Updated Oct. 9
Another wild day at Talladega and, of course, the controversy of Regan Smith's disallowed pass below the yellow out-of-bounds line caught our readers' attention this week. Other responses focused on the economy and how it is affecting small and mid-tier race teams, and Paul Menard's move from DEI to Yates Racing.
From: crissk4
I'm not sure what all the hoopla is over the end of Sunday's race at Talladega. Going below the yellow line to advance your position has always been a no-no at restrictor plate tracks and what Smith did at the end of the race was clearly a violation. Just because it was the last lap doesn't mean breaking a rule is acceptable.
Your last point is the one that seems to be in question. There was some disagreement among many drivers that when the checkered flag was in sight, it was OK to go below the line. But you're right, rules shouldn't change. You don't get four strikes in the bottom of the ninth just because the game is on the line. Going below the yellow line to pass is illegal whether it's Lap 1 or Lap 188.
From: jeremyk
NASCAR's ruling on this race, is completely wrong. Regan Smith was forced below the line, and should have gotten the victory. I say this, and I'm a Stewart fan.
Whether Smith was forced down by Stewart or not is a judgment call by NASCAR, or, to use yet another baseball analogy, a ball-and-strike, fair-or-foul call. There is a school of thought that indeed Stewart did force Smith to go below the line and if he didn't, a major crash would have ensued. But the bottom line is NASCAR ruled differently and unfortunately for Smith, he wound up with an 18th-place finish instead of his first trip to Victory Lane.
From: broceym
Is there something else NASCAR can do instead of forcing teams to use restrictor plates at Talladega and Daytona? It was supposed to slow things down and make it safer but clearly after Sunday's carnage that's not working.
It is a problem, and the irony of causing more crashes in the aftermath of a restriction that was mandated in the name of safety is not lost on NASCAR. But there isn't any other option. Without the plates, today's Sprint Cup cars would no doubt reach 225 mph or more. Slowing them down with the plate reduces speeds but bunches up the field. Maybe outlawing bump drafting and penalizing drivers who do it is a way to slow down the wrecks.
From: mronhock
Pete, same old deal. Here's what happens ... a company shows interest in a mid or independent team and puts a few bucks in their pocket. They get excited about the idea then NASCAR comes along and leads them over to the mega teams and sells them on the bigger is better deal of course, that is unless they really want to spend big bucks -- then NASCAR keeps quiet and pulls them into a NASCAR deal.
There are a lot of team owners who echo your sentiments there and have accused the sanctioning body of harvesting potential team sponsors for "Official xyz of NASCAR" status. But in terms of companies bailing on lower and mid-level teams in favor of the powerhouse organizations, it all comes down to return on investment and performance. A company is not going to spend millions on a driver and team that doesn't run near the front. It's unfortunately as simple as that.
From: fridzzy
Jack Roush has been "stealing" sponsors from other teams for years and he's continued this practice today.
Whether it's stealing or not can be debated, but, yes, Roush has a track record of luring sponsors from other teams to his over the years. He did it again with UPS, as the company will drop Michael Waltrip Racing in favor of David Ragan's car in 2009. But again, it's all about performance and a company's desire to sponsor a winning or front-running team rather than labor mid-pack.
From:12hohn
Let's be honest, without his father's multi-million dollar sponsorship, Paul Menard is not even a commodity any team would be after in the NASCAR garage.
Menard has improved in the last couple of years, and he's done it with a struggling team at DEI. But having a sponsorship tie like the one he does to his family's home improvement store chain certainly doesn't hurt in today's world of NASCAR, and Yates racing has landed a driver with developing skills as well as some solid sponsorship as part of the package.
