While You Were Sleeping The Rules Changed By Karen Hammond©1996 SpeedCenter Internet Publishing, Inc. Now that we've had time to consider the new restart rules for CART, Isay, pitch em! From the beginning, I didn't care for them. They smacked of a NASCARremake and were blatantly acknowledged as improving the show. Like CART needed that. But hey, I'll try anything once, or in this case, I've watched it three times... Okay, I'm done now..... can we go back, please? What have CART's Restarts accomplished? On the oval courses, the new restart rules mandate a three-lap minimum caution. Well, in cases where auto destruction on the course warrants a massive cleanup effort, I see no problem with keeping the race under caution until the track is safe to drive on again. On the other hand, when (Pardon me, all Andretti fans) Michael slows to a stop on the backstretch and only needs his car removed before going green again, three laps are excessive. If that wasn't bad enough, CART has the cars lining up on the restartwith lead lap cars in one line and laps down cars on the other. Gee, gosh, thanks. Not only do they remove all the obstacles a dominant driver has managed to put between himself and the second place car, but every one-lap down driver who thinks he's competitive can join the restart-fray trying to get his lap back. If he's lucky he won't be the one to start the next caution -- half a lap later. On road courses, it's almost worse. Instead of the double file restart, CART has decreed that all the cars on the lead lap restart in their position order, with lapped cars in order behind them. Tough cookies for the leader who may have worked for the last hour building his lead to 20, 30 or even 40 seconds. Not only does he lose his margin, but CART even took away any hope of backmarkers reinserting themselves between 1st and 2nd. Hardly sporting. And all in the name of close competition. Now maybe I was sleeping, but when did it become bad to work hard, worksmart and dominate a race through superior equipment, superior drivingand superior teamwork? NASCAR has always thrived on the close competition aspect, as if enforced jockeying for position defined racing. Now I like a good close race as much as anyone, but not whenit's legislated that way. If you actually have 2 or 3 teams that are that competitive, wonderful! But how close are we to rules that will actively penalize a leading team for leading? Too close, by my way of thinking. Bring the old rules back. |