Drivers warned about blocking
Helton tells them to be more aware at two plate tracks
DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. NASCAR vice chairman Mike Helton cautioned drivers to watch their blocking in restrictor-plate races.
After Brian Scott’s ill-timed block attempt wrecked the leaders in Saturday night’s Xfinity Series race, Helton addressed the prerace Sprint Cup drivers meeting for Sunday’s Coke Zero 400 with a fatherly lecture.
He began by giving drivers a history lesson on why NASCAR instituted the double yellow line (out of bounds) at restrictor-plate tracks and then drew a comparison to blocking.
“It got to a point where you were comfortable enough to make moves where it ended up putting the rest of the field or other cars in jeopardy,” he said. “Over time, we tried to figure out how NASCAR would respond to that. And we created that double yellow line that’s only at Daytona and Talladega.
“I point to that because block- ing is kind of peaking that way here and at Talladega. Last night’s race was an example of the unintended consequences that can come from a blocking move.
“I’m not telling you how to drive a race car, because Lord knows I couldn’t do that. But drivers, be conscious about the moves you make on the racetrack, particularly when it comes to what we call blocking. Just think about that in tonight’s race.”
The start of the Coke Zero 400 was delayed for several hours because of intermittent rains.
The green flag was scheduled for 8:08 p.m. ET on NBC. The flag dropped at 11:42 p.m. ET.
The network was broadcasting its first Sprint Cup race since 2006. NBC Sports will carry 20 Cup races and 19 Xfinity events a season for the next decade after bidding $4.4 billion to carry them.
The race is the final Cup event for Jeff Gordon at the 2.5-mile track. Gordon, who announced in January that he was stepping away from racing full time after the season, has six wins at Daytona International Speedway, including three Daytona 500s. He was set to start 23rd after qualifying was rained out Saturday.
Kyle Busch was making his return to the track for the first time since breaking his right leg and left foot Feb. 21 in the Xfinity opener. Busch was involved in a multicar wreck Friday during the first practice session.
As for Helton’s talk, NASCAR has given such lectures before, with one coming three years ago before the Brickyard 400.
In that meeting, race director David Hoots essentially told drivers to clean up their act on restarts before NASCAR had to step in.
“Let’s do it right and do it the way we know how to do it so we don’t have to take the extra steps of getting out there with micrometers and measurements and bring the field down,” Hoots said then. “Usually, when we get involved to that point and you ask us to, you don’t like the results! So I’m asking you to accept your responsibilities and do it properly.”
That fits with NASCAR’s basic approach to officiating. Officials would rather not have to take steps to enforce rules, so they warn drivers to fix it themselves — or else.