No More Free Pass. Make Teams Pay for going a Lap Down.
by RhodeIslandRoxfan on Mar 1, 2010 11:34 PM EST
15 comments
It's time for Nascar to do away with its "free pass" rule. The reasons for its creation no longer apply. For those of you who are unfamiliar with how this rule came about, here's a quick review. (The rest of you can skip the next paragraph.)
Back in 2003, Nascar used to race back to the start-finish line when the caution came out. In other words, if there was a crash in turn four that brought out the caution and the leaders were on the backstretch, they would continue to race through the accident scene and back to the line as if it were the end of the race. Most of the time the drivers slowed down and followed a so called "gentleman's agreement", but as you might imagine there were some exceptions. One of those exceptions came whenever there were lapped cars right behind the leader. They would use this opportunity to to unlap themselves by beating the leader (who was slowing down for the caution) back to the line. Everything changed however following this incident involving Dale Jarrett at New Hampshire in September 2003.
Nascar realized that racing back to the line was unsafe and started freezing the field at the moment of caution just like they do today. A byproduct of this rule however was that there was now no way for lapped cars to get their lap back; so Nascar created the "free pass" rule to give drivers who were a lap down some hope.
I always hated the "free pass" rule. I like to see drivers earn their laps back. I also like it when it means something if you go a lap down early in a race instead of being able to rely on the crutch that is the "free pass". At first this rule was somewhat tolerable because without it getting a lap back would have been nearly impossible after Nascar got rid of the racing back to the caution rule. My feelings have changed however since Nascar went to double file restarts last summer.
Now that Nascar has these double file restarts, lapped cars have another opportunity to get there lap back via the wave around rule. It requires a bit of gambling for the lapped cars but it's a way to get a lap back nonetheless.
So now that going a lap down is no longer a death sentence, Nascar should can the "free pass" and stop giving laps back like they're candy on Halloween. Last Sunday, 19 CARS, (19 FREAKING CARS!!!!!!!!!!) made up a lap via the wave around rule on the last caution. Get rid of the "free pass" rule Nascar and force teams to gamble to get their lap back.
Who's with me?
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I actually like the rule, but only for cars one lap down. I’ve seen them do it for guys who are 40 laps down. Making them only 39 laps down. 39 more caution flags, and they could win this thing. It does kinda take away from the lucky dog rule, though. And Nascar likes to Freeze the field at different times depending on who it helps (cough Jimmie Johnson Cough)
Few situations.
There are very few situations where the wave around works.
It really takes green flag pit stops by everyone and a caution flying 10 – 15 laps later. It is actually a pretty rare occurrence. It was actually a good thing that it happened last weekend or the race would have ended with 10 cars on the lead lap.
The other way it works is 2+ mile tracks where you can skip the caution pit stop, be waved around and then pit under green. Your still on the lead lap, but only by about 8 seconds and most of the time there was a reason you were a lap down and chances are in 10 more laps they are going back to a lap down.
Ask me this question again when the 48 is two laps down and comes back and wins due to the lucky dog. I’ll give you a different answer then.
Education is what you get from reading the directions. Experience is what you get from not reading them.
As Snohio said, there are few situations where the wave around rule works. Now granted it would make guys race a lot harder to stay on the lead lap if their race was effectively going to be ruined if they fell a lap down which might make the show better, but especially with the lapped cars lined up behind all the lead lapped cars on restarts now, it would be otherwise impossible, unless there’s a situation where they can try the wave around which might dig them an even bigger hole if they have to pit a few laps later, to get their lap back.
I think we (snohio, you and I) argee on how things would work if Nascar got rid of the "free pass"
we just disagree on if it would be good or not. I agree that there will not be many opportunites as good as last Sunday to get a lap back via the wave around rule but also think teams will play it differently.
Let’s say we are at a track where the cars can run 60 laps on a tank of fuel. As the rules stand right now, all of the cars a lap down will pit and decline the wave around rule after a 35 lap run because it’s too risky a chance to take when you know you can still get the free pass. But if you take the free pass rule away, teams will start making these gambles because they know it’s the only way to get a lap back. Will it burn a lot of them? Absolutely!!! But I think this is a good thing because if you go a lap down, you deserve to be penilized and have to take a chance like this. (I think there are a lot more chances where teams COULD gamble with the wave around rule than they do right now but they just don’t use it because of the potential of the free pass is better option.)
The elimination of the free pass rule will probably make the racing more exciting too. One of my favorite parts of the race before the free pass rule existed was watching guys about to go a lap down give the leader hell because they knew how much losing a lap would hurt their chances of having a good day. Now it seems like there is less of a fight because of that stupid free pass rule. It would also make the begining of the race more important again. One of the problems with the racing right now (for me anyway) is that it seems like things that happen early in the race (minus a wreck) mean very little. The elimination of the free pass would make good cars going a lap down early extremely important.
"Baseball, it is said, is only a game. True. And the Grand Canyon is only a hole in Arizona." - George F. Will
by RhodeIslandRoxfan on Mar 2, 2010 9:01 PM EST up reply actions
One more strategy team could try with the wave around rule.
Teams a lap down could pit if a caution comes out ten laps after everyone has made a pit stop to give them more potential flexability when the next caution comes out. Again they don’t do that right now because they don’t want to give up the free pass spot (first car a lap down). I guess my point is that there will be more opportunites to use the wave around rule if the free pass is gone because teams strategy will differ.
I think it would differ in a way that would make it more exciting.
"Baseball, it is said, is only a game. True. And the Grand Canyon is only a hole in Arizona." - George F. Will
by RhodeIslandRoxfan on Mar 2, 2010 9:07 PM EST up reply actions
One of my favorite parts of the race before the free pass rule existed was watching guys about to go a lap down give the leader hell because they knew how much losing a lap would hurt their chances of having a good day.
At the same time, you still see this happen – it happened last weekend when I think it was Jr was about to go a lap down, he fought Gordon and got him loose then left him again (for about 10 or 15 laps.) This also can provide some excitement when you have two cars a lap down and they battle each other to be the first one a lap down, although you also have the chance that the wreck – inevitably at the front of the field – and take out top 5 cars.
The only way to make the beginning of races more exciting is to shorten races.. (or show fast cars that qualified poorly.) The drivers up front just want to stay there out of harms way. There is no reason to jockey for positions inside the top ten until there is about 100 miles left.
I can very much see you point on the free pass. Like I said there are sometimes when I am against it, mostly when drivers I dislike or don’t need any more LUCK earn it.. *cough*jimmyjohnson*cough*.
Education is what you get from reading the directions. Experience is what you get from not reading them.
One more thing and then I'll shut up for a little while
The thing that makes me hate the free pass rule the most is the idea of giving someone their lap back. The leader works hard to put guys a lap down, especially cars that could be good later in the race, and Nascar just hands them their lap back. This kind of rubs me the wrong way. I don’t mind people getting their lap back, I just want them to have to earn it by gambling for it.
"Baseball, it is said, is only a game. True. And the Grand Canyon is only a hole in Arizona." - George F. Will
by RhodeIslandRoxfan on Mar 2, 2010 9:12 PM EST reply actions
I don't think so
If a driver is a lap down it’s their fault for either running too slow, spinning out, or getting some kind of penalty on pit road. Why should Nascar hand these guys a free pass? They created their own mess and it should be their responsibility to fix it.
"Baseball, it is said, is only a game. True. And the Grand Canyon is only a hole in Arizona." - George F. Will
by RhodeIslandRoxfan on Mar 8, 2010 1:28 AM EST up reply actions
What about the 10 races a year that we get 90 laps of green and a leader puts everyone but 10 cars a lap down? Was the 12th place car going to slow then? Or how about when a caution comes out when a guy is pitting under green? Is that his fault then? We would have to go back to having lapped cars lining up next to lead lap cars, otherwise there would be no way for a driver to get his lap back without these rules.
Both scenarios you mentioned have already happened this season and have been taken care of by the wave around rule
At Fontana, Kyle Busch and Greg Biffle both pitted under green when the caution came out and lost a lap. However, the wave around rule allowed both of them to get their lap back immediately.
At Vegas, there was lots of green flag racing and the leader lapped up to about the 12th place car. Once again the wave around rule came to the rescue and allowed several cars to get back on the lead lap. (21 cars ended up finishing on the lead at Vegas)
The wave around rule gives teams more than enough of an opportunity to get their lap back. The free pass has become unnessary.
"Baseball, it is said, is only a game. True. And the Grand Canyon is only a hole in Arizona." - George F. Will
by RhodeIslandRoxfan on Mar 8, 2010 8:33 PM EST up reply actions
I may be wrong, but I thought a Free Pass car could pit after the caution. If a wave around car pits during the caution they go back down a lap. So it is a reward.
The wave around car didn't need to pit under caution in either scenario
because at Fontana Kyle Busch and Greg Biffle had just pitted and at Vegas all the wave around cars could make it on fuel to the end anyway.
"Baseball, it is said, is only a game. True. And the Grand Canyon is only a hole in Arizona." - George F. Will
by RhodeIslandRoxfan on Mar 9, 2010 2:22 PM EST up reply actions
Not wave around, free pass
You cannot pit if you are a wave around car, you can if you are a Lucky Dog winner. I was responding to your claim that the free pass was unnessary
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