TALLADEGA, Ala. - Within seconds of the questionable pass, NASCAR officials went under the hood, considered every angle and decided they would not risk irate fans tearing down Talladega Superspeedway.
Junior wins.
What did you expect?
When Dale Earnhardt Jr., more popular at Talladega than pop-tops, pulled below the yellow line to complete his pass of Matt Kenseth with three laps left Sunday in the Aaron's 499, he clearly flirted with NASCAR's rule prohibiting drivers from using the apron to advance their position at the 2.66-mile track.
But anyone who follows NASCAR - or has even casual knowledge of the sport - understands there is wiggle room in almost all of its rules and inconsistency in its rulings.
That's NASCAR.
Every once in a while, the sanctioning body invites the wrath of justice-seeking fans, competitors and reporters by making a decision it cannot entirely defend. Sunday's ruling that Earnhardt had passed Kenseth when he went below the line hinges on three critical words: "In our judgment."
End of discussion.
Go ahead, argue. State a case. It won't do any good. NASCAR's decisions, especially its most fickle, are the equivalent of a parent ending an argument with, "Because I said so." This is not a democracy. It's NASCAR. And NASCAR does what's good for NASCAR.
By the way, when Junior wins, it's good for NASCAR.
The sanctioning body has done much to combat a serious credibility issue since seven-time champ Dale Earnhardt Sr. died in a last-lap crash at the 2001 Daytona 500. But NASCAR warrants scrutiny.
The past two weekends prove it.
At Texas Motor Speedway, NASCAR penalized leader Brian Vickers during the Busch Grand National race for passing on the left on a restart even though Vickers was avoiding a collision. Its ruling was a black-and-white interpretation of a well-known rule.
The next day in the Winston Cup race, NASCAR enforced a gentleman's agreement when it failed to recognize Jeff Gordon as the leader because he passed Kenseth under caution. Two days later, NASCAR president Mike Helton admitted the sanctioning body erred.
Saturday, Winston Cup director John Darby said NASCAR would not penalize Tony Stewart's team for failing prerace inspection at Texas despite setting a precedent of docking points and issuing fines for such offenses last season.
Another day, another issue. None of this seems to bother NASCAR, which is more than willing to withstand a bit of criticism on its way to the bank. Perhaps if enough people voice disapproval, NASCAR will think twice the next time it faces a delicate decision.
But don't expect it.
THE SON GETS IT DONE: Controversy aside, Earnhardt put on an amazing driving display, proving he has assumed his late father's role of restrictor-plate master.
He worked the draft, bumping, rooting and gouging, making his way to the front but never crossing the thin line between in command and out of control.
Of Junior's eight victories, five have come at Daytona and Talladega, superspeedways where restrictor plates are used to reduce speeds by limiting airflow to the carburetors.
But in all of the others, he dominated from the front of the pack. To win a record fourth consecutive race at Talladega, Junior had to claw.
"I worked real hard," he said. "Normally, you're leading the race sitting there thinking, "What in the hell am I going to do to mess this up, and how am I going to explain to the guys how I lost it?' This was fun because I got to tell them how I won it."
MAKING DADDY HAPPY: Earnhardt Sr. won a record 10 races at Talladega. Junior was certain his father, who never raced with the yellow-line rule, would approve of his winning pass.
"Oh, yeah," Junior said. "Anything to be sitting here, he'd have approved of it. I didn't run over nobody, but I'm sure he wouldn't have been upset about that either."
F1 TIRES: Formula One might change a new rule restricting teams to one type of wet-weather tire at a race after crashes at Sunday's rainy Brazilian Grand Prix. It was introduced to cut costs, but 11 of the 20 cars, which cost as much as $250,000 to assemble, were damaged or wrecked during the race.
Team principals will discuss the issue at a meeting with the ruling body during the week before the April 20 San Marino Grand Prix, F1 spokesman Richard Woods said.
DOING OKAY: Fernando Alonso was released from the hospital a day after he left the track on a stretcher after a crash in Brazil. He had bruises on his left elbow, thigh and knee, but tests showed no other injuries.
- Information from other news organizations was used in this report.
[Last modified April 8, 2003, 01:31:46]
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