Bad News For Local Yellow Fans

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A NASCAR senior official said Monday that the sanctioning body won’t use local cautions in many cases at road course events. The official also explained why a caution was called when rain was only over part of the track during Sunday’s Cup race.

“Under no circumstance are we going to have a local yellow with our equipment and our personnel out on the track. Local yellows (are) something that we can talk about, but honestly, concept(-wise) it is good but in practice I don’t really think that it keeps us from throwing the full-course caution hardly ever.

 
A NASCAR senior official said Monday that the sanctioning body won’t use local cautions in many cases at road course events. The official also explained why a caution was called when rain was only over part of the track during Sunday’s Cup race.

“Under no circumstance are we going to have a local yellow with our equipment and our personnel out on the track. Local yellows (are) something that we can talk about, but honestly, concept(-wise) it is good but in practice I don’t really think that it keeps us from throwing the full-course caution hardly ever.

Um, what did he just say? It's good, but no?
Regardless, running what seems like endless laps under long periods of caution does take away from the enjoyment of the race.
 
Um, what did he just say? It's good, but no?
Regardless, running what seems like endless laps under long periods of caution does take away from the enjoyment of the race.
As many laps that had already been run under yellow cautions due to drivers crashing on a dry track they probably figured their would be double that on a wet track. It might have looked like the final lap of the Daytona 500 when all of those cars came diving into that wet corner. ;)
 
I guess my question is, why can't those NASCAR weather/"turn" spotters let the teams know the track is wet in certain spots themselves, without NASCAR throwing a caution. I am also calling bull that only series officials have the capacity to know if certain corners of a track are wet or dry.

I know that the rule says they will throw a caution if the race starts on the dry package and teams need to switch to a wet tire package, but in my opinion, that is a terrible rule. Part of the excitement of road racing in variable conditions is the strategy that comes with it. Which team is the first to switch to wets/drys is so fun to watch play out and NASCAR takes that out of the equation from the start.
 
I guess my question is, why can't those NASCAR weather/"turn" spotters let the teams know the track is wet in certain spots themselves, without NASCAR throwing a caution. I am also calling bull that only series officials have the capacity to know if certain corners of a track are wet or dry.

I know that the rule says they will throw a caution if the race starts on the dry package and teams need to switch to a wet tire package, but in my opinion, that is a terrible rule. Part of the excitement of road racing in variable conditions is the strategy that comes with it. Which team is the first to switch to wets/drys is so fun to watch play out and NASCAR takes that out of the equation from the start.
In this case Nascar track spotters in one and turn two were telling them it was wet and they didn't want a mass pileup. Some stayed out, some came in. Many don't understand that it was a yellow and not a mandated yellow
 
Full course cautions are pretty standard fare for recovery that requires some kind of equipment on or near the track. And while they're not positive from a competition standpoint for someone in Chase Elliott's position yesterday, local yellows aren't infallible either. There are certainly some tracks big enough like COTA, Daytona, Road America where someone can catch a corner under yellow for something like some debris off line, it's picked up quickly and then their competition gets through under green having gained some time. I can definitely see this happening when a couple of guys are battling and then pit a lap apart under green, going about 3 minutes between seeing the same corner of track.

The most equitable thing to do is probably some form of VSC but series that utilize that usually have some sort of on-board marshalling system connected to much more visible trackside LED panels that drivers can react to instantaneously. And I doubt NASCAR wants the added headache of monitoring speeding under yellow.
 
Racing in the rain / on wet surfaces is just getting started In NASCAR.

Doing it in a manner that adds to the excitement of the event rather than detracting from it requires more experienced competitors and more experienced officials. Those things will come.

And they need an intermediate tire option. We should see that in 18” form next season.
 
That’s fine but single file restarts are the best option. I don’t know why this is so hard to do, sprint cars do this all the time
 
Build some traveling AI bots to pick up the debris, the cars playing dodge bot during a local yellow would become a new part of the deal.
 
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From a safety aspect I get it but at the same time it's a hard pill to swallow when F1 drivers can pull 5-10 feet off the racetrack, get out of their car, and are allowed to walk away while their competitors pass them at 150mph+. And 15 years ago you could be stopped on the side of the track, get out of the car, and be passed by cars going 200mph+ without anyone batting an eye.

Not saying that's the right way to do it, but there's no reason for us to be having full course yellows when cars are 50 feet off track as long as they're not in the line of fire from another car.
 
From a safety aspect I get it but at the same time it's a hard pill to swallow when F1 drivers can pull 5-10 feet off the racetrack, get out of their car, and are allowed to walk away while their competitors pass them at 150mph+. And 15 years ago you could be stopped on the side of the track, get out of the car, and be passed by cars going 200mph+ without anyone batting an eye.

Not saying that's the right way to do it, but there's no reason for us to be having full course yellows when cars are 50 feet off track as long as they're not in the line of fire from another car.
I agree.
I do think Nascar has more risk for a driver that has become a pedestrian due to mechanical problems. Less run off areas, and twice the number of cars. The nature of the beast or elements itself guarantees that Nascar will never be as efficient as F1 with local yellows.

I would just like to see them try to use them while understanding there will be more limitations.
There would also be a learning curb, this has been routine stuff for F1 almost forever, the pursuit would a whole new would and learning experience for Nascar
 
Another reason is that local yellows only rule out passing, the speed stays the same, you just can't pass. Probably a good idea that a series who has had local yellows for many years, F-1, is slowing up on having them. It can be fatal for all involved

 
I wonder what Jim France’s opinion is. His own motorsport of NASCAR not considering local yellows, meanwhile Jim owns the IMSA team Action Express. I’m sure he’s well aware that IMSA doesn’t send out safety workers to the track without a full course caution - not a local caution. NASCAR also attends conferences set up by Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.

The idea that only official NASCAR weather spotters can determine if the racing surface is wet is laughable. Not even the team spotters, the drivers who are on the track, TV announcers, radio announcers, fans watching raindrops on the cameras at home, or anyone else?

His PR official is making a mockery of the sport’s intelligence.
 
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Another reason is that local yellows only rule out passing, the speed stays the same, you just can't pass. Probably a good idea that a series who has had local yellows for many years, F-1, is slowing up on having them. It can be fatal for all involved



can't believe that guy turns his back to traffic! Bad idea.
 
They weren't considering lane choice on restarts until they were. They were happy with group qualifying until they weren't. Same with downforce philosophy. They change their minds a lot, and it will take time to work out the issues mentioned.
 
They weren't considering lane choice on restarts until they were. They were happy with group qualifying until they weren't. Same with downforce philosophy. They change their minds a lot, and it will take time to work out the issues mentioned.
NASCAR threw the red flag for rain at road courses for decades until 2008 in an xfinity race. They refused to use rain tires on the Cup side until last season at the Charlotte roval.

I’m confident NASCAR will eventually adapt to using local yellows during events like this but I think the statement they made recently is ridiculous.
 

...and it was a very fine rainbow!
20210223_191549.jpg
 
Build some traveling AI bots to pick up the debris, the cars playing dodge bot during a local yellow would become a new part of the deal.

I'm not sure about the bots, but I do think one day we will see self-driving pace cars.
 
With or without a passenger?
I'm sure they will use a passenger, atleast at first, just in case something happens for the safety of the other drivers and pit crews. Eventually they could even use remote controls for that though.
Or a virtual one like F1 does sometimes.
 
NASCAR threw the red flag for rain at road courses for decades until 2008 in an xfinity race. They refused to use rain tires on the Cup side until last season at the Charlotte roval.

I’m confident NASCAR will eventually adapt to using local yellows during events like this but I think the statement they made recently is ridiculous.
l;Local yellows could be a good "bold prediction" for you for next year :D
 
NASCAR threw the red flag for rain at road courses for decades until 2008 in an xfinity race. They refused to use rain tires on the Cup side until last season at the Charlotte roval.

I’m confident NASCAR will eventually adapt to using local yellows during events like this but I think the statement they made recently is ridiculous.
:cool: Doesn't look like any time soon
Scott Miller, NASCAR senior vice president of competition
“Under no circumstance are we going to have a local yellow with our equipment and our personnel out on the track. Local yellows (are) something that we can talk about, but honestly, concept(-wise) it is good but in practice I don’t really think that it keeps us from throwing the full-course caution hardly ever.
 
:cool: Doesn't look like any time soon
Scott Miller, NASCAR senior vice president of competition
“Under no circumstance are we going to have a local yellow with our equipment and our personnel out on the track. Local yellows (are) something that we can talk about, but honestly, concept(-wise) it is good but in practice I don’t really think that it keeps us from throwing the full-course caution hardly ever.
Good.
 
You know if you actually look at the laps under yellow they are some of the shortest I remember seeing in a long time. Its the length of the track that makes them seem long
Screenshot_20210224-011153_Chrome.jpg
 
You know if you actually look at the laps under yellow they are some of the shortest I remember seeing in a long time. Its the length of the track that makes them seem long
View attachment 54214
not really related to the yellows etc, but you could tell regardless of Elliott/JGR, Allmendinger just didn't have near the car to compete with.
 
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