Is there consistency in NASCAR's rule enforcement? Sometimes they do things that make me go, "Huh?"
In Talladega's April race, Kyle Busch was forced out below the yellow line by Mr. Jimmie Johnson. Kyle actually passed him and eventually won the race. Easy enough, no controversy there. Kyle was forced out so no penalty was needed.
I saw the same thing happen today.
Tony Stewart forced Regan Smith below the yellow line. Actually, it was a block dressed in "Oops, sorry" clothing. It was just an old dog doing in a rookie. Welcome to the big time, son.
At that point, Smith only had two choices. One was to race, which is what he did, or lean a hard door on Tony. If they both wrecked, so what? At least you give yourself the opportunity to win. If I were Smith's crew chief the door thing would have been my choice.
The rule is, supposedly, that you can't pass below the yellow line. Understood, but this incident opens a whole new can of worms.
It would be very easy to use the yellow line as a big part of a bumper car strategy if you're side by side on the outside, running two-wide. All you'd have to do is bump that other car below the yellow line, making him no longer able to complete the pass. You wouldn't even get a rough driving call.
Most drivers are being very corporate by saying, "It's a judgment call by NASCAR." That it was: a judgment call...that was wrong.
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