It’s the offseason which can only mean one thing, discourse over minute things that we normally don’t see. As of late, I’ve seen some discussion about some rule changes that NASCAR has made over the years and as such I would like to throw my proverbial hat into the ring.
Now NASCAR is no stranger to rule changes, some even mid season like we saw this year with the stage cautions being brought back to the Charlotte Roval race after the admittedly lackluster showing by the Cup series at Watkins Glen. Which was a rule change we can all agree was done for the sake of entertainment or rather to make the racing product we enjoy more fun to watch. Which it very much accomplished. However there are other rules in the past that have been changed for the sake of safety or to deliver the advertised event that have indirectly led to a more entertaining and engaging on track product.
For instance, the “free pass” rule was implemented in 2003 in the name of safety after an incident in the fall New Hampshire race where Casey Mears almost collided with Dale Jarrett while trying to race back to the line after a caution was brought out by Jarrett. Before this, it had been a “gentleman’s agreement” that the leaders would slow down when a caution came out and not race while also allowing lap cars to get their lap back. This practice came to an abrupt in as NASCAR felt that driver safety was more important than letting a car unlap itself naturally. This rule evolved and changed over time to become what we have today with the addition of the wave around the rule and double file restarts for the lead lap cars. Whereas previously lapped cars had lined up on the inside line as a chance to race for their lap back from the leader. This undoubtedly has made the racing product on track much more entertaining in what evolved from a safety decision by NASCAR.
Hand in hand with this move was what we now now as the green-white-checker finish. Now this rule has a bit more history in the sport than the former. Having been a rule in some form since the inception of the truck series in 1995. This was because racing back to the caution was prohibited from 1995 until 1998 and again from 2003 onward in tandem with the upper series. The rule initially was a hard reset similar to what we see in the All Star Race where if any point on the restart a caution is waved the green-white-checker would reset. This was changed in 1998 to more closely mirror what we have today where a caution after the white flag ends the race.
How we got to have this rule in the Cup series itself is rather interesting though. While the rule was adopted in 2001 for non-point events it wouldn’t be until 2004 where we would see it used. Before this NASCAR was adamant on races only going to the scheduled distance and not over them. As such there was a precedent set in the 90s where they would through a red flag late in the race in. order to finish under green flag conditions. There would be a cutoff point usually about 5 laps before the race ended where they would be able to implement said red flag. If the caution were to fall after this point the race would end under caution as it did for Dale Earnhardt when he finally won the Daytona 500 in 1998.
The combination of this and the formerly mentioned caution changes would come to an unexpected head in the 2004 running of the Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway. On lap 184 of 188 Dale Jr. passed Jeff Gordon for the lead Brian Vickers spun in turn 3 bringing out a caution. Under the new caution rules added the year prior the field was frozen at the time of caution and NASCAR determined Jeff Gordon to be just ahead of Jr. at the the time of caution. With the race being past the cutoff to be restarted they would run the last 3 laps behind the pace car. The fans in attendance did not take well to this development and littered the track with debris to express their dissatisfaction with the situation.
This would prompt NASCAR to adopt a more standardized green-white-checker rule that more closely resembles what we have today. Now of course it’s been revised a few times over since then as they worked out the kinks as well as inadvertently creating new ones along the way but regardless this rule change has led to very climatic, chaotic entertaining, and sometimes dangerous finishes. Now this rule was more founded in the name of providing a finish under green flag conditions for the fans but has undoubtedly raised the entertainment value of the races overall since it’s implementation.
To sum up my thoughts on the matter, yes our drivers are great athletes in this day and age and it takes a great deal of skill and ability to succeed at the highest level. From the drivers in the cars to the engineers in the shop. However, for me, NASCAR is and always has been more of an event and entertainment product than a pure sport. Especially as we got into the peak boom era driven by the great personalities of the day. (Dale Sr, Rusty Wallace, Jeff Gordon, etc) It’s more akin to something like the WWE to me than any stick and ball sport. Looking at it in that light helps me not only rationalize the rule changes we’ve had over the years. But also appreciate what NASCAR has strived to do to deliver what it promises to its fans. Which is the best group of stock car drivers in the world battling wheel-to-wheel on Sundays.
Photo Credit: @puffadda
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