NASCAR calls announcement by Cup team that it will start and park today "poor timing''

NASCAR VP of Competition Robin Pemberton said he was "taken back by the statement,'' Tommy Baldwin Racing made Saturday night announcing that the team would start and park in today's race and described the announcement as "poor timing.''

While the issue of pulling a car in after a few laps is nothing new in the sport, the concept of a team announcing it ahead of time is. That's why series officials were surprised at the press release Baldwin's team issued Saturday night. The team noted that because it had to go to a backup car after Dave Blaney crashed in practice Friday and would start and park in today's race and plan to run the full distance at Las Vegas. Originally, the team planned to run Phoenix and start and park at Las Vegas.

Go here to read the full statement Baldwin's team issued Saturday night explaining its decision to start and park.

"I can't speak for Tommy and why he did it, but I just thought that it totally took us by surprise,'' Pemberton said before Sunday's race. "We know that if anybody tries to run all the races it's Tommy Baldwin. When he can he does. Quite honestly, just taken back by it, and I thought it was just poor timing on his part and that's all I've got to say about it.''

Asked if Baldwin's team could be subject to any penalties for declaring publicly its intention to start and park, Pemberton said: 'It's Sunday morning, we've got a race to run and it's just a set of circumstances that you hopefully don't have to go through.''

Now, Baldwin's team could be subject to a tear down after the race. NASCAR will have two randoms selected for post-race inspection, John Darby, Cup series director explained to me.

Last year, NASCAR took the first car out as a random for post-race inspection. That's why you saw cars go to the garage early and go back out at different times in the race to not be the first car out.  Darby said that NASCAR is changing how that random will be selected.

"There will still be a random inspection from the cars outside the top 35 (in car owner points), but we're going to make it more random,'' Darby said. "We're going to do it very similar to the way we do the (random) for the big group of the cars at the end of the race, drawing a number kind of situation so nobody really knows who that random will be.''

What will happen is that the crew chief of the first car out of the race will be asked by NASCAR to select two numbers. One will represent a car not in the top 35 in car owner points to be selected for post-race inspection. Another number will represent a car in the top 35 in car owner pionts for post-race inspection.

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