LIVE THREAD ~ DAYTONA 500 - NASCAR NEXTEL CUP, SUNDAY 02-18-07 3:15 pm ET on FOX

Jayski ^ | 02-15-07 | Me Jack & Junior

[devane617]

Mark Martin WINS!!!!!!!

[auboy]

Yep. Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a dream.

[Carling]

I'm not defending them, not by a long shot, I'm just saying that they got what they wanted - the highlight reels for the next few days.

ESPN just showed the race highlights and didn't even touch on the last lap crash. They didn't even show it! I had my wife waiting to see it and they completely act like it didn't happen. This is a controversy that will hurt NASCAR. I am a "new fan" (seven years, each year more so than the previous), but crap like this doesn't make me happy. I already get grief from my friends for watching races.

[racing fan]

You also have to remember ESPN shows NASCAR races and probably doesn't want to hurt NASCAR.

[Carling]

I repeat.

ESPN did not show the wreck. I wonder what the owners are doing behind closed doors right now?

[Carling]

I am well aware of that.

This flies in the face of the "it's good for NASCAR" fans. ESPN is probably wondering what they got themselves into right about now.

[GRRRRR]

CONTACT NASCAR -

To contact NASCAR directly with your suggestions, questions and/or opinions you can use the following information.

Email: fanfeedback@nascar.com

Snail Mail:
NASCAR
P.O. Box 2875
Daytona Beach, FL 32120

Telephone: (386) 253-0611

[racing fan]

Probably.

[don-o]

How'd you make out. Think I got 437

I can't look, I hope I broke a hundred

[Chi-townChief]

It's a shame that wasn't the first place finish.

[WestCoastGal]

OK I may have been wrong on racing to the checkers and in hopes that this won't inflame people more here, I will post below Nascar's thoughts on the GWC and cautions. In any event, in a way it was Dale Sr taking another ride across the finish line at Daytona exactly 6 years after his death. I like Harvick he's a real racer as is Richard Childress, a class act also by the way. I also like Mark Martin he is a class act all the way. DEI engine was very disappointing today, but I can't blame that on Nascar. :)

NASCAR ready to go green-white-checkered

From Press Release July 16, 2004
11:12 AM EDT (1512 GMT)
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- A "green-white-checkered" finish format will be used for the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series and NASCAR Busch Series beginning with next weekend's races at New Hampshire International Speedway, NASCAR officials announced Thursday.

"The green-white-checkered format is an attempt to achieve everyone's goals -- a green-flag finish," NASCAR President Mike Helton said. "This change hopefully will provide competitive finishes in the relatively rare occasions it is warranted. This format has been successful in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, and considering the tight competition week in and week out in the other two national series, we feel the time is right to use the same procedure in all three national series."

The new procedure will consist of a restart of two laps – green flag for the first lap of the restart and the white flag signaling the final lap leading to the checkered flag. All additional laps will be counted and scored.

The new format will not guarantee a green-flag finish. Only one restart under the "green-white-checkered" format will be attempted. If a caution comes out during that period, the race will be complete.

This procedure will eliminate the need for a red flag in the final laps to immediately stop the race in an attempt to finish under green-flag conditions.

The announcement expands the single attempt "green-white-checkered" format to all three of NASCAR's national series, beginning next week.

[oceanview]

how can you say they didn't hold the yellow? on any other lap, it would have come out the moment the crash occurred. it didn't, so that shows they held it.

[auboy]

Kyle Busch caused it by dipping below the apron without the horses to win it.

The last wreck, yes. I am talking about the wreck that brought out the red flag earlier - that was Kenseth. MM was sailing along before Kenseth wrecked Junior and a whole bunch of others.

[oceanview]

oh yes, I agree it was a good call. all I was saying was - they need to make that part of the official ruleset.

[Carling]

If a caution comes out during that period, the race will be complete.

Or, you could just not throw the yellow and hope nobody dies with carnage all over the track. This takes care of this rule, eh?

[NormsRevenge]

I'm waiting on the Standings..will post when I can.. should have it there pretty soon...

[Carling]

My bad. Yep, Matt the Brat was impatient once again.

[NormsRevenge]

Standings

http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2007/data/standings_unofficial.html

RANK	+/-	DRIVER	POINTS	BEHIND	STARTS	POLES	WINS	TOP 5	TOP 10
1	--	Kevin Harvick	190	Leader	1	0	1	1	1
2	--	Mark Martin	175	-15	1	0	0	1	1
3	--	Jeff Burton	165	-25	1	0	0	1	1
4	--	Mike Wallace	160	-30	1	0	0	1	1
5	--	David Ragan*	155	-35	1	0	0	1	1
6	--	Elliott Sadler	150	-40	1	0	0	0	1
7	--	David Gilliland	147	-43	1	1	0	0	1
8	--	Kasey Kahne	146	-44	1	0	0	0	1
9	--	Joe Nemechek	138	-52	1	0	0	0	1
10	--	David Stremme	134	-56	1	0	0	0	1
11	--	J.J. Yeley	130	-60	1	0	0	0	0
12	--	Jeff Gordon	127	-63	1	0	0	0	0
13	--	Reed Sorenson	124	-66	1	0	0	0	0
14	--	Robby Gordon	121	-69	1	0	0	0	0
15	--	Johnny Sauter	118	-72	1	0	0	0	0
16	--	Sterling Marlin	115	-75	1	0	0	0	0
17	--	Boris Said	112	-78	1	0	0	0	0
18	--	Clint Bowyer	109	-81	1	0	0	0	0
19	--	Juan Montoya*	106	-84	1	0	0	0	0
20	--	Bobby Labonte	103	-87	1	0	0	0	0
21	--	Casey Mears	100	-90	1	0	0	0	0
22	--	Carl Edwards	97	-93	1	0	0	0	0
23	--	Kyle Busch	96	-94	1	0	0	0	0
24	--	Dale Jarrett	94	-96	1	0	0	0	0
25	--	Greg Biffle	88	-102	1	0	0	0	0
26	--	Matt Kenseth	87	-103	1	0	0	0	0
27	--	Ricky Rudd	85	-105	1	0	0	0	0
28	--	Martin Truex Jr.	81	-109	1	0	0	0	0
29	--	Denny Hamlin	79	-111	1	0	0	0	0
30	--	Michael Waltrip	73	-117	1	0	0	0	0
31	--	Jamie McMurray	70	-120	1	0	0	0	0
32	--	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	67	-123	1	0	0	0	0
33	--	Tony Raines	64	-126	1	0	0	0	0
34	--	Dave Blaney	61	-129	1	0	0	0	0
35	--	Ken Schrader	58	-132	1	0	0	0	0
36	--	Jeff Green	55	-135	1	0	0	0	0
37	--	Ryan Newman	54	-136	1	0	0	0	0
38	--	Scott Riggs	52	-138	1	0	0	0	0
39	--	Kurt Busch	50	-140	1	0	0	0	0
40	--	Jimmie Johnson	46	-144	1	0	0	0	0
41	--	David Reutimann*	43	-147	1	0	0	0	0
42	--	Tony Stewart	39	-151	1	0	0	0	0
43	--	Kyle Petty	37	-153	1	0	0	0	0

* Denotes Rookie

[budman_2001]

Agree-----NASCAR has blown this one badly!

Here's what they did back at Talledega awhile back in 2004 from Jayski's 2004 Rumors page:

How the field is 'frozen' and why no red flag at Talladega: The final four laps of the 188-lap race at Talladega Superspeedway ran under a yellow flag. The final caution, brought out by Vickers' spin, came too late for NASCAR to throw a red flag and stop the race, and also too late to get a restart. Had Vickers' incident come on lap 182 instead of 184, the race would have been stopped. "We would have had time to clean up, open the pits and still have at least three laps to get up to speed and race," NASCAR Vice President Jim Hunter said on Monday. "We missed by two laps." NASCAR informs the teams at its drivers meeting each raceday morning of the last lap when a red flag will be waved with the aim of insuring a green-flag finish. At Talladega, there would be no red flag from lap 183 on.

So when the late caution came out, the field was frozen, under another NASCAR edict that forbids racing back to the yellow flag. At precisely that point, #24-Jeff Gordon was ahead of #8-Dale Earnhardt Jr. The freeze-frame moment was recorded by what NASCAR calls "scoring loops," a series of marking spots around the track where electronic lines under the surface register the running order from signals transmitted by transponders in the race cars.

At Talladega, there are eight markers imbedded under the 2.66-mile track. "We go back to the nearest scoring loop to the accident and then to whatever video is available," Hunter said. In this case, the video showed the caution came while Vickers' wreck was in progress and Gordon was nearly a full car length ahead of Earnhardt Jr. "Gordon was first when the caution came out and also first to cross the loop line," Hunter said. ........< clipped >....(Alabama Live)(4-27-2004)

IMO, MM will forever be the winner of the 2007 Daytona 500.

[getmeouttaPalmBeachCounty_FL]

What if the top 5 began to spin out coming out of lap 4? Wouldn't the yellow have been thrown immediately and the one ahead immediately following the crash would have won?