CONCORD, N.C. (AP) – Move over yellow line. The latest concern for Sprint Cup drivers are the double red lines.
With no out of bounds area at the bottom of the track at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, drivers weren’t worried about a similar finish to last week at Talladega, when Tony Stewart was awarded the win after Regan Smith’s pass below the yellow line was ruled illegal.
Instead, the drivers meeting before Saturday’s Bank of America 500 included numerous questions about restarts after Kyle Busch drew criticism a night earlier during the Nationwide race.
Drivers accused Busch of brake checking before the green flag and causing bunching and contact between cars in the back of the field. Busch said he was waiting for second-place driver Jeff Burton to get close enough so he didn’t gain momentum from hanging back.
Jeff Gordon, Elliott Sadler and Busch all asked questions about the rule. NASCAR president Mike Helton told drivers the leader must restart the race somewhere between the double red lines in the frontstretch and could not brake check after the pace car leaves the track.
“Restarting the race is no rocket-science deal,” Helton said.
Helton said Busch did nothing wrong in Friday’s race, and NASCAR officials seemed eager to end the lengthy discussion.
“You all know how to do this,” race director David Hoots said.–
Pink for mom
Bell Sadler couldn’t wait to take pictures of her son in a pink firesuit and behind the wheel of a pink car Saturday night. Elliott Sadler was happy his mom was around to watch him raise awareness for breast cancer.
Sadler, Kyle Busch and Bobby Labonte all drove pink cars for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure. The organization helped Bell Sadler after she was diagnosed with breast cancer in June 2007.
“It was tough,” Elliott Sadler said. “Honestly, my priorities seemed like they changed that day.”
Bell Sadler’s cancer has since gone into remission, and her son’s life has changed for the better.
“I wanted to be home and around my mom and dad more,” Sadler said. “Actually when I got to spend more time at home during the week it helped me focus a little bit more on the weekend.”
Old stories & the hall
The NASCAR Hall of Fame recently got more money from the city of Charlotte for enhanced, interactive exhibits. On Friday, Richard Petty lent his No. 43 Plymouth from is 1967 championship season to the Hall.
But the best bet to bring fans to the facility, set to open in 2010, may be to bring back the old legends of the support – often. They’ve got stories that make NASCAR’s newest feud between Kevin Harvick and Carl Edwards look tame.
The highlight of Friday’s news conference, intended to hawk a commemorative brick program for the entrance of the Hall, was Petty and Bobby and Donnie Allison retelling the story of the famous fight at the end of the 1979 Daytona 500.
Cale Yarbrough and Donnie Allison wrecked while fighting for the lead late in the race. It allowed Petty to win, and led to mayhem when Bobby Allison checked on his brother.
“Cale started saying I caused the wreck. Well, I wasn’t anywhere I around him. And I’m afraid I questioned his ancestry, which I shouldn’t have done,” Bobby Allison said with a grin. “He yelled at me more and I think I questioned his ancestry further.
“With that he lunged at me and hit me in the face with his helmet. Well, it hurt, it surprised me, stunned me. I looked down and some blood was dripping in my lap. I said I’ve got to get out of this car and handle this right now or run from him the rest of my life.”
Bobby Allison didn’t back down.
“Well I got out of my car and Cale went to beating on my fist with his nose,” Allison said. “It’s my story and I’m sticking to it.”
Yarbrough wasn’t around Friday to defend himself in the incident that’s credited with helping fuel the popularity that made the Hall of Fame a reality.
“Not thinking at the time it was going to be the biggest advertisement for NASCAR racing ever,” Donnie Allison said. “Richard went on and won the race. It’s a good thing they didn’t let Darrell (Waltrip) win it because that was Bobby’s two favorite people running for first and second.”
Politics & racing
With polls showing a Democratic presidential candidate could carry North Carolina for the first time since Jimmy Carter in 1976, Republicans were seemingly everywhere hawking votes on friendly turf before Saturday’s race.
Cindy McCain, the wife of Republican presidential candidate John McCain, was the honorary race director. U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., in a tight re-election fight, and Charlotte mayor Pat McCrory, the Republican candidate for N.C. governor, spoke to the crowd in pre-race activities.
The politics were pushed aside for the national anthem, sung by Jessica Simpson. The singer and actress also put on a concert before the race.
Lug nuts
Five-time Olympic gold medal-winning swimmer Aaron Peirsol was the grand marshal. “It’s unlike anything I’ve ever been to before,” said Peirsol, attending his first race weekend. … Dale Inman, a former crew chief for Richard Petty, was awarded the Smokey Yunick Award before the race for his achievement in motorsports.
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