Post by dalejrfan on Feb 16, 2006 19:44:13 GMT -5
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- NASCAR president Mike Helton officially warned drivers on Thursday before the 150-mile qualifying races that bump drafting will not be tolerated.
"This is not as much about bump drafting as it is about aggressive driving,'' Helton said during the drivers' meeting at Daytona International Speedway. "It could be side-to-side.''
Helton said the problem has become magnified because a lot of drivers aren't experienced in the maneuver in which the front end of one car bumps the back end of the other to give both an aerodynamic push.
Done incorrectly or too aggressively, the driver in front often is spun out.
"So what we're doing today is getting into that gray area that we don't get into, and you don't want us to get into,'' Helton said. "But we've reached a point where we need to. So this is it. This is the warning.''
Bump drafting became a hot topic Sunday when reigning Nextel Cup champion Tony Stewart said somebody was going to get killed if NASCAR didn't stop it.
NASCAR officials on Tuesday announced they would monitor bump drafting, particularly in the turns and tri-oval, the rest of Speedweeks. The penalty if a car is black-flagged will range from a pass through to being parked if there are repeat offenses.
Helton said NASCAR would pay close attention to bump drafting in the tri-oval from the beginning of the grass to the end of the grass that separates pit road from the front stretch, going into Turn 1 through Turn 2 and at the end of the backstretch near the chicane to the Turn 4 area.
Several drivers suggested there was a need to monitor bump drafting on the straightaways as well.
"It doesn't mean the rest of the track will be ignored,'' Helton said.
NASCAR's decision to monitor bump drafting has drawn mixed reaction from drivers. Ryan Newman called it a joke, saying it is NASCAR's job to monitor the cars and not the drivers.
"We've got some drivers that are ruining it for everybody,'' he said. I say ruining it because the judgment call part of it is the ridiculous part of it.''
Four-time Cup champion Jeff Gordon admits monitoring will be tough, but applauded NASCAR for attempting to rectify the problem.
"It's not like this all of a sudden came out of nowhere,'' he said. "I really was hoping that last year after the October race in Talladega, when we saw so many crashes and incidents, [that something was done].
"I was shocked that over the offseason that nothing was done. We're not going to control it ourselves. Somebody has to step in and do something.''
Robin Pemberton, NASCAR's vice president of competition, said the sanctioning body is developing a different nose for cars that would be damaged by over-aggressive bump drafting.
That could be in place for the April 30 race at Talladega, like Daytona a restrictor plate track where bump drafting is most dangerous and most necessary, according to competitors.
Helton said ultimately the drivers are in control, and that NASCAR reluctantly stepped in.
"But if anything happens and we have to make a call, it's over with,'' he said. "Now we can argue when you come in after the race is over, but it's too bad. It is what it is.
"We didn't want to get into this and you didn't want us to get into it. But due to what is occurring on the racetrack, this is where we are at.''
"This is not as much about bump drafting as it is about aggressive driving,'' Helton said during the drivers' meeting at Daytona International Speedway. "It could be side-to-side.''
Helton said the problem has become magnified because a lot of drivers aren't experienced in the maneuver in which the front end of one car bumps the back end of the other to give both an aerodynamic push.
Done incorrectly or too aggressively, the driver in front often is spun out.
"So what we're doing today is getting into that gray area that we don't get into, and you don't want us to get into,'' Helton said. "But we've reached a point where we need to. So this is it. This is the warning.''
Bump drafting became a hot topic Sunday when reigning Nextel Cup champion Tony Stewart said somebody was going to get killed if NASCAR didn't stop it.
NASCAR officials on Tuesday announced they would monitor bump drafting, particularly in the turns and tri-oval, the rest of Speedweeks. The penalty if a car is black-flagged will range from a pass through to being parked if there are repeat offenses.
Helton said NASCAR would pay close attention to bump drafting in the tri-oval from the beginning of the grass to the end of the grass that separates pit road from the front stretch, going into Turn 1 through Turn 2 and at the end of the backstretch near the chicane to the Turn 4 area.
Several drivers suggested there was a need to monitor bump drafting on the straightaways as well.
"It doesn't mean the rest of the track will be ignored,'' Helton said.
NASCAR's decision to monitor bump drafting has drawn mixed reaction from drivers. Ryan Newman called it a joke, saying it is NASCAR's job to monitor the cars and not the drivers.
"We've got some drivers that are ruining it for everybody,'' he said. I say ruining it because the judgment call part of it is the ridiculous part of it.''
Four-time Cup champion Jeff Gordon admits monitoring will be tough, but applauded NASCAR for attempting to rectify the problem.
"It's not like this all of a sudden came out of nowhere,'' he said. "I really was hoping that last year after the October race in Talladega, when we saw so many crashes and incidents, [that something was done].
"I was shocked that over the offseason that nothing was done. We're not going to control it ourselves. Somebody has to step in and do something.''
Robin Pemberton, NASCAR's vice president of competition, said the sanctioning body is developing a different nose for cars that would be damaged by over-aggressive bump drafting.
That could be in place for the April 30 race at Talladega, like Daytona a restrictor plate track where bump drafting is most dangerous and most necessary, according to competitors.
Helton said ultimately the drivers are in control, and that NASCAR reluctantly stepped in.
"But if anything happens and we have to make a call, it's over with,'' he said. "Now we can argue when you come in after the race is over, but it's too bad. It is what it is.
"We didn't want to get into this and you didn't want us to get into it. But due to what is occurring on the racetrack, this is where we are at.''