Change is in the air, but is it a positive change or negative change? While NASCAR may think that changing their green-white-checkered rule from three attempts to one attempt will help ensure the safety of their drivers during the final laps of Sunday’s Camping World.com 400, is the rule change enough to do just that?
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I understand the reason for NASCAR’s rule change, especially after their last restrictor-plate race featured a car violently twisting from the bottom of the track into the catch fence. I still contend that the measure NASCAR has instituted for Sunday’s race is utterly pointless and will only ensure drivers safety during one part of an intense 400 mile race.
What am I talking about you may ask?
Well, consider this. What is to stop an accident like Austin Dillon’s horrific crash during the Coke Zero 400 from happening during an earlier portion of Sunday’s race? Despite NASCAR claiming that the reduced number of Green White checkered attempts is a safety measure, it only ensures safety during one section of a long race. The one attempt at the G-W-C still presents the same amount of danger as it did previously, as does ever single lap of the race prior to that potential G-W-C finish.
NASCAR reducing the number of attempts does very little on the surface to make the event safer. While a horrific wreck is more likely to happen on those final restarts, it’s not the only time such things could transpire.
For those that think of that notion as an impossibility, consider that Kyle Busch’s Xfinity Series crash at Daytona in February happened with nine laps to go. With that in mind, NASCAR’s latest rule change wouldn’t have stopped that horrendous crash at all. It would have still occurred, just like catch fence incident can still occur if the Sprint Cup drivers get a little too antsy during Sunday’s race or during any restart in the closing stages.
Another example is Tony Stewart’s wild ride in the 2001 Daytona 500. The wreck occurred on lap 173 when Stewart’s car got turned and went airborne after colliding with the wall and several other cars. Although Stewart was able to walk away from the accident under his own power, he still suffered from discomfort in his shoulder and was transferred to Halifax Medical Center.
The point here is, anything can happen on any given lap during one of these restrictor-plate races and reducing the number of G-W-C attempts isn’t going to change that. In the end, drivers are still going to get aggressive, they are still going to make mistakes and when they do, the “big one” will happen.
Although I would like to applaud NASCAR for doing something to address the growing concern of vicious crashes during these kind of tracks, I feel like the rule change was more of smoke screen to cover up the fact that NASCAR doesn’t want to fix the real issues that makes pack-racing such a vicious beast to behold.
Think about it.
If NASCAR was really concerned about safety, wouldn’t they shorten the number of laps in Sunday’s race? Wouldn’t they announce stiff penalties for those that are caught bumping in the corners, wouldn’t they try to decrease the speeds of the cars to lessen the impact and the chance of a wreck turning ugly?
Chopping off the possibility of two additional G-W-C attempts doesn’t really do any of that. However, what it does do is potentially rob the drivers and the fans of a satisfying finish. Can you imagine the scene if Dale Earnhardt Jr. or Matt Kenseth are running second on the G-W-C attempt and before the white another caution comes out and the race ends under yellow. Instead of having two more chances to race into the next round of the Chase, both of their seasons would most likely be over.
As much as I hate to say it, the reduction of the G-W-C attempts is a magic trick by NASCAR. NASCAR wants us to believe that they are drawing a line in the sand and putting safety at the forefront. I mean why else would they take a six potentially intense laps of racing and reduce it to only two?