Did NASCAR make the right call giving Tony the win?

[Haulin'AssAndTurnin Left]

I still cant make up my mind. Ive watched it a few more times and still cant decide if NASCAR made the right choice or not. At least they made a choice and didnt let him go to the podium and then penelize him.

Part of me thinks that when tony started coming down, and theres a bit of contact what would have happened if Smith hadnt moved?. What would have happened if when Tony moved down on him he turned right into the quater panel and spun Tony out?. Would we all be saying "Smith won by cheating like Vickers did a couple of years ago"???.

[Lee Roy]

Restrictor Plate racing sucks. This is why I rarely watch any of it.

[harvick#1]

I don't have a problem with the yellow line rule but in this instance I do think Regan was forced down by Tony. If they were penalising Regan they should have penalised Smoke as well and given Paul Menard the win. It could have made the world of difference to Regan's career which likely could see him out of a drive at the end of the season.

thats only in hockey where they penalize both guys for tripping and diving (which is it, it can't be both)

Tony clearly came down on Regan to block, but Regan was already there and Tony pushed him to the apron. Nascar I'm sure was sayin, Regan or Tony, thats an easy choice.

tstran17_88Yes...unless your last name is Earnhardt...then no! :

sad but true, Nascar wouldn't have enough balls to penalize Jr if he did that, oh wait, 2003 rings a bell

[RaceFanStan]

The point some people seem to be missing is that Smith ADVANCED his position !
Forced below the yellow line or not it was Smith's decision to keep going for the pass !
Smith's penalty is valid & he has no reason to cry, he broke the rule, it's simple really !

Furthermore the anti-Stewart people need to get over it, Tony Stewart WON !!!

I expect any driver who had done the same thing would have gotten the same penalty.
Moaning about driver favoritism seems to surface any time some people's favorite driver didn't win.

[Cindy_AL]

We did, the thread was deleted

The only thread I was currently subscribed to got deleted. I was wondering what happened.

Think it was confusing watching it on TV and wondering who won? Imagine being on pit road without any commentator, seeing 2 teams celebrating. Being the Tony hater I am, of course I was hoping he wouldnt win and we could experience the typical sarcastic post race interview after Tony finished 2nd again at Dega. As much as I hated it, I did force myself to visit victory lane to take some pictures. Guess my love for photography is greater than my hate for Stewart. (it also made up for it when I was in the background of the Victory Lane show on Speed Channel)

Hated to see Jr get wrecked. Especially after all of the free Amp's I consumed by his hauler. We were fortunate enough to be given some very special hats from a person we met last spring from his team. They are the "Chase" team hats given to all of the teams who made it into the Chase. Pretty cool.

For those who have been around here for awhile, you will be happy to know that I didnt step on Jeffypoo. Hated that he was caught up in a wreck too.

I was gonna post a few pics..... any preferences?

[MD24]

For those who have been around here for awhile, you will be happy to know that I didnt step on Jeffypoo.

[ms0362]

It was a sorry race. I didn't care what the call was at the end,,,,,what?,,,we had maybe 10 cars running around without damage? I'm sick of restrictor plate racing.

[Old3Fan]

I wish someone would enter the rule on this thread. I think the rule is that you cannot pass under the yellow line but if by accident or being forced below the line you do pass you are supposed to let the passed one go back by you and then you are not pentalized.

[carracing]

What doesn't help is when you are watching the broadcast and the announcers don't really know the NASCAR rules and throw out things like "the yellow line doesn't count in the last lap" or "anything goes in the last lap" - or whatever they said (I don't have the direct quote). It plants ideas in fans' heads and makes them get all pissed off. As always, it ain't over until the fat lady sings, so once France gets out there and decrees his final opinion on the matter, there's no use in debating it.

Personally - as a Tony fan, as a NASCAR fan, etc. - I view this year as a TOTAL and utter wash. NASCAR had better clean up their act for 2009. True fans are starting to drop like flies and those fly-by-night "trendy" fans who demanded the sushi and wine tasting at the speedways have already moved on to bigger and more popular things. Time to get the core fans back and the way to do that is to get back to basics - and some REAL racing and REAL rules.

[Lee Roy]

What doesn't help is when you are watching the broadcast and the announcers don't really know the NASCAR rules and throw out things like "the yellow line doesn't count in the last lap" or "anything goes in the last lap" - or whatever they said (I don't have the direct quote). It plants ideas in fans' heads and makes them get all pissed off. As always, it ain't over until the fat lady sings, so once France gets out there and decrees his final opinion on the matter, there's no use in debating it.

Personally - as a Tony fan, as a NASCAR fan, etc. - I view this year as a TOTAL and utter wash. NASCAR had better clean up their act for 2009. True fans are starting to drop like flies and those fly-by-night "trendy" fans who demanded the sushi and wine tasting at the speedways have already moved on to bigger and more popular things. Time to get the core fans back and the way to do that is to get back to basics - and some REAL racing and REAL rules.

I'm looking forward to the way it used to be. I could drive over to Dover or down to Richmond, on race day, buy a good ticket, see the race, and get home at a reasonable time. I'm happy that NASCAR outstripped all other forms of racing in the US, but I think I was happier in the day when it wasn't so popular.