Backseat Blonde - Free Laps are for the Dogs

April 26, 2005

Free Laps are For the Dogs
By Allison Wagda

Can you really call NASCAR racing anymore when a
driver can mysteriously reappear on the lead lap simply
as a reward for an errant yellow flag?

That’s exactly what happened a little over a year ago
when NASCAR canned the age-old practice of racing
back to the yellow flag in the name of safety. Rather than face a series where drivers
who faced bad luck early on actually had to earn their way back onto the lead lap,
NASCAR created a so-called “lucky dog” rule, giving the first car not on the lead lap a
free pass by the pace car whenever a yellow flag waved.

If one driver is going to race hard enough to put a lap between him and another car,
the powers that be shouldn’t simply award it back for the sake of entertainment.

There’s no reason from a competition perspective to enact such a ridiculous rule.
NASCAR’s sole purpose was to continue to promote its recent obsession with
manufacturing “exciting” races by giving as many drivers as possible a chance to win
as late in the race as possible. To them, it’s all about enhancing the entertainment
value of the sport. If your favorite driver is put a lap down for a speeding penalty, a cut
tire or some other random act, he could still make it back into the race and possibly
win.

Without the lucky dog, drivers succumbing to poor set-ups or other misfortunes
would be dealt a serious blow by being put down a lap. By not allowing drivers to
race back to the caution, NASCAR created a situation where their TV ratings could be
affected.

To drivers who have managed to stay on the lead lap for an entire race, the free pass
rule is a rip-off. We don’t hear much complaining about the rule anymore, since the
drivers know they may someday benefit from it. That doesn’t mean the rule is right for
the sport, only that drivers would prefer to keep mum on the subject so some
enterprising reporter can’t quote them someday when they win a race thanks to a
free lap or two.

I’m not claiming we should go back to racing back to the caution, although I never
have seen any stats on serious wrecks or injuries as drivers during one of those
melees. But that whole concept was also unfair, as drivers in the lead could choose
to help a teammate or block a competitor.

I’d prefer to see NASCAR stick to the spirit of racing and retire the lucky dog. Make
drivers who lose a lap earn a place back up front by racing for it. It may seem like an
utterly shocking concept, however it would actually increase the excitement, and
legitimacy, of racing.

Picture this: The leader is barreling around the track, with the second place car hot
on his heels. The leader starts to catch the tail-end cars, and rather than simply pull
over, the tail-end cars would race to stay on the lead lap. So the leader not only has
to prove his mettle by staying in front of the runner-up, he has to finesse his way past
those tail enders in the process. Makes it tougher for everyone. Whoever said
leaders should only have to race other leaders anyways?

It would also force cars to try harder throughout the entire race, and not be
comfortable as the first car one lap down. In order to have a shot at the win, a little
strategy (other than waiting for NASCAR to hand you a lap) would be required.

The other misconception under which NASCAR is laboring is the one that says more
than 10 drivers have to be on the lead lap at the end of a race to make it engaging to
watch. I’ve been watching a bunch of old races from the ‘80s recently, and there were
some darn good shootouts with only three cars vying for the win. Hell, there was one
race where Dale Sr. was the only car on the lead lap nearing the end (I think it was
Bristol, 1985, but I can’t find the CD cover right now and it’s late, so don’t quote me
on that). I didn’t see anyone in the stands leaving their seats then, and they wouldn’t
now either.

If NASCAR really wants to find a way to have more cars in contention at the end of a
race, there is another option that would prove more palatable to racing traditionalists
like me.

Have all cars pit together, if they so choose.

In that Bristol race 20 years ago, Dale Sr. was on a lap all his own. Then he made a
move which put a sure-fire win in jeopardy. He entered the pits. Several cars a lap
down pitted with him, and when Earnhardt’s stop was less than stellar, they passed
him leaving pit road.

That move put a few others on the lead lap with Earnhardt, albeit lining up in front of
Earnhardt on the tail end of the lead lap. From there, they had to race to stay there.
After a caution bunched up the cars for another restart, fans were treated to a
shootout of a finish.

So perhaps NASCAR could do away with the idea of allowing only lead lap cars to pit
the first time around. Yeah, I know, you get too many cars on pit road and things get a
little crazy. Yet that’s also a part of racing. Navigating pit road safely is always a
challenge, but we can’t change everything in racing to prevent mishaps and wrecks.
Otherwise we might as well choreograph the race itself and pre-select the finishing
order. We often have races with 30+ cars on pit road at the same time, there’s no
reason why it can’t be the norm.

Also, pit stops would have a new element of fun as fans watch closely to see who
beats the leader off the line to get a lap back. Drivers and crew chiefs would have
something else to consider when debating the intelligence of coming to pit road,
rather than simply assuming a caution is a free break for tires and gas.

What matters most to fans is the integrity of competition. One way or another, a race
must be won by someone who actually races their way to the checkers, not some
lucky dog with a get-out-of-jail-free card stuck in the dash.

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