NASCAR: Here's the Answer to Preventing Another Daytona Debacle

It’s been a week since the last lap fiasco at the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway. If you missed it, here’s how it played out:

Kyle Busch sailed past Tony Stewart on the next to last lap. Tony stayed on Kyle’s bumper down the backstretch and through turns three and four, trying to take the air off his rear spoiler to get him loose.

This is an acceptable practice in NASCAR racing, and it almost worked for Stewart, as viewers saw Busch wiggle once or twice; but he stayed in the gas and kept his line.

Once out of turn four, Stewart, with momentum, feigned left but when Busch blocked, also an acceptable practice in NASCAR, Stewart moved right and got a bumper alongside Busch.

At this point, either on his own or at the urging of his spotter, Busch darted right, cutting across Stewart’s hood and all hell broke loose. Busch ended up in the wall and several other drivers were caught up in the ensuing melee.

After the race, Stewart was rather subdued about the win, stating that that was not the way he intended to win.

Busch declined to comment, which indicates he blamed Stewart for the incident.

Other drivers gave the cliché response that that is just restrictor plate racing.

For the uninitiated, NASCAR mandates a restrictor plate be placed on the carburetors at super speedways like Daytona and Talladega to limit the amount of fuel and thereby slowing the top speed. As a result, drivers never have to lift their foot off the accelerator, and if they do, they lose precious momentum, which takes a half-lap or more to regain.

In May, at Talladega, fans were treated to a similar finish in which Carl Edwards wound up in the catch fence at the finish line. Fortunately, like Busch, Edwards walked away from a horrendous wreck and, more importantly, no spectators were injured.

After that race we also saw drivers shaking their heads and saying, “That’s restrictor plate racing.”

NASCAR is at a loss for how to correct this situation, and given the fans’ reaction to these last lap crashes—fireworks more spectacular than those launched above the Daytona Speedway in celebration of the Fourth of July and Stewart’s victory—I’m not sure they want to correct it.

Fans of Busch (and he has precious few) jeered Stewart, while Stewart fans cheered. And Joe Gibbs Racing, owner of Busch’s car, and several other teams ended up with junked race cars after 400 miles of racing.

Truthfully, Tony Stewart did nothing wrong. And under the current rules, neither did Kyle Busch.

Hence, if NASCAR is serious about finding a solution to this issue, a simple rule change is in order: make it illegal to block.

The Indy Racing League has such a rule in effect. If a driver intentionally blocks another driver, he is given a warning. If he blocks again he is black-flagged.

I’ve long thought blocking in NASCAR was unfair, akin to cheating. Anyone can hold onto a lead by blocking another competitor.

NASCAR already has a rule in effect at several tracks that prohibits a driver from improving his position by dropping below the yellow line at the apron of the track. Amend this rule by making it illegal to block, or at least limiting it to just one block.

The current rules allow drivers to dart back and forth to block, which, as we've seen many times on the tracks at Daytona and Talladega, is a recipe for disaster.

Unfortunately, I don’t see NASCAR taking such action. Not until a driver is seriously injured, or worse, a portion of a car ends up in the grandstand killing and seriously injuring several hundred spectators.

What a shame that it will take a disaster of this magnitude to force NASCAR to do something so simple.