Monday, August 15, 2011

So what, exactly, was that caution for?

   It was the final lap in Monday's rain-delayed race at Watkins Glen International. The white flag had flown. A caution now would freeze the field and ensure then-leader Marcos Ambrose would win the race, but without a race to the checkered flag.

   In Turn 2, Boris Said hit David Ragan and knocked him into the wall. Ragan's car bounced off the wall and back onto the track and collided with David Reutimann, sending Reutimann's car spinning wildly in the air.

  OK, obviously NASCAR has said in the past if there is no danger to the cars or drivers involved, they will hold the caution to get the green-flag finish.

   Yet, a couple turns later, Tony Stewart and Clint Bowyer started a chain-reaction incident and suddenly NASCAR threw the caution flag. So, the field was frozen anyway and although it looked like Brad Keselowski could run down Ambrose for a try at a pass, Ambrose took the victory under caution.

   But there's a problem.

   In the official race report for Monday's race, it lists a caution for the final lap of the race. That's certainly correct. But NASCAR always cites a reason and here's the catch. The reason for the last lap caution is listed as "#00, 6, 51 Accident Turn 2."

   So, the official reason for a caution on the last lap according to NASCAR is the incident involving Ragan, Reutiumann and Said (when the flag didn't come out) and NOT the one involving Stewart, Bowyer and others (when the flag did come out).

   Either someone made a mistake, or NASCAR inadvertently admitted it should have thrown the caution flag earlier.

   Which is it, I wonder?


  

5 comments:

  1. It's Nascar so you don't get to know and if they do decide to answer that question it will be some sort of pretzel logic answer.

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  2. I expect NASCAR was trying not to have the caution but when it saw how savage the wreck was with #6 and #00 they threw it for safety precautions.

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  3. Caution or not.....Marcos was giving all behind him a driving lesson....Keselowski didn't have a chance....but a great effort by him.

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  4. Brian France is functionally retarded.

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