NASCAR official: Out-of-bounds rulings ‘clear-cut’ in turbulent Talladega finish

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Zack Albert NASCAR.com October 4, 2020 at 9:52 PMIt wouldn’t be Talladega Superspeedway weekend without some old-fashioned blocking, which as it turned out, wasn’t limited to the track. When the inevitable questions came about the rulings NASCAR officials made in determining out-of-bounds penalties in Sunday’s Cup Series Playoff race, eventual winner Denny Hamlin was quick to parry.

“No, no,” Hamlin interjected, his interview reflexes just as sharp as his late-race driving skill. “Called it all day. It’s a non-story.”

RELATED: Race results | Hamlin holds on in triple OT

If not a story, it was at least a compelling plot line. NASCAR officials penalized a handful of drivers for forcing their competition below the double-yellow line that separates the racing grooves from the apron in Sunday’s YellaWood 500, and the judgment calls were at their most prominent in the third and final overtime. And after the engines shut off at Talladega, some conjecture about the rule’s merits cranked anew, even as a top NASCAR competition official explained the final-lap ruling as “clear-cut.”

Hamlin dove low in Turn 4 to avoid a final-lap accident in a scramble for the lead; his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was not docked for the evasive maneuver, and he held on for his seventh victory of the season, advancing to the Round of 8 in the NASCAR Playoffs. Matt DiBenedetto, however, was penalized for chopping down to push William Byron’s No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet below the double-yellow line as he tried to hold onto the top spot.

DiBenedetto’s apparent second-place finish was negated and his No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford was credited with 21st place, next to last on the lead lap. That was just ahead of Chris Buescher, who was assessed a similar penalty for crowding Chase Elliott out of bounds later in the final lap. Officials reversed an initial penalty on Elliott for traveling below the line, determining after a review that he was forced there by Buescher.

Elliott’s fifth-place finish was restored, and Buescher took 22nd — last on the lead lap after the tail-end-of-the-field penalty was assessed post-race. Those penalties followed two calls for forcing his rivals out of bounds that went against Joey Logano, who led the most laps (45) but finished 26th after a late crash.

“It was pretty clear‑cut,” said Scott Miller, NASCAR senior vice president of competition, on the final-lap rulings. “The 21 (DiBenedetto) hung a left, drove those guys down below the line. We called that twice on the 22 car (Logano) during the race, so nothing different there. On the 24 (Byron) and the 11 (Hamlin) being down there, I mean, in our judgment they were down there to avoid a wreck.”

 

NASCAR officials explained the rule in the pre-race drivers’ meeting and again in the crew-chief handout before the race. “Drivers must race above the double yellow line,” the handout reads. “If in NASCAR’s judgement, a driver goes below the double yellow line to improve position, that driver will be black-flagged. If in NASCAR’s judgment, a driver forces someone below the double yellow line in an effort to stop them from passing, the driver may be black-flagged.”

The rule was established in 2001 at Talladega and sister track Daytona International Speedway as a safety measure after a series of incidents where drivers dipped to the apron to make passes and, in certain instances, lost control in the infield grass to cause multi-car stack-ups. The aftermath has meant fewer brazen low-lane passes but has opened up race officials up to making judgment calls (think: pass interference in football or a block vs. charge call in basketball).

Sunday’s results sparked a post-race motion from NBC Sports’ Dale Earnhardt Jr. — a dominator at Talladega and Daytona in his racing days — to abandon the rule. But some of Sunday’s top finishers were quick to scuttle that thought, wary of a return to the heightened lawlessness of superspeedway racing from 20 years ago.

“Sometimes when you go below the yellow line, it’s not totally your fault, but it is the rules,” said Ty Dillon, who finished a career-best third. “It comes down to a mental decision, am I going to lift or go below the yellow line. We know the rules before we get here. I think if you were to open it up and take the yellow line away, you’re going to have guys blocking all the way down to the grass, have twice as big of wrecks.

“I don’t think we want to open up that can the worms. We have plenty of race track we can go four‑ or five‑wide on. It’s a product of what we do. I don’t see anybody at any fault for any reason. I don’t think anybody tried to bend the rules to get an advantage. I think it’s just a product of what happens here.”

Said Miller: “I mean, outside of putting a wall there, I don’t really know what more we can do. I do sincerely believe we need the rule. You see all the real estate that’s around here. If we started having cars running 12-wide down the back straightaway, imagine what would happen when you get to Turn 3.

“I think it’s important that we continue to have a rule. You get out there in the heat of battle, things happen. It’s hard when there’s all that real estate down there, but you just can’t do it. I don’t think that we can eliminate it. I think it would be a mess. We kind of are where we are.”

Hamlin said the two earlier calls that affected Logano’s day set the tone and established precedence for how the rules would be enforced. He also said his final-lap maneuver wasn’t purely intended to gain an advantage but was for survival in “flat-out avoiding a wreck.”

Hamlin said he’d previously been on the receiving end of the rule’s sting.

“Finally they put their foot down and said, ‘this is the rule, we’re going to enforce it,’ ” Hamlin said. “You can’t as a leader, wherever you are, use the yellow line as a defense. You have to play within the boundaries that they set. In NFL they had force‑out rules, things like that. They got rid of it. It’s the same kind of thing.”

JRM No. 1 Chevrolet disqualified after post-race inspection at TalladegaThe No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet has been disqualified for an infraction found after Saturday's NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Talladega SuperspeedwayNascar
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Yellow line rule change unlikely - NASCAR's Miller

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emailBy Kelly Crandall | October 4, 2020 5:50 PM

Despite having to issue multiple black flags at Talladega Superspeedway, NASCAR’s Scott Miller said there will probably be no consideration to eliminating the yellow line rule.

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Joey Logano was penalized twice Sunday afternoon for forcing drivers below the yellow line. On the final lap, NASCAR penalized Matt DiBenedetto and Chris Buescher for the same infraction, which cost both top-five finishes.

“I think you heard Erik [Jones] say… there would probably be even more wrecks,” said Miller, NASCAR vice president of competition. “We certainly don’t need more wrecks than what we say today.”

The YellaWood 500 took three overtime attempts to reach its conclusion. There were 13 caution flags.

“I think you’d probably see more wrecks without it, guys just being able to dive down there and trying to make big moves. You’d probably see more accidents,” said Jones of not having a rule. “I don’t know – I don’t honestly know what to do to make it better. It’s unfortunate when it comes down to the end of the race, and it becomes a judgment call.”

DiBenedetto crossed the finish line second but was moved to 21st in the finishing order for his block of William Byron. The move forced Byron below the yellow line. It also resulted in Hamlin doing the same in reaction to what was happening in front of him.

It is within NASCAR’s discretion to penalize a driver for either forcing another driver below the yellow line or for willingly going below the yellow to advance his position.

“It was pretty clear cut the 21 (DiBenedetto) hung a left and drove those guys down below the line, so we had called that twice on the 22 car (Joey Logano) during the race, so nothing different there,” said Miller. “On the 24 and the 11 being down there, in our judgment, they were down there to avoid a wreck.”


Buescher was penalized for forcing Elliott below the yellow line through the tri-oval on the final lap. Buescher was moved to 22nd in the finishing order, and Elliott finished fifth. Initially, NASCAR ruled Elliott had driven down there on his own to advance his position and had to rescind the penalty after a formal protest filed by Elliott’s team.

“Outside of putting a wall there, I don’t really know what more we can do,” said Miller of the rule. “I do sincerely believe we need the rule. You all see the real estate that’s around here. If we started having cars running 12-wide down the backstretch, imagine what would happen when you get to Turn 3.

“I think it’s important that we continue to have a rule. You get out there in the heat of battle, things happen. It’s hard when there’s all that real estate down there, but you just can’t do it. I don’t think that we can eliminate it. I think it would be a mess. We kind of are where we are.”

Ty Dillon, who finished third, agreed that the rule didn’t need to be changed. Dillon said the action is a product of the aero package.

“These cars are a bit easier to drive, stuck to the ground harder,” he said. “The runs are happening twice as fast as they ever have. Guys going below the yellow line, you got guys going for a win, guys not trying to wreck.

“Guys have a lot of things going on in their mind. Sometimes when you go below the yellow line, it’s not totally your fault, but it is the rules. It comes down to a mental decision, am I going to lift or go below the yellow line. We know the rules before we get here. I think if you were to open it up and take the yellow line away, you’re going to have guys blocking all the way down to the grass, have twice as big of wrecks.

“I don’t think we want to open up that can the worms. We have plenty of racetrack we can go four‑ or five‑wide on. It’s a product of what we do. I don’t see anybody at any fault for any reason. I don’t think anybody tried to bend the rules to get an advantage. I think it’s just a product of what happens here.”

NASCAR, Talladega, Cup Series, NASCAR

 

Hamlin calls yellow line move "a non-story"

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emailBy Kelly Crandall | October 4, 2020 6:20 PM

Talladega Superspeedway winner Denny Hamlin not only thought there wasn’t a chance he’d be penalized for going below the yellow line, but called it a “non-story.”

Hamlin made it three-wide off the final corners on the last lap by going below Matt DiBenedetto and William Byron. NASCAR ruled DiBenedetto forced Byron below the yellow line, which resulted in a penalty for DiBenedetto. They felt others, like Hamlin, were reacting to the move.

“Forced. (NASCAR) called it all day,” said Hamlin. “It’s a non-story.”

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Officials penalized Joey Logano twice during the race for forcing drivers below the yellow line. They also penalized Chris Buescher for forcing Chase Elliott below the yellow line through the tri-oval on the final lap.

“Call it the same on lap 1 as the last lap,” said Hamlin.

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver was able to get to the lead by going as low as he did. In a drag race to the finish line, Hamlin beat DiBenedetto and Erik Jones, but DiBenedetto’s penalty sent him to 22nd in the finishing order. Jones was bumped to second in the finish and Ty Dillon third.


Hamlin said his move was to avoid a wreck when DiBenedetto and Byron came together. He figured NASCAR would see the rationale in Hamlin going to the inside of his competitors and as they came down, he went further left.

“I’ve been a victim of getting forced down there all the time, and finally, they put their foot down and said, this is the rule, we’re going to enforce it,” said Hamlin. “As the leader or wherever you are, you can’t use the yellow line as a defense. You have to play within the boundaries that they set. In the NFL, they had force out rules and things like that, they got rid of it. It’s the same kind of thing.

“They set the precedence early, so you know that you weren’t going to get away with it. It’s part of it. I wouldn’t say I would have done anything differently if I was Matt (DiBenedetto). I’m not a huge blocking guy. I don’t know. I don’t think you always have to block to win.”

Denny Hamlin, NASCAR, Cup Series, NASCAR