Once unclear, NASCAR yellow-line rule now black and white

TALLADEGA, Ala.

NASCAR is discovering that rules with gray areas don't always work.

A sanctioning body that once prided itself on flexible rules again turned a gray area into black and white Sunday after a controversial finish to the Sprint Cup race at Talladega Superspeedway.

Series officials announced Monday what they called a rules clarification to passing under the yellow line at Daytona and Talladega. In essence, NASCAR said clearly and without equivocation that drivers can't go below the yellow line to pass in any circumstance.

Comments by NASCAR spokespeople in February 2007 suggested the rules were relaxed on the final lap, with one spokesperson actually quoted as saying that once in sight of the finish line, it's "get all you can get."

Regan Smith said that was his understanding and why he moved below the yellow line - an out-of-bounds line on the track - to pass Tony Stewart for the lead as they neared the finish line Sunday.

Smith beat Stewart by half a car length. As Smith's team celebrated on pit road, NASCAR officials declared his move illegal and gave Stewart the victory. Smith was dropped to 18th, the last car on the lead lap.

"The rule is that number one, on the last lap, anything goes," Smith said on pit road after the race. "It might not say it in the... history books, but the 01 car won."

Two-time defending series champion Jimmie Johnson said Sunday after the race that he also understood the rule to be anything goes coming to the finish but admitted it might not be the best policy.

"I think if there is a yellow-line rule, there is a yellow-line rule, period," Johnson said. "We can have one (heck) of a mess and hurt some people with guys trying to get down on the apron."

With such confusion, NASCAR amended the rule Monday. NASCAR President Mike Helton, who declined to talk to the media Sunday, issued a statement about the change.

"Since the end of the race, there has been some confusion as to what is allowable during the last lap at Daytona and Talladega," Helton stated. "To be clear, as we go forward, there will be no passing under the yellow line at any time during NASCAR races at Daytona or Talladega, period. This includes any passing below the yellow line near the start/finish line on the final lap."

This is another example of NASCAR making its rules more rigid. Officials have tightened constraints on the car, giving teams smaller tolerances to work within. NASCAR also has been more diligent in some areas on the track, such as eliminating the gentlemen's agreement among drivers during cautions that they wouldn't race to the yellow flag.

The yellow-line rule was born from situations where drivers would go below it to pass at Daytona and Talladega. NASCAR also has penalized competitors for aggressive driving at both tracks, although fewer drivers have suffered NASCAR's wrath recently in that area.

Notes: Denny Hamlin was released Monday morning from University of Alabama Birmingham Hospital after spending the night there for observation. Hamlin was transported there after he crashed on lap 99 of Sunday's race. J.D. Gibbs, president of Joe Gibbs Racing, said Sunday that Hamlin had a sore right foot and a headache. The team did not state Monday if Hamlin suffered any injuries.... AJ Allmendinger will drive the No. 00 car for Michael Waltrip Racing this weekend at Lowe's Motor Speedway.