NASCAR officials are contemplating changes to their electronic timing systems in the pits at New Hampshire Motor Speedway after the controversy surrounding last week’s penalty to #78-Martin Truex Jr. Truex was penalized for passing leader Kevin Harvick Jr. on the inside while accelerating into his pit stall. The Furniture Row Racing driver said he unfairly was singled out by NASCAR on the call, noting that several other drivers have made the maneuver this season without penalty (a claim that was supported this week by video evidence). By increasing the number of timing lines, which typically split the pits into six or eight sections, it would decrease the efficacy of the practice of accelerating to enter or exit the pit stall because there would be less wiggle room for drivers. Speeding in the pits is measured by time over distance rather than in real time, so with shorter sections for monitoring, there’d be less opportunity to exceed the prescribed mph. NASCAR officials said they also are considering other methods that could be implemented in Sunday’s New Hampshire 301 and will address it in the prerace drivers meeting.(NBC Sports)(7-16-2016)
UPDATE: NASCAR experimented with extra timing loops on pit road for the Xfinity and Sprint Cup races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, a week after a penalty to Martin Truex Jr. raised questions about drivers accelerating past a competitor while heading to their pit stall. The extra timing loops were not live because NASCAR wanted to ensure they would work within the software in place. NASCAR hopes to implement the expanded system soon, a statement Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR’s chief racing development officer, noted Monday on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. This isn’t the first time NASCAR has added extra timing loops at a track after questions about the issue. Jeff Gordon called for extra timing loops after the 2011 Bristol night race, saying that Matt Kenseth and Brad Keselowski both sped to their stalls, passing cars, once they passed the final timing line before their pit stall. Extra timing loops were in place there for the spring 2012 race. O’Donnell also asked on ‘The Morning Drive’ if there could be another system used to better control pit road speeds by competitors. ‘We like the fact that it’s in the driver’s hands and team’s hands instead of flipping the switch (to run pit road speed), we feel like that is part of the NASCAR experience, NASCAR racing, but I think what you can see us go to is more consistent GPS data, which we are working hard on,’ O’Donnell said. ‘We’re not there yet. So, short-term, it will be some additional (timing) loops. As NASCAR develops new technologies, we’re going to embrace those. It’s an area we can get more data out to the fans as well and that’s something we’re going to look at for sure and is in the works and excited about the possibilities in that space.’(NBC Sports)
