NASCAR clarifies? pit road entrance rule

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Eagle1

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NASCAR.com

NASCAR clarifies pit road entrance rule
By Marty Smith, Turner Sports Interactive June 25, 2004
5:21 PM EDT (2121 GMT)


Now I'm confused. I thought we already had this clarified once this week??

NASCAR needs 1 spokesperson, everyone that opens their mouth says something different. :(



SONOMA, Calif. -- In the aftermath of the Pocono Raceway pit road debacle, reports have varied as to how NASCAR has amended the rule. On Friday at Infineon Raceway, spokesman Mike Zizzo clarified the rule.



Mike Zizzo

Zizzo said that pit road would open the second time the leader reaches the pit road entrance, regardless the number of times the pace car has reached that entrance.

Recent reports have stated that pit road wouldn't open until the second time the pace car reached the entrance.

"The leader can make a lap without the pace car and it will still count," Zizzo said.

However, Zizzo also said that on the second lap the leader must be accompanied by the pace car.

At Pocono two weeks back, an official at the end of pit road opened the lane one lap too early, enabling some drivers to pit while race leader Jimmie Johnson stayed out, correctly obeying the rule. NASCAR chose not to correct the mistake, penalizing Johnson.

Following the incident, Jeff Gordon apologized to fans, saying he was "embarrassed."

Fortunately for NASCAR, Johnson was strong enough to rebound and win the race anyway.
 
NASCAR has radios. Drivers have radios. It's not much of a problem to have your two way radio tuned to your team and a recieve only radio tuned to NASCAR's transmitter for communications.......a simple broadcast by NASCAR to all cars that pit road is now open would be the easiest solution. So it costs teams or NASCAR a couple hundred bucks more.............that's peanuts compared to points potentially lost or positions on the track (probably not even the price of one can of fuel). Get that pit road flag man off the track and take him out of the equation.........maybe have him there so the fans at the track can see that it's open but don't make him the "official" notification of when pit road is open or closed.
 
how about a rule that says when a driver sees the dude standing at the enterance to pit road waving a green flag and decides not to pit he just pretty much screwed himself up and is not deserving of special favors?

oh, wait...that's how things were done for the first 55 years, and therefore must be changed.
 
Good point nascare...........but with the rule about not racing back to the caution sort of tossed a wrench in the works. I actually don't see much of a problem about pit road opening. However, a couple weeks ago someone screwed up and now everyone is screaming that NASCAR is at fault. Mistakes happen but somehow each mistake is blown out of proportion and it's the worst case of mismanagement in history. I understand the rule (at least the rule as stated back when they told us about it).......pit road is not open till the green flag is waved by the man at the entrance. And don't expect the road to be open the first time around. Pretty simple to me. People like DW start injecting their opinions about it and the whole world jumps on the wagon screaming "something, must be done to correct this gross error". So keep it simple for the simpletons like DW.
 
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