Photo Credit: Todd Warshaw/Getty Images for NASCAR
The restart zone for this weekend’s NASCAR races atDover International Speedway will double from 70 feet to 140 feet, according to NASCAR.
The sanctioning body will also lengthen the restart zone for the 2015 season’s remaining races post-Dover — the exact increase will be determined by an at-track basis.
The restart rules have not changed. Drivers will still line up double file, with the leader being the “control car,” meaning the second-place car can’t take off before the leader in the restart zone located before the start/finish line.
NASCAR re-emphasized the restart rules during the drivers’ meeting before the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup opener at Chicagoland Speedway.
In that race, NASCAR reviewed a questionable restart by Jeff Gordon before determining there was no penalty. Last week at New Hampshire Motor Speedway,Brad Keselowski was penalized after NASCAR ruled he jumped the restart.
Restarts were a hot topic among drivers prior to the postseason beginning. When asked at Chase Media, Denny Hamlin gave the following answer: “I think drivers want longer restart zones. Ultimately now it’s so short that if you don’t go right away the second-place guy does and knowing that he can beat the first-place guy to the line … I think it would be better to open that zone up two, three times the size of it right now.”
