Most knew double-file restarts were coming down the pike, but few believed they would come as soon as this weekend in Pocono. NASCAR announced Thursday that each restart would feature double-file restarts with cars on the lead lap doubling up like at the beginning of the race. With Thursday’s announcement dominating the conversation Friday at Pocono, a number of drivers offered their thoughts on the new procedure.

“I’m shocked that we’re doing this this year,” Richard Childress Racing’s Jeff Burton said Friday morning in Pocono. “I told someone in Charlotte that there was no way ever we would have double-file restarts in 2009. I believed we would do it in the Nationwide Series and the Truck Series and do it in the Cup Series in 2010. I’m shocked that they made the decision and are doing it this year. I don’t normally see [NASCAR] make big procedural changes like this in the middle of the year – I’m not saying it’s wrong, but it is very surprising.”

“I think it’s all for the fans,” Ryan Newman added. “I think the drivers have an input and we as drivers have had the time to give our input based on the time we spent at our town hall meeting and then in between from then until now. Timing wise, to me it doesn’t matter. Whether they do it now, which they have, or waiting until the beginning of the next season that doesn’t matter. It’s about what we do for the fans.”

“The fans’ vote count more than ours does,” Burton went on to say. “They didn’t make double-file restarts because all the drivers said ‘Hey, make double-file restarts.’ They made double-file restarts because all the drivers all said, ‘Yeah, if the fans want to do it, do it.’ We don’t get a vote, nor should we get a vote. This is strictly for the fans to make the racing more exciting.”

Burton went on to point out the economy has created an atmosphere where NASCAR is directly competing with other forms of entertainment more now than ever before. When times are tough and people are pinching their pennies, people tend to do less and that has forced NASCAR to reexamine their situation.

“It’s given NASCAR, I think, an opportunity to really look at themselves and say, ‘How can we do it better and what does that mean to do better?’” the driver of the No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet explained. “Does the car need to driver better? Do we need to have different procedures? What is it, what does doing it better mean? So, I think you’ll see more changes coming because they’re very open to trying to make changes – and that’s a good thing.”

“We’re in competition with every other form of entertainment and that’s been brought to the forefront based on what has happened with the economy and everything,” Mark Martin added. “That’s what it’s about. It’s about trying to step up your game. Everybody has their game and we’re competitors. From a competitors stand point there’s winner and loser in the double-file restarts and you hope they balance out equally.”
“I will tell you,” Burton argued, “the last seven weeks of racing have been pretty good. I’ve been pretty surprised at how much better the racing has been, how exciting the racing has been.”

A lot of unknowns still abound about the new double-file restart procedure, but one thing that is agreed upon is the new format should produce even more exciting racing.

“You’ll see a lot of restarts like the last ten laps at the All-Start race in the last ten laps of our races,” Kyle Busch pointed out. “I think the beginning of the race everybody is going to be calm – it will be just like the start of the race probably most of the race. I don’t foresee anybody really needing to take any chances, including myself, probably until at least probably fifty miles to go, maybe less than 100 miles to go. Depends on how you have to plan your day out – if you still have another pit stop or if you still have two more pit stops you don’t need to worry about it. If you’ve got one more pit stop then you need to ante-up and get your track position before that last pit stop so then your crew can get you out front.”

One of the biggest concerns about the new procedure centers on the new ‘wave around’ rule. According to the release issued by NASCAR, “Lapped cars choosing to remain on the track will be ‘waved around’ the caution car and will restart the race in the respective track position, thus picking up a lap to the leader provided the leader also pits. This will also remove lapped cars from behind the pace car, allowing the leaders to take the green without interference.”

In instances such as when a caution flies in the midst of green flag pit stops, those trapped a lapped down that restart on the tail end of the lead lap will get to rejoin the field at the back of the pack instead of starting in front of the leader.

Kyle Busch explained, “If you’re one lap down – it’s just like the Nationwide deal at Charlotte a couple weeks ago where the pit stops were happening and there was a caution and everybody was stuck that lap down, but they had already pitted so they stayed out in front of the leader, which was Mike Bliss, and then when the restart was going to happen Mike was like 13th in line or something like that. The top-12 were on the tail end of the lead lap and what they would do is they would allow those 12 cars to circle around and get behind the leader so then the leader will be the control car and restart the race.”

“I think the biggest concern, and NASCAR shares this concern…is is there an advantage to the wave around cars in any way shape or form,” three-time defending series champion Jimmie Johnson pointed out. “On a track like Pocono or maybe even a road course there could be, but I know they’ve been working very hard to prevent that from taking place. I think this weekend is as good a time as any to try it.”

This weekend’s test of the new double-file restart policy will sure be something to watch. NASCAR is reportedly planning a drivers meeting in order to clear up some of the misunderstandings surrounding the new rule. 

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