Who else here is very upset with NASCAR about the finish at Dega?
I am very upset.I think Regan should have won.It wasn’t fair.Contact NASCAR at fanfeedback@nascar.com and complain and tell them how you feel.This is what I wrote to them:
NASCAR,
I think you need to figure out your rules and get them straight because I am very very upset over how you handled the finish at Talladega.If you looked at the video of the finish,clearly Regan Smith was forced down below the yellow line by Tony Stewart.It wasn’t his choice.And no I am not a Tony Stewart hater so this is not the reason why I am complaining.I am complaining because I wish that someone would get their rules straight because if I recall,there was a Truck race last year at Daytona where there was a 3 truck finish at the line and Johnny Benson was aloud to go below the yellow line and inprove his position and he didn’t get in trouble for it.Regarding the situation and why Johnny Benson was not penalized,A NASCAR Spokesman,Owen Kearns said,and I quote,"if you can see the checkered flag on the last lap,anything goes."
So where do you really stand regarding that rule NASCAR?Please inform me.What is the exact rule here?Why don’t you make your rules public to the fans so we know what is going on and what is/isn’t allowed?Then maybe we would understand a little better.
Regan Smith clearly deserved to win that race and if he wasn’t allowed to go below the yellow line,then don’t let others do it too.It’s not fair.At least give him 2nd and don’t penalize him and put him to 18th.It was the last freakin lap…give me a break.
I have seen plenty of times,including the 07 Daytona 500, where it is a green white checkered finish,or the last lap and they start wrecking.Well the rule is that the race is supposed to end and whoever is in the lead when they start wrecking wins the race…You let them race to the end for the fans purpose.That’s not exactly sticking to the rules.I think you definitely stretch the rules a little when you want to.We all know that.You can’t hide that.And the only reason why you made it this way and scored Stewart as the winner is because Regan Smith is not a big name in NASCAR.Dale Sr got away with a lot of stuff in the past and guaranteed if Dale Jr was in Regan’s position today,we would all see a different winner right now.We trust you NASCAR to make it fair for everyone each weekend and we don’t apprecaite this.
So next time NASCAR stick with the rules for everybody and get it straight.Don’t play favorites.Or if your so confident that you made the right choice and that Regan clearly was in the wrong,THEN SHOW US THE RULES AND PROVE IT TO US.
18 Responses
Loews 48
03 Apr 2010
Jozi Won’t
03 Apr 2010
I would imagine the fifteen other people who asked this question in the last hour are.
Stinky Treat
03 Apr 2010
It was a bad call but I’m not upset about it. Now I am upset because Carl Edwards wrecked my driver by bump drafting in the curve.
Rowdy’s #1
03 Apr 2010
nope. the thing that upset me the most was the commentators giving the allstate "good hands" move of the race to harvick and burton when they avoided the first big one. they just turned a little to the left to avoid vickers. kyle busch avoided three or four different spinning cars in getting through that mess and no mention was made. they talked more about jimmie johnson coming through, seconds later, and avoiding everything. heck, it had all slowed to a near stop by then compared to what kyle avoided. watch the video again and see how many times he had to veer both right and left to avoid other spinning drivers.
and jimmy spencer had it right – a more experienced or aggressive driver like earnhardt sr, gordon, johnson, edwards, busch or even tony himself would have pushed back, and if tony ended up in the infield because of it, so be it.
Jonathan P(Go Me
03 Apr 2010
yes its so stupid
Jack D
03 Apr 2010
just re-watch the race and smith won out right SUE nascar Smith and take that damn company from the france family video shows you won the race and the yellow rule was meant to stop drivers from using the bottom of the race track! but when your force down their what to DO give up hell no the last lap you race back to get the win!
"If you can see the checkered flag on the last lap, anything goes," according to NASCAR spokesman Owen Kearns. Plus he was forced below the line. Regan Smith was the first one to the line, he won.
sazoukou
03 Apr 2010
just watch this clip of the last few laps and u will see that smith had no choice unless he wanted to wreck tony
http://www.nascar.com/video/cup/2008/10/05/cup.tal2.high.final.nascar/index.html?MostPopular
BobbyK
03 Apr 2010
Well it was typical crap shoot Talladega with NASCAR screwing it up even more. My bright side is Burton only about 100 points out now.
WooleyBooley aga
03 Apr 2010
I agree. I was on here an hour ago, got off I was so mad. Now, if Smith had tapped Tony’s rear bumper and crashed him, but won the race, apparently NASCAR would say "just one of them racing deals." Smith could have done that- he seems to race clean like Mark Martin, so he didn’t pull a Rowdy move-which we all know Rowdy would have run Tony out of the way.
Kirk N
03 Apr 2010
So, I guess that the proper thing for Smith to do would’ve been to keep going straight, wreck Stewart and perhaps half the rest of the field. If he had, Stewart would’ve been the first one crying and bitching and moaning. Provided of course that if that happened, he wasn’t wrecked into the wall and been killed like DE, when he tried to block someone at Daytona so his teammate could win.
wild
03 Apr 2010
YES you are right that nascar SHOULD stick to their rules and be fair and simply stop anything that violates the rules of racing.
I however disagree with you on one thing. The rules about the yellow line IF YOU ARE "FORCED" BELOW THE YELLOW LINE OR GO BELOW THE YELLOW LINE YOU CANNOT GAIN YOUR POSITION AT ALL. You cannot gain a position what so ever. I am sorry but smith cheated and I will tell you why I FEEL HE CHEATED.
YES HE was forced below the yellow line by stewart BUT he CANNOT gain a position and win. I heard nascar repeat MANY times that if you go below the yellow line and gain your position like exactly how smith did you will be penalized for that because it is cheating.
SMITH should have STAYED E-X-A-C-T-L-Y where he was when forced below the yellow line and came in second BUT he did not because this is the begining of the last few races til the championship and everybody starts losing their composure and does everything they can to win. He wanted to win but at the expense of when he forced to go below the yellow line and then passing stewart for the win AGAIN below the yellow line clearly paints a picture of no he cheated.
bruiser2005us
03 Apr 2010
I am above and beyond angry at the finish. Here’s a rookie going for his first Cup series win and then there’s Tony Stewart, a 2-time Champion, going for his first win in a year. Smith did one hell of a deke on Tony and ducked to the bottom. Tony came down on Regan which led him to take evasive action so he didn’t cause a pileup. So that is forcing somebody down below the yellow line. Regan Smith drove like a champion that last 400 feet and managed to beat one of the best in the Nascar world. Kudos to Tony Stewart for not wrecking him but everyone can agree with me that Regan Smith should be the 2008 AMP Energy 500 champion.
Donald G.
03 Apr 2010
I should just copy and paste this answer.
Usually, you could go under the yellow line, but couldn’t pass unless you were forced down there. Also, the yellow line would be disregarded on the last lap in turn 4 and the tri-oval.
But this race, they said that you couldn’t put the full width of a tire under the line. They also said that if you were forced down there, you had to fill a gap, even if it was behind you. If there wasn’t one, you had to maintain your position.
But what Regan did that was illegal, from my point of view, was to really use up the apron. If he had been right next to Stewart, he had a point, but he left a good gap of 2 or 3 feet. So NASCAR can say that he was forced down, but willfully used the apron to pass.
And if you wanna see the rules, and have a nice 300 dollars to shell out, you can buy the official NASCAR rule book. It’s a nice 1200 page midnight read.
saq428
03 Apr 2010
Basically all it takes to ensure a win at Talladega and Daytona is to force the guy who is legally passing you below the line. BS ruling today!
nascar24
03 Apr 2010
I am very upset and my son found a phone # to Nascar headquarters in Daytona Beach. I left a message on their answering machine saying how I am boycotting next weeks race at Lowes. I hope many others do the same, because Ratings & Money count to Nascar and if ratings are hurt, than maybe they will reverse their politically correct ruling and let the real winner , Smith get his trophy!
T L man
03 Apr 2010
I wanted a driver like Regan to win a race, he won it fair, NASCAR didn’t put enough time into making the final decision, it only took them like what, a minute, remember that truck race at daytona in 05 with spencer and Bobby Hamilton, it took them like an hour to make the final decision
jungleempress
03 Apr 2010
bad call by nascar and all of the commentators
ashraf1472
03 Apr 2010
I don’t understand why there is so much complaints. In the prerace show they said it clearly "If you get forced below the yellow line or go below it is fine as long as you don’t ADVANCE your position." What did Regan Smith do? ADVANCE his position below the yellow line
Shame on Nascar, that’s all i have to say!