By Bob Pockrass
NASCAR often has choices whether to change procedures it thinks might improve racing or, for the sake of consistency during the season, not to make the tweaks during the year.
In the instance of the "choose rule" it implemented starting with the races last weekend at Michigan International Speedway, NASCAR made the right choice after experimenting with it last month at the NASCAR All-Star Race.
This didn’t seem like a clear-cut decision. The system of the way drivers lined up for restarts wasn’t entirely broken. It wasn’t great, but another 14 races without the choose rule wasn’t going to ruin the sport.
But NASCAR saw an opportunity to add intrigue and potentially make the restarts more fair, so it went ahead with the new procedure.
It worked.
NASCAR announced Thursday that for all races except road courses, Daytona and Talladega, drivers would get to choose what lane they would restart in following a caution. The new rule allows a driver who would previously start in the non-preferred lane to choose the preferred lane even if it means starting deeper in the field – or allows a driver to choose to restart in rows ahead of others but in the non-preferred lane.
Yeah, there might have been a little confusion of the location of the box, but that’s easily fixable. Who knows what hiccups could come along over the final four races of the regular season and the 10-week playoffs, but at least for one weekend, that was a good thing.
Zane Smith won the Gander RV Trucks race Friday primarily because he gambled in being in the non-preferred grove, gained enough spots and put himself in position to challenge and eventually win.
The Cup race Saturday had several late cautions where drivers gambled; the Cup race Sunday didn’t have as many cautions, so not as much intrigue. Kevin Harvick won both races.
"It was unique seeing what everyone was going to do and trying to figure out what you wanted to do," Penske driver Ryan Blaney said after the race Saturday. "There was one time that shocked me. It was how the 9 [of Chase Elliott] got the lead.
"He went from fifth to starting on the front row and ended up getting the lead and I couldn’t believe nobody took that opportunity to line up on the front row. You saw a lot of guys that were third today would take that chance."
Drivers relied on spotters to tell them how many cars were in each lane when it was coming to their turn to make their choice. While drivers and crew chiefs talked about strategy, it is something that pretty much is left in the hands of the driver.
"I don’t know if I’m good enough to choose sometimes, sometimes life is a little easier when choices are made for you, but I think it’s great," said Penske driver Joey Logano. "I think it’s great that your destiny is in your own hands a little bit more, and I kind of like that more."
Brad Keselowski, who finished second Saturday, said he didn’t have a preference on the rule, somewhat reiterating what he said prior to the change that what scares him is what he doesn’t know.
With just a few races left in the playoffs, and playoff advancement determined in a series of three-race rounds, any confusion could be costly.
"I thought at the front, it seemed to be a little fun, something kind of different," he said Saturday. "It's one of those things where I think it's just — when you eat chocolate, you want vanilla sometimes; it felt different and different was kind of fun.
"There was other parts where I was kind of a little questioning about it."
The choose rule wasn’t the only change for drivers. They knew their finish Sunday will have a bigger impact on where they start next Sunday at the Daytona road course. NASCAR has ditched its weighted draw and will now base starting lineups using a formula of previous race finish (50 percent), owner points (35 percent) and fastest lap in previous race (15 percent).
When the playoffs start, all championship-eligible drivers will start ahead of non-championship-eligible drivers.
That formula will put Harvick on the pole for the race Sunday – a road course that has never had a Cup race, and teams will not be allowed to practice. Harvick said he had voted for a full random draw for the starting lineup.
"Obviously I think that there's definitely some merit to it as far as earning your position in the things that you do," Harvick said. "I think in the position that we're in, there's also some merit in keeping it mixed up, keeping it fair, having some new players at the front, giving them an opportunity."
In order to keep teams from wrecking cars in qualifying and needing backup cars, as well as limiting time with everyone at the race track, NASCAR opted for no practice nor qualifying for the rest of the year.
"I think me leading everybody into turn one at Daytona could be interesting because I have no freaking clue where I'm going as we go down there," Harvick said.
"Most everybody in the field is the same way."
Xfinity: Cindric Doesn’t Blink
Austin Cindric had something in his eye during the race at Road America and still held off AJ Allmendinger for the victory.
"Something came in my visor or something -- it has been stuck under my eyelid from like halfway through the race," he said afterward amid several blinks. "I have had tears running down my face the entire race and I can’t get it out.
"I was taking my gloves off and whatever. When you have the adrenalin, it isn’t a big deal apparently because right now it is driving me crazy."
Trucks: Zane Smith First Win
GMS Racing driver Zane Smith made a last-lap pass on Christian Eckes at Michigan to earn his first career victory in just his 12th career start.
"It was pretty much everything I had – it was wreckers or checkereds [flag] at that point," Smith said. "I think I have never turned into a corner close to or at 200 miles an hour totally right around the whole entire corner.
"Luckily I came out with the lead."
On The Air
Saturday
Xfinity 188 (Daytona road course), 3 p.m., NBCSN
Sunday
Gander RV Trucks 159 (Daytona road course), noon, FS1
Cup Go Bowling 235 (Daytona road course) 3 p.m., NBCSN
Stat of Note
Three consecutive Michigan wins for Kevin Harvick ties him for the second-longest winning streak at the track. Bill Elliott won four consecutive races at the 2-mile track.
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They Said It
"We've had some great years. I wouldn't call this our best. I think 2015 and 2018 were great years. We closed 2014 really good. It's hard to tell what the end of the year is going to bring as far as this could be the last win, you might win six more. You just never know."
—Kevin Harvick
