NASCAR Must Have Forgot About the Red Flag

The black helicopters are sweeping in, folks. Somewhere in the heart of central Alabama, the conspiracy is alive and well. NASCAR hates Denny Hamlin. And Tony Raines. And Reed Sorenson. And fill-in-driver-here who had to pit under the last caution because of the extended yellow.

What happened, NASCAR? Did the red flag that your flagman uses fly out of the flagstand? Was it lost in transit from Phoenix? Did the helmet capers get a hold it?

The reason for the second-to-last caution was David Reutimann, who had been having a stellar day, either lost a motor or a rear end gear. Reutimann had to make the show on time, so he was likely running a qualifying package due to the impound race -- causing the failure.

Anyways, Reutimann's problem happened while the field was going into turn 1 of lap 185, meaning the field would take the yellow at the line for lap 186. Reutimann put down quite a bit of oil across the tri-oval, leaving a nice mess to clean up. A red flag would have stopped the cars on the backstretch during lap 186. With the red flag removed, pit road would have been open that time by and the one lap to green could have been given on lap 187. With a green-white-checkered finish starting on lap 188, the race would have finished at lap 190 or sooner.
But that didn't happen, and the teams that gambled with their fuel mileage were completely thrown under the bus. Had a red flag come out, maybe some of the teams wouldn't have made it, but some may have made it to the checkers.

Instead, NASCAR kept the yellow flag on the speedway, causing the cars to circle for track cleanup during which two restarts were waived off. The result was finally a green flag at lap 191, nearly 8 miles past the scheduled finish. A caution that ended the race off of turn 2 probably saved some drivers who didn't pit from running out of fuel during the final 3.5 miles.

It was a questionable call, to say the least. It really is time for NASCAR to lay down a flat rule for when to display the red flag. Shouldn't an attempt be made to finish a race as close to the scheduled distance as possible?

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

4-30-2007 @ 7:49PM

shirley nolen said...

It's unfortunate that there were fans throwing debris on the track at Gordon. Such behavior gives the NASCAR fans a bad reputation! Sad that such action gives credibility to the comments we heard out of Seattle. And it reflects on all NASCAR fans. However, the majority of fans would never do such a thing.

4-30-2007 @ 8:55AM

Tiffany said...

i totally agree! i was screaming for NASCAR to throw the red flag, but apparently they can't hear me through the TV. lol i think that a lot of drivers got screwed in that deal yesterday, but does NASCAR care? no! come on nascar. make a rule and give us fans a good finish for once!

4-30-2007 @ 9:17AM

Dew said...

Nice to see that what I've been saying for years is FINALLY coming out...namely... NASCAR, USE THE RED FLAG!!!!! It is so stupid to have those drivers going round the track all those times, wasting gas and putting more wear on the tires...ANYTIME there is a caution, the red flag should come out. Fans would appreciate that a heckuva lot more then watching them circle and circle like a flock of hungry buzzards. It doesn't make sense. Come on NASCAR. Use your heads for something other then a place to put your hats.

4-30-2007 @ 9:31AM

David Cochran said...

It seems some of Dale Jr.'s fans have an I.Q. of "8".

4-30-2007 @ 9:26AM

David said...

Hey, I agree with Dew. Whatever is the matter with the powers that be? Cautions take way too much time. I don't often agree with that temperpot Stewart, but this time I do. How long should it take to remove a few parts from the track? Surely not 10 laps or more. Red flag instead of yellow flag. That oil spill should have been red flagged. Its nothing short of stupid to just keep the guys moving when there is debris or oil on the track. Come on nascar, stop waving your collective power around and do the right thing. As for the fans throwing beer cans? Stop selling the cans..go for paper or plastic cups and raise the price of beer a few bucks. That won't stop the drunks, nothing ever does. But maybe, just maybe it will keep a fan from being hurt. Don't those morons know you can't hurt a car by throwing a beer can?? LOL..idiots!

4-30-2007 @ 9:47AM

Roo said...

I was at this race, and the 2 fans that I saw being detained were....Gordon fans. (I'm not slamming Gordan fans...just pointing out that not all the debris was being thrown at Gordon) I don't know if they just got caught up in the emotions, or thought they were being cute, or what.
Not all the debris was beer cans, either. I saw more water bottles being pitched than beer cans. Fortunately, I didn't see anyone get hurt, but it was still tacky. How sad that a few people can make thousands look trashy, and make the true fans pay the price.

4-30-2007 @ 9:44AM

Tenderloin said...

The quy who got screwed was Mc Murray. He might not have had the car to win (or the gas after all those questionable caution laps)but IMO Nascar should have thrown the caution much earlier when the Toyota bit the dust. They waited to see if Gordon could get in first place...before they threw the flag. He did, they did and as things turned out Gordon wins. Bwahaaaa

4-30-2007 @ 9:50AM

IMO Nascar is happy putting the ghost of number 3 behind them now, NO doubt Gordon was the man to win in Nascar's eyes yesterday. They can now concentrate on the future as they try to resurrect Gordon as the next hero. To bad for Nascar that Gordon is widely disliked regardless of how good a driver he is. They will be pushing Gordon and Montoya desperate to put number 3 in the fond memory heap.

4-30-2007 @ 10:36AM

Diane said...

I agree with Tenderloin on both of his issues its what Nascar been looking for a new hero but Gordon not the Man!!!

4-30-2007 @ 10:41AM

Pat said...

As a Pittsburgh Steeler season ticket holder, there are no cans, permitted in your seats, you buy the beer and they place it in a plastic cup, bottles of water are sold but the venders retain the bottle caps after purchase. Look I am certainly not a Jeff Gordon (crybaby)fan but someone is going to get hurt. As for the race, isn't it fitting that the crybaby wins and passes Earnhardt's record on a caution. What the hell is a red flag for? They should re-name Nextel Cup racing to Hendricks Cup racing. I am sick of watching!

Pat from Pittsburgh

4-30-2007 @ 12:15PM

X-FAN said...

Tenderloin hit the nail on the head, as did Tony Stewart last week.NASCAR holds all the cards, they own the teams, the sponsors, the tracks and make up the rules as they go. I have been a fan for over twenty years, however, as of yesterday count me as just another x-fan.

4-30-2007 @ 12:40PM

billy bullock said...

nascar sucks and so do all you yankees that think that all us southerners give a s#^t about your lame opinions about beer drinking ass kicking rednecks

4-30-2007 @ 1:38PM

DB said...

What a shame this has become. To see what is going on in NASCAR is very clear. They should change the name to the Hendricks Racing League. No one seems to remember that this "Great honorable man" was indicted several years ago on several charges but was pardoned due to health reasons. Wow, he sure made a remarkable recovery once all the charges were dropped!! Secondly this "Great" race team has been caught cheating more than any other out there but with half the penalaties issued to other drivers and teams. Then yesterday the caution flies once Gordon takes the lead. This is becoming just what Tony Stewart said last week.

This by no means gives the occupants at the track to throw objects onto the surface. As you may notice I did not use the word "fan" in the above sentence. The group of friends that I travel to several races a year vary in driver support which allows for some fun jabbing, but real race fans would noe do such things. Take the race away from 'dega and give it back to a real track, Darlington, and not some yuppie western venue that cannot sell out the races it has now.

NASCAR wake up!! Brian France you are an idiot!! The eastern part of the USA is what put you on the map. These "this is cool now" fans will leave you in a minute once soccer becomes the flavor of the month!!

4-30-2007 @ 1:41PM

Geoffrey Miller said...

Why does everyone seem so convinced that NASCAR is allowing Hendrick Motorsports to win? What is with this conspiracy theory? These accusations weren't heard when Roush had 5 teams in the Chase a few years back.

And you folks really think Jeff Gordon or Jimmie Johnson wouldn't have passed Jamie McMurray (who ended up losing power on the restart because of low fuel) for the win?

Nuts, people, you're all nuts!

Watch out though, the sky is falling.

4-30-2007 @ 2:46PM

Elroy said...

You Doofus NASCAR Driver Fans crack me up. You really do. You can't argue with Gordons numbers. Oh...you doofus rednecks will call him a pretty boy and accuse him of being gay. I guess that's the best you got but it doesn't change a thing. Now let me explain something to you because you are not smart. DALE EARNHART IS DEAD. He is not going to win any more races. His record is what it is. That's a fact. So explain to me why this means Jeff Gordon should be closed out from winning. For Jr.??? I don't think so. My guess there are several other teams/drivers/sponsers that have a different idea as well. Let me make it easy for you doofus rednecks....take your cheap shots at that Whinner Montoya. He's a pretty boy, has a big yap and no numbers to back it up and it's always someones else's fault.

4-30-2007 @ 5:40PM

Hector said...

Red flags are thrown, at the latest, when there are ten laps to go. It has been stated many times. Reutimann's crash occurred when there were three laps to go, hence the extended yellow flag. There is no controversy here.

4-30-2007 @ 3:41PM

Cornholio said...

Reutimann didn't crash Hector. Six to seven laps to go and he blew an engine, clearly wayyyyyy before they threw the caution. They knew that he wasn't going to make it to the pits the very minute that he blew. Caution should have flown then or more importantly a RED FLAG!! People pay money to see a good race and there hasn't been one in a long time. Let em race! That's what they are there for.

4-30-2007 @ 4:47PM

Bob Friesth said...

Good call, Hector. Of course, the Gordon haters, who
are legion, would prefer ignoring the accepted rules of operation if it would deny Jeff a win. If the revered Junior had been in front the yellow would have been just OK.
As far as conspiracy theories go, HMS has obviously been the dominant garage for the last two seasons and have just as obviously done the best job of figuring out how to race the COT. Live with it, ya whiners.

4-30-2007 @ 5:25PM

UncleJim said...

"13. What a shame this has become. To see what is going on in NASCAR is very clear. They should change the name to the Hendricks Racing League."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

DB... It's hard to argue with logic! I like the HRL moniker, but I think that IROC is closer to the truth, now.
The cars are all the same, the restrictor plates are all the same, the only difference is the drivers. The Rainbow Whiner, Junior, Stoned Tony are the darlings of NASCAR management. Hendrick is a crook. And Iroc, sorry, NASCAR rulers suck!
I'm tired of NASCAR after over 40 years of being a fan! The only Junior I'll ever love is Johnson!

4-30-2007 @ 5:39PM

17. Reutimann didn't crash Hector.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Oops. You're right, I forgot that Reutimann's incident was a blown engine, not a crash.