– Today, we’re doing it based on the penalty we saw yesterday from Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Just a little bit too aggressive there in the race.
– Yeah. I mean, you’ve got to pick and choose your battles. Right? And unfortunately, that one bit him.
– Yeah. And so he gets penalized, and black flagged, and loses a lap. And it really took him out of contention. So let’s see what happened here. And you know this as a driver.
This double yellow line, when it comes to Daytona and Talladega, it’s out of bounds. And if you get down there, you put yourself in position to get penalized. That’s what happens to Stenhouse, here.
– Yeah, you do. I mean, really, if you cross this yellow line, you’ve gotta make a decision at that point. Do you wanna put it in NASCAR’s hands, for them to make a decision? Or do you make the decision?
– So here we are. We’re pausing it. And you can go ahead and point out, Stenhouse. He’s below the line. Any time those left side tires go below that double yellow line, you can be penalized.
The only thing that will remove that black flag is if NASCAR deems you were forced down there. That’s what Stenhouse believes. What do you see here with Kyle Busch?
– Yeah. And also, I mean, obviously, Kyle made a move. Stenhouse, is making a move to pass. But at that point, Stenhouse, has to decide.
Am I gonna lift and get back in line, and kind of, police this myself? Or am I gonna leave it in NASCAR’s hands? Obviously, in this scenario, he decides to still complete the pass.
– He does. He goes below the yellow line. And it’s obvious. No doubt he was down there. He gets around the 18, so he’s improved his position.
So he has made the violation. NASCAR, deems that he was not forced down there. That’s why they penalized him.
– But if you’re Ricky Stenhouse Jr. At this point, do you roll out and give it back? There was 33-laps left in the race.
– I mean, I think at this point in the race, and obviously, doing this from the couch, I would say, yes. He should’ve rolled back out of it. Let Kyle get the position back.
– But it is a tough call. You’ve gotta do it early. And you gotta do it right when it happens.
Because if you don’t do it right when it happens, and it’s too late. Now, you’re stacking up the field. So you gotta make that call quickly.
– Different angle here. And you see Stenhouse, swing out. And right here, he is fine. He’s absolutely fine here, above the double yellow line.
– Yeah. I mean, this is where he should’ve stayed, to be honest. At the end of the day, he wasn’t all the way inside the 18. And the 18 did move over. But at that point, you go, sorry 18, you’re gonna go for a ride, right here.
That was your choice to pull in front of me. And that’s Stenhouse’s option. But he obviously didn’t want to hurt his car. He pulled down below the line. And made the decision, he made.
– Do you get help from your spotter? Maybe, your crew chief watching on the monitor to say to you, give back the position because you went below the yellow line. Or is this all on the driver to decide?
– I’ve had that happen in the past, and that has worked. But really, it’s happening so quickly, and the spotters really can’t see. You’ve gotta be the one to make that decision.
– Not a great day for Ricky Stenhouse Jr., because he was penalized. Although, he did have a fast car. Like his Ford teammates. Brad Keselowski, leading the most laps, 43.
In fact, Ford was out front for 46 of the 75-laps, on Sunday. Three Chevrolet drivers, leading a total of 22-laps in the Loan Toyota to be out front of the field in the Clash. Denny Hamlin, he led 8-circuits.
Be the first to comment