That Double Yellow Line ~ It Ain’t Going Away
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Talladega weekend racing is over. Two races.
I was on the road but from everything I’ve heard they must have been some
doozies.
Richard
Childress pacing the Cup field in Dale Earnhardt’s #3 that he won his final
race here in 2000. Rain and red flags. Racing resuming with cars
crashing and flying and more red flags. Ryan Blaney winning to advance to
the Round of Eight by a mere .007 seconds. Not to be outdone, Johnny
Sauter drove his truck to cross the finish line first only to finish 14th,
having the win taken away after being penalized for going below the yellow line
to block the charge of a fellow competitor.
There
was a lot to talk about afterwards. The races of course. Grant Lynch’s
unveiling of the new fan opportunities at the “Talladega Garage Experience” and
“Big Bill’s” social club got major positive marks. Of course you have the
Playoff talk and speculation on who the next four to be eliminated from the
Playoffs will be. But leading the discussions this week and getting the
most attention on the airwaves is that Double Yellow Line that factored into
that weekend’s racing.
Everyone
seems to have an opinion on it. In this world of instant communication,
everyone who has a means to get their opinion out seems to be doing so.
The last few days leading up to Kansas City have been full of discussion on its
fate.
Some
say do away with it. Others say keep it. There seems to be a
healthy divide over the subject.
The
fans who want it gone say that it’s unnecessary. The drivers are
going to wreck anyway, whether the line is there or not. It has done
nothing to prevent the “Big One” and more than one has presented exhibits where
it has actually created what it was intended to prevent – the “Big One.”
Fans
go on to say that the rules surrounding it are not consistently enforced by the
Sanctioning Body. A win shouldn’t come
down to a discretionary call by the Sanctioning Body. When they have to
do it, it creates “bad optics” and puts the entire sport in a bad position.
Their
bottom line is if it’s not preventing what it was designed to prevent and if it
can’t be consistently enforced, then take it up and let them have at it.
It’s not needed. It’s only creating more problems than its solving.
Let the drivers race where they want and police themselves.
The
other side believes it is necessary and still serves a valuable purpose.
It defines the inside boundary of the racing surface. It does so in
a much safer manner than other methods to do so such as a wall or grass.
From
the Double Yellow Line to outside SAFER Barrier is where the Sanctioning Body
wants racing to take place. It’s there that provides the safest surface
to conduct racing at the incredible speeds the cars run here.
Within these boundaries, drivers find the smoothest surface and minimal surface transitions
to disrupt a car’s balance and create wrecks.
Within this area, turned cars have a better chance to keep air from
getting under the car which in turn reduces their chances of going airborne
(not eliminate, but minimize).
The
Double Yellow Line with a lane’s width of pavement below “out of bounds”
provides a “cushion”, some flexibility or wriggle room for drivers in the event
errors are made while running on the razor’s edge at the tremendous
speeds. It gives the drivers an escape
route when other drivers make a mistake while they are running on the ragged
edge. With the tight packs they run in today,
mistakes will be made and every little bit helps.
Eliminate
the artificial boundary of the Double Yellow Line and drivers will do what
drivers do to get any competitive edge-take it to the limit and then some. If they can and it’s to their advantage you
will see them move the groove down one lane and race on the lane that is
currently out of bounds. The “cushion”
disappears and any room to deal with errors is gone.
Take
Pocono. Drivers being drivers is a
reason they had to put rumble strips inside the turns there after drivers
figured out the quickest way around that track included running inside tires on
the infield grass. That line would kick
grass and debris on the track, creating issues.
It was only when a deterrent was installed that the practice stopped.
In
the big scheme of things the Double Yellow Line is a fairly recent addition to
the Superspeedways. NASCAR raced for
years without it. Just ask Mike Skinner
if drivers always stayed above where it is now and how does it work out when all the available
track surface and then some is used.
And as far as drivers policing themselves... it sounds good but in
reality if they bring enough sponsorship money to the table how much policing
can go on?
Remove
it? Keep it? There are good reasons for each
decision. Its future makes for good
debate. Thankfully, others get to make
that decision.
For
almost two decades now the Double Yellow Line acted as the inside fence on the
Superspeedways where an inside fence is needed but it is impossible or
impractical to have one in the usual or physical sense.
When
it comes to removing fences (or in this case, the Double Yellow Line) I think
NASCAR would be wise to consider the advice of philosopher G. K. Chesterton who
spoke directly to the subject of fence removal when he said,
“Whenever
you remove any fence, always pause long enough to ask why it was put there in
the first place.”
I
contend that if during this pause they find the original reason(s) for the
Double Yellow Line included safety, be it fan safety or driver safety, that
Double Yellow Line, it ain’t going away.
It
can’t.
If
it’s removed and something bad happens, someone gets hurt and it’s argued that
it could have been prevented if the Double Yellow Line was in place, the
outcome could be disastrous.
The
reality is the fear of litigation and potential liability greatly outweighs
whatever the fans, drivers, owners or Dale Jr. may want. As long as lawyers,
litigation or Insurance companies exist or until the cars are slowed down, the
tracks reconfigured, or something is done to break up the pack racing it has to
stay.
Till
then, That Double Yellow Line... It Ain’t Going Away.