LONG POND, Pa. -- The fans asked. And NASCAR delivered.

According to the parties involved, it was as simple as that when it came to the decision to initiate the new double-file restart rule that will go into effect with this Sunday's Pocono 500 at Pocono Raceway.

Double the fun

NASCAR announced a change to its race format with the addition of double-file restarts throughout each race, and many welcome it.

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Asked Friday why NASCAR felt the need to "trick it up" if the racing has been so good lately, which many agree it has been, Ryan Newman smiled and replied: "We've tricked it up for the last 50 years. This is just another step of delivering to the fans what they want. This is something that I think will make the racing better from an excitement standpoint -- and that's what we're here for."

Some drivers said they knew double-file restarts were coming soon to their sport, but added that they were surprised NASCAR would implement such a dramatic rules change in the middle of a season. Robin Pemberton, NASCAR's vice president of competition, said Friday that the decision to do so was made swiftly after watching the excitement generated by double-file restarts during the recent Sprint Cup All-Star Race at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

"I don't know if I can pinpoint any one thing. But the fans have been heard loud and clear," Pemberton said. "They seem to be a little more vocal this time around. It comes on the heels of one of the best All-Star events we've had. That was pretty exciting."

The All-Star Race and the Coca-Cola 600 points race nine days later were followed by a "town hall-style" meeting at NASCAR's Research and Development Center that involved interaction between NASCAR officials and drivers, as well as owners and crew chiefs and other team personnel. Changes to the restart rule were discussed there, and some left the meeting with the distinct feeling of what was coming next.

But not everyone, pointed out Jeff Burton.

"I'm shocked that we are doing this this year. I have become very used to the shipliner analogy about how it is hard to turn a big ship real quick. I have become pretty used to hearing that," said Burton, laughing.

"I told someone at Charlotte that there was no way ever that we would do double-file restarts in 2009. I believed that we would do it in the Nationwide and Truck Series [the rest of this year] and do it in Cup Series in 2010. I'm shocked that they made the decision and are doing it this year. I don't normally see them make big procedural changes like this in the middle of the year. I am not saying it is wrong, but it is very surprising."

Newman said the new rule is all about generating excitement, even though he and others, even including Pemberton, admitted that no one knows for certain what the ripple effect will be of allowing the lead-lap cars to line up double-file instead of the old way of having lead-lap cars line up single-file on the outside with lapped cars lined up single-file on the inside for restarts.

"We're delivering the entertainment to the fans," Newman said. "If the fans say they want us to start the third restart in reverse and then switch around two laps later and run forward, we're probably going to do it."

Having said that, Newman and Burton argued that the racing lately has not been bad -- even without the new double-file restart rule.

"We're putting on pretty fun races that I've seen. And I'm not just talking about for the lead -- I'm talking about cars running side-by-side and racing like that," Newman said. "You're seeing a good average number of cars on the lead lap. I think it's been around 20 or something like that for each race. That's competitive racing. We're just delivering the fans what they want. That's what our job is as a series and as drivers and as sponsors."

Burton added: "I am not defending or trying to take a side or whatever, but the last seven weeks of racing have been pretty good. I've been pretty surprised about how much better the racing has been and how exciting it has been. Goodyear has brought a much better tire to those races or the races have been at night in the cooler air; we have had more grip and we have had better tires and the races have been pretty good.

"I don't think that there is this major need, as the perception seems to go, that we've got to have better racing -- if it's going to be the way it's been the last seven weeks. If it's going to be like it was in California, we have improvements to make. If it's going to be the way it has been the last seven weeks, we are pretty close. That is my opinion."

As far as the new rule goes, the free pass for the first car not on the lead lap when the caution comes out will remain in effect throughout the races, Pemberton confirmed. Drivers seem eager to see what strategy will come into play for competitors not on the lead lap who elect not to pit during a caution, as they will get waved around to the tail-end of the lead lap.

Pemberton said NASCAR will constantly review the effects of the new rule, but said he expects no more changes to be made between now and the end of this season.

One thing everyone seemed in agreement on, heading into this Sunday's race at Pocono, is that restarts late in races are likely to become more exciting for fans and more harrowing for the drivers who will now be battling each other up front for lead positions.

"We're in competition with every other form of entertainment," Mark Martin said. "That's been brought to the forefront based on what has happened with the economy and everything. And so, that's what it's about. It's about trying to step up your game.

"We're competitors. From a competitor's standpoint, there are winners and losers in a double-file restart. You just have to hope that it balances out equally. What that means is that sometimes a double-file restart will put you in a less desirable lane that you maybe wouldn't have had to deal with. Hopefully it balances out to 50-50 over the long haul, that you gain some and you lose some -- and that the fans gain every time."