NASCAR: The Caution Clock Is A Step In The Right Direction

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Feb 20, 2015; Daytona Beach, FL, USA; NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Tyler Reddick (19) winsg practice for the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 20, 2015; Daytona Beach, FL, USA; NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Tyler Reddick (19) winsg practice for the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports /

NASCAR’s announcement of the caution clock for the Truck Series in 2016 has been met with a lot of negativity, but the clock really isn’t all that bad.

NASCAR Fans Are Afraid Of Change

That became perfectly clear when NASCAR fans reacted in outrage to the announcement of a caution clock in the Camping World Truck Series.  The new caution clocked, which is already being deemed the shot clock by some fans, will be set to 20 minute intervals and will signal a caution when the clock strikes zero. If a caution comes out before the caution clock strikes zero it will be reset to 20 minutes for the upcoming green flag restart.

Although NASCAR should be praised for at least trying to bring in a new age of excitement and strategy to the Camping World Truck Series, they are  instead being met with harsh criticisms and whining about how racing isn’t how it used to be in the good old days. There are even some radical fans that are swearing off racing completely because of the implementation of the caution clock rule.

While a caution clock probably won’t be the most popular way of bringing change to NASCAR, the addition of the caution clock will bring the Camping World Truck Series closer to being a product that has more excitement and strategy in it. Another change that NASCAR made was adding heat races in the XFINITY Series (something that some fans have been begging for) and even that was met with much critique. Fans want change but seem to be too scared to handle it.

That might sound like an unfair assessment of NASCAR’s fan base, but its really the only logical interpretation to draw from the response fans have given so far. Sure, the caution clock probably wasn’t on any fans short list of needed changes in the sport, but it was at least an attempt by NASCAR to tackle the tall task of making the lower tier series’ of the sport interesting again. How many of you actually watch the truck series? Sure, some of you will contest that you watch every race but the ratings prove that not many are in that boat.

Not only will  the new caution clock  finally do away with run away leaders, something that has plagued the sport for decades now, it will also bunch up the 36-truck field to keep things interesting and make sure that each race ends with a 25-30  lap shootout to the finish. If anything, the rule change is a welcomed break from the monotony that usually plays itself out during a typical Camping World Truck Series race.

Again, this probably wasn’t the change that fans were hoping to be announced during NASCAR media day in Charlotte, North Carolina, but neither were other rule changes that were announced by NASCAR in the past. For example, the new addition of the revamped Chase format in 2013 had fans complaining about the artificial excitement it would create, but it has already produced two first-time champions and some of the most intense racing that NASCAR  fans have seen in a long time. Oh and for those of you still anti-Chase? The percentage of those against has come down over the last two seasons, so you should probably give it up and come join the dark side.

With that being said, the improvements that were made to the playoff format wouldn’t have been possible if NASCAR didn’t begin by experimenting with the ten-race shootout to the championship  The format was later changed to include two wild card spots to the post season and new points system was later introduced to make things even more interesting to make points racing even more exciting. Another example of NASCAR making positive changes to the sport, was when they announced the green-white checkered rule for the Sprint Cup and Xfinity Series in 2004. While the rule change originally only allowed for one attempt at a green flag finish, NASCAR later noticed how popular the rule had become and decided to expand it to three attempts at green flag finish in 2010.

The point here is that while the caution clock will probably never be a popular rule change among NASCAR fans, it is a huge step forward for the Camping World Truck Series and positive sign for more changes in the future. If anything, this is an experiment by NASCAR officials to see what works and what doesn’t work. If the caution clock yields the desired results, it will be kept or even expanded, if it fails to live up to expectations, NASCAR officials will scrap it and try something new. Haven’t fans been complaining about how NASCAR always ignores the Truck Series and the XFINITY Series?

Well, now NASCAR is paying attention.

In the meantime, NASCAR fans should just be grateful that NASCAR officials are trying to make racing in their top-three series more exciting and give the caution clock a chance to prove itself. Who knows, maybe NASCAR officials will eventually decide that lap segments would be a better way to create excitement in the Camping World Truck Series and usher in a totally new era of racing. An era of racing that would be strangely reminiscent of the days where races were held on dirt tracks and multiple segments would decide an eventual winner.

More racing: Five Drivers Who Made The 2015 Chase But Will Miss The 2016 Chase

What fans need to realize is that this new rule is a work in progress and nothing will impede that progress more then unwarranted negative responses by fans. Despite a few flips here and their over the sports storied history, NASCAR  has worked hard to create, retool and ultimately perfect rules that have made the sport a much more appealing product to fans. We just have to trust that they will do that again if and when needed.