blurbs from a few sites: Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s pass below the out-of-bounds line with four laps to go at Talladega might have drawn a penalty some other day. After all, judgment calls differ from week to week. But on this day, it was the safe call. Had a black flag prevented Junior from winning his fourth consecutive Winston Cup race at Talladega, there might have been a riot. Junior has fans everywhere but none more vocal than at Talladega. Give him credit — he started at the rear, overcame a damaged front end and didn’t have teammate Michael Waltrip for drafting help at the end. Junior’s car was solid, but his driving talent won the race. Thirty-eighth in points after two races, he now stands second just six races later.( Sporting News ) Kevin Harvick’s crew chief, Todd Berrier, did. He went to the NASCAR hauler and reviewed the tape with NASCAR officials. “I guarantee if Kevin was an inch below the yellow line they would park him,” Berrier said before looking at the replay. “The rule is you can’t go below the yellow line period. It’s that simple.” Berrier was somewhat mollified after seeing the tape, saying the move was “probably too close to call” and that “I think the right decision was probably made.” Kenseth had no opinion on the yellow-line pass Earnhardt Jr. made, but wondered why Harvick chose to go with the eventual winner in the final push. “He was pushing me really good and we had a run on the outside of the 8,” Kenseth said. “He (Harvick) kind of faked right like he was going to go with me and then he went behind the 8. …Everybody makes his own decisions. I couldn’t win without somebody pushing me … but if you line up behind the 8 it’s hard to beat him.”( ThatsRacin.com ) Crossing the yellow line considered out of bounds by NASCAR, Earnhardt outdueled Matt Kenseth in the Aaron’s 499 with a pivotal move that triggered another controversy in NASCAR’s Winston Cup Series. “It’s unfortunate that that’s going to get all the publicity and not the four in a row,” Earnhardt said. Replays indicated Earnhardt and Kenseth appeared to be side by side as Earnhardt’s car moved well below the line in Turn 3, but Earnhardt claimed he already had cleared Kenseth’s Ford. “I ran [below the line] to keep from running into him,” Earnhardt said. “By that time, I was already past him.” Johnson, who led a race-high 65 laps, begged to differ. “He was clearly below the yellow line,” Johnson said. “I didn’t think it was a legal pass.” Runner-up Kevin Harvick and third-place finisher Elliott Sadler both claimed not to have seen the pass. But when asked if he would have been penalized for making the same move, Harvick offered a guarded response. “That’s a good question,” Harvick said. “I’ll plead the fifth on that one.” Others were less diplomatic. “It looks like they gave it to the ‘8’ car,” pole-sitter Jeremy Mayfield said. “He can do what he wants to do.” In the prerace drivers meeting, race director David Hoots said NASCAR would black-flag cars that improved their position by crossing the yellow line that circles the bottom of the 2.66-mile track. Steve Park was black-flagged for passing Joe Nemechek below the line midway through yesterday’s race, but NASCAR spokesman Jim Hunter said Earnhardt wasn’t penalized because his pass didn’t improve his position.( Richmond Times Dispatch ) Jim Hunter, NASCAR vp/communications, offered this explanation: “This was a judgment call, very obviously,” he said. “In our opinion, there is no question he went below the yellow line. Where the judgemnt call comes into effect [was that he] did not go below the yellow line to improve his position. He had already passed the 17 car when he went below the yellow line. We based our opinion on reviews of the tapes both in the tower at the time and after the race.” Many saw the matter differently, with NASCAR having used the black flag earlier in the race, without apparent review or reservation, against Earnhardt teammate Steve Park. The rule also has been invoked in similar cases in the past, notably with Tony Stewart at Daytona in 2001. NASCAR’s non-ruling, and yet another victory by Junior at the big track, did nothing to diminish suspicions that NASCAR somehow favors Earnhardt Jr., suspicions Hunter flatly denied.( Speed Channel ) from a GM Press Release – GM Racing notes – Post-race, Talladega: EARNHARDT, JR. (Would You Like To See The Yellow Line Removed?) …..”Another thing – I’ll be reading on Jayski (jayski.com) all these articles and for any of you suns of guns that are wanting to talk (expletive) about me – you know where you can go.”( SpeedwayMedia.com )
