Excitement is the name of the game in the business of motor racing. Formula 1 today has started to employ concepts such as the Sprint Race format into its package to lure fans with more intense racing. But NASCAR had jumped onto this wagon way before — with Double-File restarts. So, what is this exactly and why has it been doing the rounds of debate in the world of Stock Car racing of late?
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Double-File restarts were introduced to NASCAR in 2009. In essence, this system changed how restarts were handled in the series before. Initially, lead cars would restart after a caution in a single file on the outside. Meanwhile, the lapped cars would do the same, however, on the inside. This posed a problem — marginally, one of safety.
That said, with the Double-File system, the lead cars would always start side-by-side. More importantly, they wouldn’t have to contend with lapped cars in their way, giving them free rein over jostling for the lead.
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This also eliminated the chance for the lead cars to draft behind the lapped cars and slingshot past turn 1. Now, there is no way the leaders could do that. What this gave in return to the fans was the rush of the cars battling hard for the lead — oftentimes ending in chaos and a surprise leader who was never really in contention for the win on the balance of things.
“We’ve heard the fans loud and clear: ‘double-file restarts — shootout style’,” claimed Brian France, the then NASCAR Chairman whilst introducing Double-File restarts. Having said that, almost 15 years later, calls are being made to abolish this system.
Should NASCAR abandon Double-File restarts?
What started as the holy grail for ensuring nail-biting finishes in NASCAR has seemingly turned on its head. Many experts and fans have been calling for the abolishment of Double-File restarts. But why?
The very concept of Double-File restarts adds to the uncertainty of merit. The leading car has, more often than not, become the victim of this system. Most notably, the race at Darlington Raceway last year when Ross Chastain and Kyle Larson (the leading field) wrecked themselves and allowed William Byron to assume the win when Byron was never really in contention for victory.
Fans are really not into this lottery system of who wins, rather, preferring the better driver and car to end up victorious on a given day. From the perspective of paddock insiders and team owners, these restarts have almost always wreaked havoc and they’d most likely settle with second, third, or even tenth than a million-dollar repair bill.
