I still say Junior won last fall's race at Talladega Thursday, October 04, 2007
I will forever believe that Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the UAW-Ford 500 at Talladega last fall. The wacky and controversial finish at Kansas on Sunday only increases my belief.
Earnhardt Jr., you might remember, was leading going into the final turn of the final lap at Talladega last fall when Brian Vickers whipped out to pass from his third position and clipped Jimmie Johnson in front of him. Johnson in turn tagged Earnhardt Jr., sending Johnson and Earnhardt Jr. spinning in the infield grass.
The sensors imbedded in the track showed that when the caution flew - and it came quickly as the wreck unfolded - Vickers was the leader.
In reality, that isn't what happened at all. There are no sensors imbedded in the infield grass, thus the sensors didn't show what the television replay showed. Although Earnhardt Jr was sliding across the infield, he was still ahead of Vickers as the caution flew and the running order was frozen. Earnhardt Jr. recovered, got back on the track and drove slowly across the finish line even though by this time he was in the middle of the pack.
I brought that to NASCAR's attention the following day.
My question was: Because Earnhardt recovered and came around to take the checkered flag, why wasn't he the winner? If nothing else, how was he credited with finishing 23rd?
After three hours, I was informed that while the accident had indeed unfolded the way I described, Earnhardt Jr. had failed to meet the criteria in the NASCAR rulebook that in a race that finishes under caution, a driver must finish "at a reasonable speed."
NASCAR refused to define what "reasonable speed" was.
Like so many fans, I watched the finish of Sunday's race at Kansas and wondered what in the world Greg Biffle was doing as he came to take the checkered flag. He dropped to the apron, slowed to almost a stop and seemed to be out of gas (a claim he denies).
He didn't keep pace with the pace car and was passed by Clint Bowyer and Jimmie Johnson in the final feet before the flag even though neither of the other drivers added any speed to their pace.
Ramsey Poston, NASCAR Managing Director of Corporate Communications, released this statement about the weird finish:
"When the caution came out on Lap 207 the field was frozen. At the time of the caution, the 16 (Biffle) was in the lead and maintained a reasonable speed and was declared the race winner. There is no passing under caution.
"By rule, cars under caution need to maintain a reasonable speed, which the 16 did. If it hadn't maintained a reasonable speed or the car had come to a stop, then that car would not have won the race. In this instance the 16 maintained a reasonable speed, crossed the finish and won the race."
Hmmm.
You would think at issue here is what "reasonable speed" means, but I'm not so sure that is the case because I believe Earnhardt Jr. crossed the finish line at a speed equal to or faster than Biffle's.
Associated Press writer Jenna Fryer said it best this week when she said NASCAR has a changing rulebook and an arbitrary policing system. Understanding that is essential to understanding NASCAR.
Biffle admits his car was sputtering as it neared the finish line but he says it was not out of gas. He shut off the engine on purpose, he says, and was undoing his belts to get ready for the big celebration. He didn't explain why he almost came to a stop before crossing the finish line. Understandably, Bowyer and Johnson didn't know what was happening and passed him.
Why did Biffle's car have to be pushed to victory lane? Not because it was out of gas, his crew members said. It was because NASCAR directed them to do so.
Is this a great sport or what? Mike Bolton's racing column appears on Thursday. Write him at mbolton@bhamnews.com
