DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) – Across the garage, only one thing is agreed upon: Tony Stewart wasn’t exaggerating when he warned that aggressive driving could kill someone during the Daytona 500.

What isn’t so clear is how NASCAR can fix the dangers of bump drafting.

There were mixed reactions Wednesday over NASCAR’s decision to police the racing technique in Sunday’s season-opening race.

The sanctioning body has been vague about where and when bump drafting will be prohibited, and they haven’t indicated what penalties the violators would be subjected to.

NASCAR’s first attempt to monitor the practice comes Thursday in the twin 150-mile qualifying races.

“Look, Tony is 100 percent right – we are going to maim or kill somebody real soon if we don’t do something,” Mark Martin said. “Something has to happen and I applaud NASCAR for taking the first step. But we still have major issues.”

Bump drafting is an aggressive rear-ending maneuver that calls for one driver to slam into the back bumper of the car in front of him to maintain momentum.

It was used heavily during last weekend’s exhibition race, prompting Stewart to issue his dire prediction.

Even though Stewart admitted he was one of the culprits, he took his argument to NASCAR in a 20-minute closed door meeting to express how out of control it was. NASCAR listened carefully to the two-time series champion, then announced it would place officials around the track to monitor the practice on Sunday.

“If this makes it better for us, makes it safer for us, I’m all for it,” Stewart said. “I don’t know if (policing) is the solution. It seems like the logical solution right off the top of everybody’s head. But when they sit down and think it through deeper, they may find that it’s not the right solution.”

Bump drafting is a common practice at Daytona and Talladega, the only two NASCAR tracks where horsepower-sapping restrictor plates limit speeds. There’s isn’t much room for separation between the cars, which form a large pack of bumper-to-bumper racing.

In addition to the numerous accidents it causes, frustration builds on the race track and leads drivers to bump-draft to make their way through traffic.

“I think bump drafting is something that drivers have definitely taken too much freedom with,” pole-sitter Jeff Burton said. “It used to used in a special situation – an every now and then kind of thing. It used to be when people run up behind you and gently push you.

“But now they just knock the hell out of you and its used every lap.”

What makes drivers nervous is giving NASCAR the right to arbitrarily decide when bump drafting is OK and when it shouldn’t be done. The drivers already fight that battle here with a rule that prohibits them from going below the yellow line on the bottom of the race track.

Drivers can be penalized for it regardless if their trip down to the apron was necessary to avoid an accident.

So Ryan Newman doesn’t want to see NASCAR making more judgment calls in the biggest race of the season – especially when he thinks bump drafting could have been resolved between the drivers.

“NASCAR needs to control the drivers, not control the rules,” Newman said. “If they want to stop bump drafting, then take the drivers that are screwing up out back – the way they used to do things around here.”

Martin doesn’t believe it’s that simple.

“I don’t think you would have any problem with the Kyle Pettys and the Joe Nemecheks and the Dale Jarretts, we’re not causing the wrecks anyway,” Martin said. “Its the younger or newer guys, and sometimes its the older guys who aren’t veterans of the series.

“And its an unfair statement to say it’s in the drivers hands because once one driver starts driving reckless to compete, we all need to drive that way. It’s a difficult situation with no easy answer.”

AP-ES-02-15-06 1721EST