In the Daytona 500, Mark Martin was the winner because the race ended under caution. Why was he not trophied?

Question

By NASCAR's own rulings, the race ends on a green-white-checkered finish WHEN THERE IS AN ACCIDENT, not when they decide to throw the yellow lights. Mark and Harvick were not the only two important place finishes... Once a wreck happens, the field is frozen to keep from racing back to the stripe, which the front two did... MARK MARTIN is the winner of that race. Who thinks he should sue NASCAR and their antiGordon capriciously rigged event?

Answer 1

when are you guys going to give up.

Answer 2

Your argument holds little water. The timing on the throwing of the yellow flag is a judgment call. As anybody who officiates any sport can tell you, there are things that happen in any contest that require judgment of more than just rule application. Almost all rules have a "spirit" associated with them. The timing of a yellow flag is one of those.

Had NASCAR thrown the yellow at the moment of accident, a finish like the one we saw last Sunday would not have occurred. The excitement, and rush, the ultimate exhilaration or the ultimate let down of your driver winning or losing would have been lost. With that loss would have been another ugly finish to a Daytona 500 (think back to the Daytona 252 where Mikey was called the winner...).

I definitely cannot say that your argument does not have a point, maybe just because of safety. However, the Daytona 500 is not a local race of guys that have to go back to their jobs the next day and need to have added protection so that they can continue to support their families. The Daytona 500 is not raced by college students who make no money whatsoever from the play of their sport. They are professionals at the highest level. In baseball there is a rule at all levels that states if you run a catcher (with or without the ball), you will be ejected and your run will not count. High schoolers are ejected for it every day. Major Leaguers are ejected for it once per decade because the crowd loves it. Nevertheless, the rule exists in the Major League rulebook. It's judgment compounded with the fact that this is not sport for competition's sake, it's sport for entertainment's sake.

Harvick won.

Answer 3

I too would have loved to have seen Mark Martin when the race. I read a lot of crying about rules and the caution not being thrown, but read where someone said Mark slowed down and he did. NASCAR is like any other sport you can't stop hoping they will stop what is happening. I think Mark should have racing and I feel like he would have won the race. The rule about the caution being thrown when a wreck happens is ok but it would not have changed anything at Daytona. The reason I say that is because they are running so fast and so close together that when a car spends out then all heck will break out.

Answer 4

Unfortunately, it's NOT when a WRECK occurs, it's when NASCAR DECIDES to throw the CAUTION, which it did not do until Harvick and Martin crossed the finish line.
As I have said repeatedly, no rules appeared to have actually been broken, it's just that NASCAR sorta delayed it, maybe for the drama, and they have held off the caution on the final lap before, it happened at the Brickyard last year, a couple of wrecks and the caution didn't come out until Johnson crossed the finish line, which was quite a while, longer than this time.
And looking at a gazillion replays, at the moment of when the caution should've been thrown, Harvick was slightly ahead, and then Martin went slightly ahead, then Harvick finally pushed ahead at the end.
So actually, if NASCAR had thrown the caution immediately, Harvick still would've won, if they slightly delayed it, Martin would've won, so it's a tough call.
I don't really care who won, Harvick or Martin, but those are the facts for you to think about.

Answer 5

Because nascar made another mistake. They even said so the day after the race. Even though the wreck was behind Martin and Harvy, nascar was late in throwing the caution. I have watched the tape and it was also on nascars web site, you can go there now and see it, Martin was about a hood ahead when cars were spinning and smoke was spewing. Nascar couldn't decide what to do and by the time they got their s**t togeather, a car was upside down and their brain woke up. Not a Martin or Harvy fan,,,but NASCAR screwed up again and they even said so. I guess after the week they had, they wanted to add a little spice to the finish. GO TO THE WEB SITE AND YOU WILL SEE WHO WAS AHEAD WHEN THE ACCIDENT WAS WELL INTO HAPPENING. MARTIN< MARTIN> NOT HARVY.Martin gave Harvy too much room. Should have put him into the wall.

Answer 6

First of all Kevin Harvick Won the race--like or not. Second maybe if you could see the tons of playbacks of the Finish (in slow motion), you would agree with Mark Martin, that Kevin beat him. Third Mark Martin is not a dumbass, he's not going even think of trying to "SUE" Nascar! He's not going to make a fool of himself.
As for Jeffy, Nascar did Jeffy a Huge Favor.
Rusty Wallace lost big time for the same thing Nascar found on Jeffy. Rusty no longer races, I wonder when the statute of limitation runs out... hmmm
The best thing you can do is get your facts right.
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Answer 7

first off Jeff Gordon didnt try to cheat like other drivers who put jet fuel on the inside of their car.

second off just to brag a little. How well did Toyotat do huh? 22nd is the best you can do? come on

and to answer your question Harvick won because NASCAR had not thrown the yellow flag. They say the cars that chrashed were on the grass thus not needing a caution. In other words NASCAR thought of an excues after the race for it. NASCAR would not end there biggest race of the year with a caution. It was all NASCAR could hope for 2 cars batteling neck and neck for the win. NASCAR did what they think is right.

Answer 8

Mark was robbed...plain and simple. There's a reason you throw the yellow flag, even though the leaders were less than 1/4 mile from the finish line. The 3RD and 4TH place cars started the wreck. That means that a whole crap load of drivers were going to be thrown into a dangerous dogpile, only to allow the top two cars race to the stripe. Almost exactly 5 years ago on the exact same lap of the exact same track, NASCAR lost one of it's greatest drivers ever. Earnhardt's death alone virtually caused NASCAR to stop racing back to the yellow flag. Both situations it happened in the last turn of the last lap of the exact same race. NASCAR would have felt real friggin cool if someone died trying to drive through a 10 car pileup. NASCAR never freaking follows the rules it makes as you said and it is starting to get real old.

Answer 9

ARE YOU SERIOUS!!!!

I am a big Mark Martin fan and was pulling for him, he lost that race on his own by trying to throw that block on Harvick and lost speed. Harvick was actually in the lead if you look at the tape when the accident occured. But NASCAR's rules state there was not danger due to the drivers were headed to the infield and not the middle of the pack. When they did get clogged up in the middle they did throw the flag.

Answer 10

martin did not win the race at all. and before people tell you anything i have been watching nascar for a long time and have seen nascar almost never throw the yellow flag on the last lap. if as in sunday's case why end the race under caution when the leaders were almost to the line when the wreck happened. couple years ago jeff gordon won a road course race after rusty wallace ran out of fuel a couple turns before the finish line. also at homestead couple years ago bill elliot blew a tire on the last lap but nascar did not throw the yellow either time. it is just something they do. also look at daytona in 01 wreck coming out of 4 on the last lap and no caution flag was thrown till after leaders crossed the line at least.

Answer 11

I do think that Mark should have won the race. BUT i have heard a good point. Nascar wanted to give the fans a race and let them finish. Where as the wreck was behind the leaders there was no need for a caution for them. I'm guessing that is what NASCAR was thinking. I do agree with you they should be consistant. Mark should have won.