Daytona 500: NASCAR confusingly warns about blocking
By Phil Naegely
NASCAR CEO and Charmain Brian France made some confusing comments about bumping directed to drivers during the Daytona 500 pre-race meeting.
It’s finally the big day for NASCAR drivers and fans as the Daytona 500 kicks off on Sunday. The Clash and Can-Am Duel races provided a nice appetizer ahead of the Super Bowl of NASCAR races, but prior to Sunday’s race, NASCAR CEO and Chairman Brian France spoke during the pre-race drivers’ meeting and caused some confusion with his comments about blocking.
“Do not look for NASCAR,” he told drivers during the pre-race meeting. “When you block somebody out there — and it’s going to happen today — it causes almost all the big incidents — do not look for NASCAR. You’d better hope there’s a Good Samaritan behind you who is going to accept that block because they have that lane.”
France’s “Good Samaritan” comment makes little sense. Drivers understand that blocking is part of the sport. Additionally, no one needs help after they block people. Blocking doesn’t lead to post-race altercations in most cases and is one of the benefits of being in the front of a pack.
Furthermore, NASCAR has never punished someone for blocking another driver. It’s a legal move during races as long as blocking doesn’t lead to pushing another car. Blocking allows drivers to continue holding the position advantage and preventing someone from passing.
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France’s comments were really confusing and not worded in the best way. The Camping World Truck Series and XFINITY Series races each had major crashes in them, but they were caused more by mental mistakes then by blocking. France most likely wanted his comments to come off as hoping to prevent similar situations during the Daytona 500. Yet he didn’t succeed in doing that as he wrongly focused too much on something that is legal during NASCAR’s races and isn’t a major issue.