Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
Moderators: dirtonly  /  dmantx  /  hosehead

Many sprint car fans would tell you that drivers intentionally causing yellows is the worst thing for needlessly ruining the continuity and excitement of a race. There is a simple way to eliminate this practice. Make a rule that anyone that causes a yellow - intentional or not -  is automatically scored a lap down. If this rule were adopted there would never be an intentional yellow again. And for those that are not intentional, it is just the nature or racing that if you are the cause of a yellow flag, guess what? You lose!. Even worse, I've seen drivers cause a yellow, then go into the pits and make the fans wait for "car repair". Promoters need to fix this.  

Never happening

I believe everybody has the opportunity to voice their ideas, that is how we come up with the good ones.  So thanks  for the suggestion.    However, as a 360/410 car owner and driver for over 20 years, with all due respect, that is one of the worst ideas I have ever heard.  

Some of the most exciting races you will witness is a hard charging driver that went to the rear early in the race due to a flat tire or getting caught up in a yellow.  If we are put a lap down, I am pulling in rather than possibly destroy a car with no chance of unlapping yourself in a SPRINT race.  This isn't Nascar where you can get a wave around or be the lucky dog.

So a driver spins on lap 2 of an 8 car 10 lap heat that transfers the top 6 finishers to the A and you want to put him a full lap down. WOW. So anyone having any problem that brings out a yellow is automatically going to have to run the B main. Very stupid idea IMO.

And in the A, spin on lap 2 and make an exciting run to the front. Seen it MANY times. But you want to eliminate that excitement. Does not make any sense to me in any sprint car race.

Here in Western PA that is the rule. Or flat out DQ from the race. Will only be called if it is blatant though. If the driver is smart about it and waits for a push truck, etc., it will not be called.

What kind of sprint car would not have to wait for a push truck if it stopped on the track and brought out a yellow? I have seen late models, hobby stocks, mods, etc spin and "not be able to get the motor to refire" till the yellows come on. Then it suddenly fires up and drives away.

There is a rule at some of the tracks I have been to. 1 Spin / yellow in a heat if you caused the yellow you go to the pit. You get 2 spins / yellows in the main if you spin by yourself or have a flat and cause yellow.

As far as Late Models and Mods most of the Late Models and half or more of the Mods run a Burt or Brinn transmision. They are like a Sprint Car, in high gear they are locked in gear. So you have to bump the motor over and rock the car back and forth to get it out of gear. Then you can get it started.

Two strikes and you're out, and if pressed for time, no guarenteed time in the work area. I feel that's all the rules that are needed. I'm not even a big fan of the two strike rule but it's effectivness has been proven, at times. If you were to put cars a lap down for a caution, then you'd also have to count laps under caution and that has no place in sprint car racing. I don't think that NASCAR even penalizes any car by putting it a lap down, rather by "drive through" penalties, and by counting laps under caution.

Really?  So your answer is to put a competitor a lap down.  Ummm.  I just caused a yellow for whatever reason, a mis-calculated attempted pass, racing hard for the lead or 15th, doesn't matter.   I spin/stop, crash lightly,  according to your rules, I'm done.  A lap down, I'm heading to the pits.  Obviously, you are not a racer, just another grandstand mouth.

This is a tremendous idea for any E-mod division. 

I used to remember Kokomo (I think) used the Possum Flag, which was for the bomber type divisions and if you spun but wouldn't start the car until the caution came out they also through the possum flag and you were done for the race.  Nice for the lesser divisions but impossible and unpractical for the any type of sprint car racing....

So what if your just caught up in the action and you come to a stop too? Are you a lap down as well? With sprints needing to be pushed to start this would be a terrible rule. Guys travel along ways in many cases to race, so according to your rule if they spun on the first lap of the feature they'd be put a lap back and would have no chance of even finishing in front of the last place, on the lead lap, car. Rather than this rule you might as well just give the black flag to the guy because they have no chance of moving forward and they will just pull off, why wreck your equipment, use fuel and wear out tires with no chance of making up any spots. So after a couple of yellows you may very well have a field of only a few cars because the guys sent a lap down will just pull into the pits.

This would not speed the show up as there will always be yellows. Theres actually alot of times where a yellow coming out makes the racing better because it bunches the field up again and gives the guys chasing the leader another chance. I've been to plenty of races where if there is getting to be too many yellows and its taking too long they cut the laps down or go green/white/checkers. A good track knows when to make that call.

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I agree Larsonfan, most people like to think of rules that handicap the guy that they don't like but then as soon as it affects their guy their pissed.

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Interesting responses. Some of them make sense, some don't. First, of course this rule would apply to everyone - anyone's favorite or not. Second, the purpose of the rule is to prevent a driver from stopping the race for their advantage when they could have continued without bringing out a yellow. If they know they would lose a lap they would never do that again, thus eliminating most yellows. Third, in the case of a multi-car tangle, the car, in the judgement of oficials, that caused it would go a lap down, the others just caught up in it would not. Officials have to make judgement calls all the time. They could also judge no one to be at fault - just racing - and no one would have to be penalized. And, finally, no I am not a racer, I'm a fan for over 50 years. Like it or not, it's the fans that pay the bills and the purses - if they go away there are no races.

You say "thus eliminating most yellows"! I don't know what track you go to but I have NEVER seen a sprint car race where MOST yellows were brought out on purpose. And I have been going to races for 56 years too.

Based on the number of responses (752 views only 14 replies) and general tone of them I don't think too many fans are going to go away because of a few yellow flags during the night. But if they bother you that much stay home. I doubt your home track will miss that 1 ticket sale.

It's all a mute point. Tagging the rear will always be the penalty intentional yellow or not.