Last lap pass costs Smith a NASCAR victory

Tony Stewart was awarded the win after a pass-through penalty was assessed.

TALLADEGA, Ala. (AP) — Regan Smith had no choice but to duck below the yellow line for any shot at winning at Talladega.

At least, that’s what the rookie Dale Earnhardt Inc. driver thought.

NASCAR had different ideas.

Smith went from momentary jubilation thinking he had raced to his first career Cup victory to the sobering reality that a win was wiped out, and instead went to Tony Stewart because of a controversial last-lap pass Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway.

“I think it’s a bad call,” Smith said outside NASCAR’s track office. “I think as the week goes on, everybody that’s asked will say it’s a bad call.”

Smith had managed to avoid the wrecks and tire woes that knocked out a slew of drivers in the Chase field. He was in second place and doggedly pursued the two-time Cup champion Stewart for the final three laps on NASCAR’s largest track.

Desperate for a win and feeling trapped, Smith slid below Stewart and descended below the yellow out-of-bounds line to make the pass. That risky move was enough to make him believe he had won once he returned to the track and crossed the finish line first.

Only problem was, NASCAR’s rule says a driver can only make a pass below the line if officials believe the driver was forced there. The sanctioning body ruled the move illegal and whacked Smith with a pass-through penalty, dropping him to 18th.

Smith pumped his fists in the No. 01 Toyota and later complained he should have been doing burnouts. Instead, Smith was steamed and looking for answers.

“The only other option I had was to wreck him,” Smith said.

Smith and DEI president Max Siegel met with NASCAR officials to plead their case. They watched several replays in the office and both sides refused to budge on their respective stances after the meeting.

“Anything below the yellow line is out of bounds,” NASCAR spokesman Jim Hunter said. “You can’t advance your position below the yellow line. In our judgment, he improved his position.”

Smith said there was confusion on the rule. He said the understanding was that “anything goes” on the last lap. However, at the morning driver’s meeting, the entire field was told they couldn’t drive below the yellow line unless they were forced out.

“We do not feel he was forced below the yellow line,” Hunter said.

The rules are not entirely clear, forcing NASCAR to review the pass and make a judgment call. Then they had to review where to put Smith in the finishing order, a reason for the delay in TV not having immediate results.

NASCAR says drivers can go below the yellow line on the last lap, if a driver can see the flagstand. But Smith could not see the checkered flag when he made the pass because of the position of the finish line — farther down the track than most others on the circuit.

Smith said he almost asked for clarification about the rule at the morning meeting, but kept quiet because he wasn’t enough of a veteran to ask questions.

Smith, who is leading the rookie of the year standings, hasn’t finished better than 14th this season and his entry has not had full funding all of this year. But Smith got a huge boost when he qualified fourth, one reason his voice cracked and he was near tears when he talked about how much a win would have meant to the team.

“Personally for me, I definitely needed it,” Smith said. “We’ve had a rough year, an up-and-down year. More downs than ups. A lot of the scrutiny we’ve been given is pretty unjust.”