Who was the Luckiest Dog ?

[RaceFanStan]

2006 Lucky Dog FINAL Totals
11 Lucky Dogs
Dale Jarrett
Sterling Marlin

10 Lucky Dogs
Joe Nemechek

9 Lucky Dogs
Kyle Busch
Dave Blaney
David Stremme
Bobby Labonte
Kyle Petty
Jeff Green

8 Lucky Dogs
Martin Truex Jr
Robby Gordon
Denny Hamlin
Casey Mears
Terry Labonte

7 Lucky Dogs
Jeremy Mayfield
Scott Riggs
Travis Kvapil
Tony Raines

6 Lucky Dogs
Clint Bowyer
JJ Yeley
Ken Schrader
Jamie McMurray
Kenny Wallace
Carl Edwards

5 Lucky Dogs
Kurt Busch
Kasey Kahne
Ryan Newman
Jeff Gordon
Kevin Harvick
Reed Sorenson
Michael Waltrip

4 Lucky Dogs
Mark Martin
Dale Earnhardt Jr
Elliott Sadler
Jimmie Johnson

3 Lucky Dogs
Scott Wimmer
David Ragan (only raced in TWO races)
Ward Burton
Greg Biffle
Matt Kenseth
Brian Vickers
Mike Skinner

2 Lucky Dogs
Kevin Lepage

1 Lucky Dog
Paul Menard
Tony Stewart
Juan Pablo Montoya (only raced in ONE race)
David Gilliland
Chad Chaffin
Johnny Sauter (only raced in ONE race)

Did any driver win in 2006 after getting a Lucky Dog ?
Yes, 2 drivers did :
Kurt Busch won at Bristol March 26, 2006
Kasey Kahne won at Michigan June 18, 2006

Did any driver get a top 5 in 2006 after getting a Lucky Dog ?
Yes, 6 drivers did.
Jamie McMurray, 2nd at Dover, June 4, 2006
Bobby Labonte, 3rd at Martinsville, October 22, 2006 (2 of them)
Dale Earnhardt Jr., 3rd at Atlanta, March 20, 2006
Carl Edwards, 3rd at Charllotte, May 28, 2006
Mark Martin, 3rd at Kansas, October 1, 2006
Greg Biffle, 4th at Richmond, May 6, 2006
Greg Biffle, 5th at Dover, September 24, 2006

Jeff Burton was the ONLY full-time driver (all 36 races) to receive NO Lucky Dogs.

[Sparky1329]

THere should be a limit on how many Lucky Dogs a driver can use in one race.

[harvick#1]

you should only get one lucky dog per race, the rest, you have to earn it back.

but what the hell am I saying, just get rid of this stupid rule and race back to the caution, it should be the leaders decision if he wants to give the lap back or not

[Alexamateo]

For me the luckiest would be who finished high in points while recieving the most passes. Of the chasers, Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin recieved the most. Because Kyle got so many at the Glen (5?) that would mean Hamlin probably benefitted the most and is the luckiest dog of 2006.

[Alexamateo]

you should only get one lucky dog per race, the rest, you have to earn it back.

but what the hell am I saying, just get rid of this stupid rule and race back to the caution, it should be the leaders decision if he wants to give the lap back or not

I agree with Harvick

[Sparky1329]

I agree with Harvick

I'll third that.

[Alexamateo]

Also, thinking of racing back to the caution, what if NASCAR went to a two tier system. i.e.

debris on track = yellow light, race to the flag
two car crash in turn 4 = red light, slow and hold your position, field frozen
in the rare event there is a serious track blockage a yellow and red together would mean stop right where you are, true red flag.

I don't think it would be difficult to make that kind of snap judgement, they already have to make those judgements anyway on the decision to throw the yellow, this just takes it one step further.

[harvick#1]

its Nascar, everything to them is a very difficult judgement, they would say that the drivers will get confused by it.

[Rusty Spanner]

Also, thinking of racing back to the caution, what if NASCAR went to a two tier system. i.e.

debris on track = yellow light, race to the flag
two car crash in turn 4 = red light, slow and hold your position, field frozen
in the rare event there is a serious track blockage a yellow and red together would mean stop right where you are, true red flag.

I don't think it would be difficult to make that kind of snap judgement, they already have to make those judgements anyway on the decision to throw the yellow, this just takes it one step further.

Why complicate things? The system they've got now with freezing the field works well enough. And with green-white-chequer finishes available it makes little difference whether you race back to the line or not. There will still be a few circumstances where drivers loose out by the field being frozen but there will always be some regardless of the system.

[Lee Roy]

I'd say do away with the "Lucky Dog" rule. If you're a lap down, tough noogies, earn it back.

Racing back to the caution was one of the most stupid things that NASCAR was doing. It was way past time to stop that idiotic practice. I can't believe that anyone would seriously want that insanity back.