I have been in places with no tv service for the summer and so am very confused. Please explain the Lucky Dog Lap to me. Just how does a driver win and whatever made them start the rule? Does it "count" at this time?
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09-28-03, 08:28 PM
Yankees15
Here is NASCAR's newest brain fart.

There is no more racing back to the line when the caution comes out. The cars begin caution laps in the order they were running when the flag came out. To give the dumb hicks at NASCAR time to sort everything out, the pits are closed for the first lap of caution.

The lucky dog is the first car not on the lead lap (usually only one lap down.) Since he cannot race the leaders back to earn his lap back, he is automatically put at the tail end of the lead lap, no matter how far back on the track he is.

Ryan Newman was a half a lap and a half behind the leaders at Dover last wek, but being the first car a lap down, he got his lap back under caution and went on to win the race. Earnhardt Jr. got a luck dog lap back today and almost won.

I remember the good old days when the races were decided by the drivers on the track. I have just about washed my hands of NASCAR, after 20 plus years of being a somewhat rabid fan. NASCAR has basically told it's core fans that they are not needed anymore, with all the Johnny Come Latelies on the scene.

I hope I explained the lucky dog sufficiently for you, and I hope it becomes a thing of the past very soon.

09-28-03, 11:40 PM
nerdqueendeluxe
Thanks, Yankees. I understand now and agree that it is certainly a brain fart. I have only seen a few races this season but I think I see that there is a new, low skilled, battering-ram type format being employed....empahasis on the words "low skilled". Is this my imagination?

09-29-03, 11:47 AM
teeceeum
Prior to this new rule there was no rule concerning laps-down cars getting their lap back. There had been a "gentlemen's agreement" among the driviers that they would not race back to the caution flag. But many times the leader would let selected drivers have a lap back while at other times he would give no one a lap back. The situation came to a head with Robby Gordon and NASCAR felt compelled to enact a rule of some sort. This is what they came up with.

I have no problem with saying that all cars must hold the position they had when the yellow came out. Almost all other racing series adhere to that rule. I do, however, think that the "Lucky Dog" part of it is really stupid.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: DorianGreyed,