In the end, consistent rules are a must

Sporting News, The, July 22, 2002 by Lee Spencer

The day of the judgment call is over.

If NASCAR wants stock car racing to be a major sport, the sanctioning body needs what every other big-time sport already has: a clear-cut rulebook.

Oh, sure, a rulebook exists, but there is more gray than black and white in those pages. And the undefined gray areas allow NASCAR to manipulate and massage the competition. NASCAR must develop consistent policies that don't change on a whim. If not, WWE boss Vince McMahon might as well be calling the shots up in Race Control.

The first issue that needs specific rules is how to conclude a race when there is a late caution.

There's no mystery what fans at Daytona thought of NASCAR's failure to red-flag the Pepsi 400 with only a few laps to go. They were incensed; unfortunately, some also were uncivilized, throwing bottles and other trash on the back stretch as Michael Waltrip took the checkered flag under caution.

Fans fill the stands to watch drivers race, whether it's the first lap or the last. But in the last 50 years of what now is Winston Cup racing, fans really haven't known what to expect when the caution flag falls with 10, five or three laps to go.

Neither do drivers. The Craftsman Truck Series media guide says its races will end with "at least two laps of green flag competition whenever practical" (better known as the green-white-checkered finish). Some Winston Cup drivers may not agree with that rule, but they all agree NASCAR needs to establish a clear-cut plan.

"I'd like to see NASCAR come up with a rule that it is going to be green, white, checkered or `It's going to be this' or 'It's going to be that,'" Elliott Sadler says. "That way we know as competitors, and the sponsors know, the fans know, and you won't have any upset people like you saw at Daytona."

When NASCAR celebrated its $2.6 billion TV package in 2000, it should have considered the additional exposure the sport would receive. Like other big-ratings sports, it needs specific guidelines for handling ties or other late-game developments.

Look at the ugly fan reaction last week, when baseball commissioner Bud Selig departed from standard procedure and halted the All-Star Game with the score tied in extra innings. The fans wanted the game to be decided on the field, and baseball should have made sure there were rules in place to accommodate the situation--even in an exhibition. Selig agreed, saying changes would be made and it wouldn't happen again.

NASCAR still hasn't cleaned up its mess despite fiasco finishes in the first two races of the season. NASCAR red-flagged the Daytona 500 with five laps to go after a multicar wreck. That decision ensured a green-flag finish--and Ward Burton won the race. Sterling Marlin likely would have won had the race finished under caution.

The next week at Rockingham, NASCAR called for a caution with five laps to go because of debris on the track. Officials let that race end under caution, insisting there wasn't time to open pit road and finish the race. Marlin, who would have had a chance to battle for the victory if the race had been red-flagged, finished second behind Matt Kenseth.

Jim Hunter, NASCAR's vice president of corporate communications, said officials would discuss the race-ending situation. But no action was taken, and the egg reappeared on NASCAR's face in the Pepsi 400.

The ostriches at NASCAR still haven't learned that sticking your head in the sand doesn't make a problem go away.

So let's look at solutions:

* NASCAR should discard the excuse that the advertised length of the race is what determines the distance the cars will travel. There's nothing wrong with the Daytona 502.5 if it allows the race to end under green. Crew chiefs, though, would have to adjust their fuel strategy to account for the possibility of adding a lap.

* If there are five, four or three laps to go, red-flag the race if it's necessary to clean the track thoroughly and run green to the finish. Close pit road.

* If the leaders are on the second-to-last lap and there's a wreck, let the drivers race under the white flag, meaning the leader at the start-finish line wins.

Under the current "Who knows?" system, NASCAR was right to end the Pepsi 400 under caution with two full laps left. There had been enough injuries and wreckage, and there could have been more if the race had been red-flagged and finished under green.

The problem was, there wasn't a rule the fans could look to in that situation. They were left to sit and wonder which whim would be applied.

We're at the halfway mark on the real circuit, and the new season for our Fantasy Stock Car game begins July 21. Drop by http://fantasygames.sportingnews. com/stockcar/season2/ultimate to sign up for your free chance to win big bucks.

M@IL BONDING

LEE SPENCER ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONS

Several drivers, including Tony Stewart, have expressed interest in participating in a Winston Cup race on a dirt track. Would you agree that a dirt track race under the lights potentially could be one of the most exciting nights on the circuit, translating into a huge prime-time audience? Will this type of event ever seriously be considered by NASCAR?