Double-file restarts make for positive drama in end (cont'd)

Beginning with the melee that took Burton out and also involved the cars driven by Jamie McMurray, Paul Menard and Dale Earnhardt Jr., the last 42 laps kept you on the edge of your seat if the first 225 hadn't already caused you to slump into a peaceful slumber beforehand.

Martin still won the race, but it no longer became a foregone conclusion. Three-time defending champion Jimmie Johnson proved to be human when he bobbled on the next-to-last restart, got bumped from behind by Denny Hamlin, and then drifted back into a three-wide fracas with Kurt Busch and Jeff Gordon that ultimately left Busch in an absolute tizzy afterward.

When one more caution came out on Lap 262, Martin and his crew chief, Alan Gustafson, were forced to make the difficult decision on whether to choose the outside or inside lane on the restart. No one knew what was going to happen.

It was, to be honest, highly entertaining and stood in stark contrast to the first two-plus hours of the race.

Entertainers should entertain

Frankly, sometimes these drivers tend to forget that they're in the entertainment business. Yes, they also are athletes and this is a legitimate major-league sport.

But what's good or easy for them might not be what puts on the best show for the fans. And when it comes right down to it, putting on the best show for the fans is what it's all about and what they must get back to in order to boost sagging television ratings and disappointing attendance figures.

Some drivers get this; others don't.

Johnson may have lost Saturday's race because of the troubles he had on that next-to-last double-file restart. But he didn't seem to have any problems with it.

"I think we're all getting more comfortable with them," he said of the double-file restarts. "The car, you can actually lean on each other and make bumper-to-bumper contact in the straightaways. It's like racing on a short track at 190 (mph). It was great.

"They certainly make things exciting. They give everybody a chance. And when you group everyone up that close at the front, and they know the checkered flag is not that far away, the racing just gets really intense."

Intense is good. Yes, there are winners and losers on the double-file restarts. That's not going to change. Neither is the rule.

After Saturday's wild finish, in which he ultimately finished second to Martin, Gordon was asked what he had expected on the double-file restarts going into the race.

"I didn't expect anything any different than when it was implemented," he said. "Fifty percent of the guys out there are gonna like it; 50 percent of 'em are gonna hate it. It's not for us. It's for the people in the grandstands and the people at home. That's what it's for.

"I think it's a great move. I think it changes how we have to race one another. You know, we have to pick and choose how aggressive we're going to be, whether you're on the inside or outside. Sometimes one lane is better than the other. ... You start 11th or seventh one time and shoot by two or three cars -- and then you'll be on the outside row the next one, get passed by two or three cars. To me, it's always crazy on the double-file restarts. It's exciting, man. That's putting on a heck of a show."

That's why the rule is here to stay, and rightly so.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.

Joe Menzer is the author of "The Great American Gamble: How the 1979 Daytona 500 Gave Birth to a NASCAR Nation." Click here to purchase.