 races, Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch rank 21st and 25th in points and have combined for four top-10s and eight 30th-or-worse finishes.

In case you missed it ...

• Yep, it was a restrictor-plate race:
2nd -- Paul Menard
3rd -- David Ragan
6th -- Bobby Labonte
7th -- Scott Riggs
8th -- Robby Gordon
10th -- Elliott Sadler

• Labonte's sixth-place run was the best for the No. 43 car since a third-place finish Oct. 22, 2006, at Martinsville. It also was Labonte's best finish at Talladega since a fifth-place run on April 22, 2001.

• Gordon continues to hold serve for the No. 35 spot in owner points. He's now 39 points ahead of Michael Waltrip Racing's No. 00.

• Riggs' season-best finish highlights this: He has not finished outside the top-20 at Talladega in his past five starts, which include two top-10s.

• Joe Nemechek finished 11th at 'Dega, his best run of the year. (He has two other top-20 finishes: Daytona (20th) and Chicago (18th) in July.)

• Kenny Wallace (12th) just missed his first top-10 in the Cup Series since March 23, 2003, at Bristol, a span of 76 races.

• Terry Labonte has two plate-race starts this year and finished 16th and 17th, which speaks to keeping your nose clean and making the most of your opportunities. And never once did you hear or see anything about him bump-drafting through a corner. (Take notes, Carl.)

Moving on to Charlotte

• I said it after Kansas, and nothing changed my mind at Talladega: start etching the trophy. Lowe's Motor Speedway is Jimmie Johnson's playground, and with a 72-point lead entering Saturday night there's no reason to believe he won't pad that cushion:

• Saturday night marks the 100th race at the Charlotte speedway, dating to June 19, 1960. Fireball Roberts started from the pole that day and finished 35th behind Joe Lee Johnson -- his second, and final, Cup victory.

• Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip have the most wins at Charlotte (6), one more than Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon and that Johnson fella.

• Looking for a fantasy sleeper this weekend? Bobby Labonte has not finished worse than 13th in the past four races at Charlotte, and was fifth in this race in 2006. Since taking for the No. 43 for Petty Enterprises, his average finish at the track: 11.6.

• Dale Earnhardt Jr. (I had to get him in here; it's a NASCAR rule. And no, the chart above doesn't count ...)

Lasting Image

Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Three-wide at Talladega.