If you were expecting NASCAR officials to reverse the penalty on Dale Earnhardt Inc.'s Regan Smith Monday morning, you must be new to NASCAR racing. Never one to rescind on a ruling, NASCAR has always asserted the rule of law over teams and drivers since its inception in 1948 - with very little leeway. The events of this weekend illustrate that when it comes to making and enforcing those rules, anything goes.

Despite rumors throughout the garage area and uncertainty in the media and the grandstands, Jim Hunter, NASCAR's Vice President of Corporate Communications clearly stated following Sunday's controversial call that passing below the yellow line is a penalty, no matter the lap.

"You cannot improve your position anytime you go below the yellow line," Hunter explained. "In our judgment, he (Regan Smith) improved his position and the penalty for that is a pass thru, so he was moved back to the tail end of the longest line or 18th position. At the driver's meeting, we clearly state that you cannot improve your position by going below the yellow line. We do not feel he was forced below the yellow line. Anytime you get into a situation like this, there are going to be two different opinions. We respect Regan's view, but we made the call, we think it's the right call and the finish is final. NASCAR has to maintain some kind of control - and that's the reason we say, you cannot advance your position by going below the yellow line. If he had not improved his position, he probably would have been awarded 2nd place."

What confused most when it came to this call was the ruling NASCAR made during Saturday's Craftsman Truck Series race. Going down the backstretch on the final lap, the field was fighting for each position when Brendan Gaughan turned down into Jeff Green, triggering a multi-car crash. NASCAR officials made the decision to hold the yellow flag and allowed the field to race back to the checkered flag.

Throwing caution to the wind - no pun intended - NASCAR opted to ignore their rule that once a wreck occurs, the caution flag is flown and the field is frozen. This was not the first time NASCAR has held off on throwing a yellow flag, allowing the field to decide the race amongst themselves. Remember back to the dramatic finish of the 2007 Daytona 500. With half the field crashing off Turn 4, Kevin Harvick and Mark Martin drag raced towards the checkered flag. Many argued Martin should have won since he was ahead of Harvick once the wreck began, yet with no caution flag it was Harvick enjoying the win. Much like that instance, Saturday NASCAR chose to make it up as they went along; indicating that on the last lap anything goes.

Saturday's decision sent drivers and teams into a tizzy as they began to wonder if NASCAR would actually allow anything on the last lap. Even points leader Jimmie Johnson was unclear of the specifics of the rule. Johnson made a last-ditch move below the yellow line coming to the checkered flag in last year's October race at Talladega - the difference -  Johnson couldn't make it work.

"Before this morning or yesterday's truck race, I didn't know or think you could go below the yellow line at any point in time," Johnson explained. "Then today, the rumor was circulating you can before the start/finish line if you can see the flag. I didn't know what to really think about it or understood it or had seen it. It's ironic how it played out today. For whatever reason it started circulating this morning after the drivers meeting, everybody was talking about it, it sure enough played out today in the race."

With the rumor spreading through the garage, 'like wildfire,' as Johnson described it, not a single driver brought up the issue during Sunday's pre-race drivers' meeting. Perhaps not wanting a definitive answer from NASCAR officials, drivers apparently sat on the issue and hoped for the best.

"From what I understand, it's a judgment call," Johnson explained. "From what I understand before the race started, if you have the flagman in sight, you are able to go below the yellow. And I think that is an arguable point. If I was in the No. 01 car, I'd be arguing the hell out of it right now. If I was in the No. 20, I'd say no way, couldn't see him. So I'm sure there is going to be a lot of discussion about this one this week."

Perhaps the driver with the best view of the incident was Smith's DEI teammate, Paul Menard. Running third, Menard was pushing the No. 01 as they came through the tri-oval.

"Tony caused almost two wrecks in the last few laps just blocking people," Menard pointed out. "You know, he blocked Regan, which I guess he's supposed to. Regan countered to try to get around him. Dipped his left sides underneath the yellow line. We've seen in the past that they've allowed that to happen coming to the checkered. For some reason they chose not to this time."

For Smith, the first win of his career was stripped away by NASCAR officials. The penalty took Smith from Victory Lane and forced him to settle with an 18th-place finish.

"I knew I was only going to get one shot at him," Smith said after the race. "I knew where I was going to make my move and was always told that the rule is if you get forced down there, then you are the winner of the race and on the last lap, anything goes. That's what I was going with. I got forced down there, man, I had a nose inside of him and I could have piled up the whole field."

While it expects its competitors to adhere to the rule book with no exception, NASCAR seems as if it can pick and choose when they enforce certain rules. Smith's move on the last lap was daring and successful, and should have earned him his first Cup Series victory. It seems NASCAR has once again asserted it is the all-knowing, all-powerful sanctioning body and whatever they say goes, regardless if their previous actions have proved otherwise.