NASCAR president Mike Helton insisted once again Sunday that the no-call on Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s controversial pass below the yellow line on Lap 185 of the Aaron’s 499 was the right call. “It was clear to us last weekend that when the 8 car (Earnhardt Jr.) went below the yellow line he didn’t do it to advance a position,” Helton said in a taped interview with Fox Sports anchor Mike Joy. “He did it primarily to avoid an accident.” Helton also said that Earnhardt Jr. had already made the pass before going below the yellow line. “He already had the position,” Helton said. “(Winston Cup Series director) John Darby explained it inside the garage area to some folks earlier today. If you had a start-finish line at that point before he went below the yellow line, who would the winner be? Everybody agreed it would be the 8 car. If the 8 car was the leader, how can he gain a position?” Appearing on the Fox Sports prerace show, Helton acknowledged the controversy that has raged all week. “The thing that we hope everybody will remember is that…we have areas where judgment calls have to be made,” Helton said. “It’s just like in baseball with balls and strikes or whether he’s out or safe…those type of judgment calls exist in our sport, too. We’re the sanctioning body and we’re the ones who have to make them.”( ThatsRacin.com )(4-14-2003)
