LAPPED TRAFFIC HAS AFFECT
ON CHAMPIONSHIP CHASERS

Martinsville, VA: "Why don't they just move out of the way?" was the cry heard throughout the Subway 500 on the short track at Martinsville Speedway. The lapped cars more often than not cause accidents that involve drivers competing for the Championship. Today, Rusty Wallace was the victim when the lapped car of Casey Mears moved up in front of him. Rusty was forced to "check up", unfortunately, Jeff Burton, behind Rusty in the #31 Cingular Chevrolet, failed to stop and struck the #2 Miller Lite Dodge. Rusty spun around and slammed the inside wall. He had been running in the top 5 for the entire race, but was relegated to 19th place and lost valuable points in the Championship standings.

Another incident involved the #16 Subway Ford of Greg Biffle. It appeared he was told to wreck havoc in the front of the field because his car was carrying the race sponsor. There could have been no other excuse for his actions. First, he held up the race leader, Jeff Gordon in the #24 DuPont Chevrolet. Then, it was 2nd place driver Jimmie Johnson in the #48 Lowe's Chevrolet. Finally, he went to work on the #20 Home Depot Chevrolet of Tony Stewart, currently in 3rd place. At the time, Greg was ahead of the other lapped drivers, assuring him of the "Lucky Dog" award at the next caution.

There was no reason for Greg to crowd these drivers and hold them back. Beating and banging with Tony at this point in the race was meaningless. He could have let all of them go by, as his team mate Mark Martin did earlier in the #6 Viagra Ford. Biffle's belligerence showed his lack of respect for his fellow drivers. Clearly he would not have been appreciative of the same treatment if their positions had been reversed.

NASCAR has been generous by allowing lapped cars to double up on restarts giving drivers the opportunity to get back onto the lead lap and gain position. Regrettably, this method has become detrimental to the field as a whole. Yet, with the implementation of the "Lucky Dog" rule, it is no longer necessary to utilize this technique. NASCAR can identify which car is the first one a lap down when the caution comes out. They simply need to notify the correct driver . The lapped cars can race each other at the rear of the field to see who will get the "Lucky Dog" pass. Hopefully, this would eliminate a lot of the accidents generated by the cars that are over anxious to get ahead.

The Chase for the Championship was designed to highlight the top 10 drivers. Those drivers outside the top 10 have the opportunity to be in the spotlight when their cars are running well and they stay up front during the final races. Lapped cars should not have the ability to take points away from the contenders. Throughout this season, NASCAR has changed rules every chance they get. They need to take a look at this situation to see if a better solution can be implemented.

Article by S. Kipple
10/23/05

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