Rule discrepancy causes Talladega controversy

Thanks to two red-flag periods for two large crashes, Sunday’s four-and-a-half-hour Amp Energy 500 at Talladega Superspeedway took forever to complete. But fans were treated to high-energy suspense all the way to the checkered flag, and then they got some more.

NASCAR officials declared Indiana native Tony Stewart the race winner – his first win at the 2.66-mile track – after they determined rookie Regan Smith violated a rule in place that forbids drivers from driving under a yellow out-of-bounds line to make a pass on the track’s inside.

Smith actually made a last-lap pass on Stewart just before the start/finish line and appeared to have pulled an extremely surprising victory until NASCAR named Stewart as the winner, saying Smith had intentionally gone below the designated line, though Stewart attempted to block Smith’s move.

Instituted for safety reasons in 2001, the line keeps drivers from making dangerous passes, though NASCAR’s rulings on such infractions have been inconsistent at best.
Last season, a NASCAR spokesman told the media after a similar situation that the last lap was more or less a free-for-all, and in Sunday’s driver meeting, the teams were told that forcing another car below the out-of-bounds marker would be frowned upon as well.

Smith was not happy with the ruling, and the debate that ensued about NASCAR’s call prompted the sanctioning body to issue a clearer version of the rule on Monday.
For Smith, such a move was much too late.
 
Jeff Gordon marks one season since last win
 
Looking back one year ago, it is amazing how times have changed for Jeff Gordon.
Following the 2007 edition of this Saturday’s scheduled event outside Charlotte, N.C., Gordon secured his sixth win of the season and had a steady point lead as the season hit the homestretch.

Then, teammate Jimmie Johnson exploded to overtake Gordon and win his second consecutive championship.

Since that point 38 races ago, Gordon has yet to win a race – the second-longest drought of his career and longest since he won his first race in 1994.

The 2008 run is frustrating for the four-time Sprint Cup champion. After picking up 30 top-10 finishes last season, Gordon has tallied only 14 so far in 2008. A wreck last week at Talladega almost put the wraps on Gordon’s title hopes for 2008 after it left him 232 points behind Chase for the Sprint Cup leader Johnson.

Essentially, Gordon is returning to the Charlotte area, where he ran the fastest lap in a testing session last month, with one goal in mind: to win a race before the season ends.

Gordon turned in his most impressive performance at a 1.5-mile track similar to Charlotte just two weeks ago with a fourth-place finish at Kansas. So if nothing else, things are looking up for a team that has struggled with both equipment and luck in 2008.
 
Dropping the Green Flag: Charlotte

Race: Bank of America 500
When: Saturday 7 p.m.
TV/Radio: ABC/105.1 FM
Location: Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Concord, N.C.
Distance: 334 laps/500 miles
Track Layout: 1.5-mile D-shaped oval
2007 Winner: Jeff Gordon

Miller’s Preview

Nearly all of the NASCAR teams and drivers have their race shops and homes located in the metropolitan Charlotte area, making Saturday evening event a nice homecoming during such a busy point in the season’s schedule.

Billed as the only night race in the Chase, the Saturday night showdown will carry plenty of story lines into the event, but none bigger than the plight of Jeff Gordon in 2008.

Also, don’t let media hype declare a NASCAR champion after the race. Five races is a lot of time for a something to go wrong.

Miller’s Pick
Kyle Busch