A late race debris caution might have ended Denny Hamlin’s rout of the Michigan 400 Sunday.
At times his lead was so big it looked like he’d have time to pick up a hamburger at a drive-in and not lose his position.
When the final caution was waved, with about 17 laps to go, many drivers and fans said they never saw the debris.
“We had a sixth-place finish going there before NASCAR threw that caution to bunch up the field and that cost us at the end,” Carl Edwards said of his 12th place finish.
Even Denny Hamlin remarked, "You know, I understand this is show business,” he said.
“No, I didn't see any debris, if that's what you're asking. I mean, we typically get them every single week. I'm not going to say it's accepted, but what can you do?"
On the other hand there were some fans who said they saw the debris on their computer’s “Race Buddy,” camera which was part of the TNT network coverage
Now NASCAR has weighed in on the subject stating safety first.
Mike Helton, NASCAR’s president, appeared on Speed TV’s Race Hub and said “it was a debris caution. I’m not sure what beyond the circumstances of that you might be asking … and I heard a little bit of the chatter after the race was over with. The fact of the matter on a caution … it doesn’t matter if its lap 10 or lap 190 of 200, the first and foremost concern we have is for the safety of the drivers.”
He also described the process which enables NASCAR officials to observe track conditions. “Through the course of an event, we’ll get input – sometimes it comes from the drivers, sometimes it comes from the observers that we’ve got around the race track, sometimes it comes from one of the 18 or 20 cameras that we have access to through the control tower of the event.”
When someone calls out “debris,” this is how NASCAR reacts. “When someone, on a piece of debris, which is unique from an engine that blows up and drops oil, or an accident that is obvious to fans and to other drivers … when someone tells us about a piece of debris, more often than not, we can quantify whether it’s there or its not, and if it is there, we can quantify what it is, based on the things that I mentioned that we have access to,” he added.
Again, safety is the bottom line “if there is any doubt, though, we are going to call a debris caution. If we see something and cannot tell what it is, we’re going to err on the side of safety. But there is always something there when we have a debris caution. A lot of times, we’re told there is debris on the race track, that we don’t throw it because we can’t find it anywhere,” said Helton.
Whether the average observer saw debris on the track, in the closing laps, or not mystery debris cautions will be part of NASCAR races just as much as stock cars are a part of the series.
At times his lead was so big it looked like he’d have time to pick up a hamburger at a drive-in and not lose his position.
When the final caution was waved, with about 17 laps to go, many drivers and fans said they never saw the debris.
“We had a sixth-place finish going there before NASCAR threw that caution to bunch up the field and that cost us at the end,” Carl Edwards said of his 12th place finish.
Even Denny Hamlin remarked, "You know, I understand this is show business,” he said.
“No, I didn't see any debris, if that's what you're asking. I mean, we typically get them every single week. I'm not going to say it's accepted, but what can you do?"
On the other hand there were some fans who said they saw the debris on their computer’s “Race Buddy,” camera which was part of the TNT network coverage
Now NASCAR has weighed in on the subject stating safety first.
Mike Helton, NASCAR’s president, appeared on Speed TV’s Race Hub and said “it was a debris caution. I’m not sure what beyond the circumstances of that you might be asking … and I heard a little bit of the chatter after the race was over with. The fact of the matter on a caution … it doesn’t matter if its lap 10 or lap 190 of 200, the first and foremost concern we have is for the safety of the drivers.”
He also described the process which enables NASCAR officials to observe track conditions. “Through the course of an event, we’ll get input – sometimes it comes from the drivers, sometimes it comes from the observers that we’ve got around the race track, sometimes it comes from one of the 18 or 20 cameras that we have access to through the control tower of the event.”
When someone calls out “debris,” this is how NASCAR reacts. “When someone, on a piece of debris, which is unique from an engine that blows up and drops oil, or an accident that is obvious to fans and to other drivers … when someone tells us about a piece of debris, more often than not, we can quantify whether it’s there or its not, and if it is there, we can quantify what it is, based on the things that I mentioned that we have access to,” he added.
Again, safety is the bottom line “if there is any doubt, though, we are going to call a debris caution. If we see something and cannot tell what it is, we’re going to err on the side of safety. But there is always something there when we have a debris caution. A lot of times, we’re told there is debris on the race track, that we don’t throw it because we can’t find it anywhere,” said Helton.
Whether the average observer saw debris on the track, in the closing laps, or not mystery debris cautions will be part of NASCAR races just as much as stock cars are a part of the series.