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Tom Broome · 02-21-2020, 11:07 AM

Fortunately Ryan Newman seems okay......now. Not that I slept much Monday night.

The celebration was subdued somewhat. I can assume that neither Hamlin or Coach Gibbs wants to win a race in that fashion. Had I been Hamlin's spotter, I would have first checked with Newman's spotter and Race Control and relayed any information to the team and driver before he did donuts in the grass. That lap after the race ends takes a little time.

In the "old days" we saw this type of ending several times, and it was considered "normal". Under the current "kinder/gentler" NASCAR "system", any flag after the White Flag is displayed ends the race. Had this accident occurred farther back in the short chute exiting Turn Four, the flagman would have (should have) turned on the caution light, the finishing results would have been frozen at the last scoring loop, and the winner would have been........Ryan Newman. How would NASCAR handle that situation?
I'll admit I didn't watch all, or most, of the race, I've spent too much time on the other side of the wall to relax and enjoy the show. The last lap crash was something I saw coming earlier in the race. The current group of "car operators" don't seem to acknowledge the existence of anything but a throttle pedal. I'll admit, I'm a dinosaur now, I haven't worked Daytona for 10 years or so. But......I can remember having the car chief set up two braking packages before we left the shop. We would change from the lighter/thinner rotors and caliper to a brake package like you would use at the 1.5 mile tracks because you needed so much brake in the draft. The "drivers" in those days (note the description difference) would drag the brakes (sometimes HARD) while keeping the throttle down, before lifting off the gas.......Gotta' whole short story about that.... Now with the newer slicker cars, they seem to think that lifting off the throttle is all they need to slow down? Simulators seem to be the rage for "operators" nowadays, they make thousands of laps in the simulator before the race. Maybe the "skills" acquired from this training detract from ones natural operation of the car in the draft? What do I know? I'm not even a "fan" anymore.
Was Newman "done dirty"? Maybe not. Does NASCAR have an issue beginning to manifest itself? Will they address it?

02-21-2020, 11:07 AM	#2
Tom Broome Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 136 Likes: 78 Liked 70 Times in 39 Posts	Re: Ryan Newman done dirty, agree? Fortunately Ryan Newman seems okay......now. Not that I slept much Monday night. The celebration was subdued somewhat. I can assume that neither Hamlin or Coach Gibbs wants to win a race in that fashion. Had I been Hamlin's spotter, I would have first checked with Newman's spotter and Race Control and relayed any information to the team and driver before he did donuts in the grass. That lap after the race ends takes a little time. In the "old days" we saw this type of ending several times, and it was considered "normal". Under the current "kinder/gentler" NASCAR "system", any flag after the White Flag is displayed ends the race. Had this accident occurred farther back in the short chute exiting Turn Four, the flagman would have (should have) turned on the caution light, the finishing results would have been frozen at the last scoring loop, and the winner would have been........Ryan Newman. How would NASCAR handle that situation? I'll admit I didn't watch all, or most, of the race, I've spent too much time on the other side of the wall to relax and enjoy the show. The last lap crash was something I saw coming earlier in the race. The current group of "car operators" don't seem to acknowledge the existence of anything but a throttle pedal. I'll admit, I'm a dinosaur now, I haven't worked Daytona for 10 years or so. But......I can remember having the car chief set up two braking packages before we left the shop. We would change from the lighter/thinner rotors and caliper to a brake package like you would use at the 1.5 mile tracks because you needed so much brake in the draft. The "drivers" in those days (note the description difference) would drag the brakes (sometimes HARD) while keeping the throttle down, before lifting off the gas.......Gotta' whole short story about that.... Now with the newer slicker cars, they seem to think that lifting off the throttle is all they need to slow down? Simulators seem to be the rage for "operators" nowadays, they make thousands of laps in the simulator before the race. Maybe the "skills" acquired from this training detract from ones natural operation of the car in the draft? What do I know? I'm not even a "fan" anymore. Was Newman "done dirty"? Maybe not. Does NASCAR have an issue beginning to manifest itself? Will they address it? Last edited by Tom Broome; 02-21-2020 at 11:28 AM.