Drivers told they will be penalized for bump-drafts in turns at Talladega
NASCAR President Mike Helton issued a stern warning to drivers in Sunday's prerace meeting against the use of bump-drafting in the turns at Talladega Superspeedway. // David Griffin, NASCAR Scene
TALLADEGA, Ala. – NASCAR announced that it would not allow bump drafting in any of the four turns of Talladega Superspeedway during the prerace drivers meeting for the Amp Energy 500 Sunday.
NASCAR President Mike Helton sternly warned the drivers against the bumping and pushing in the corners and said while there might be a warning, there might not be one. A penalty will be a drive-through penalty. If it happens on the final lap, the penalty likely would be a timed or a positioned penalty.
Both the driver getting bumped and the driver doing the bumping could be penalized, Helton said.
“We will not allow doubling up, pushing, locked-up, bump-drafting or whatever you call it in the turns,” Helton told the drivers. “All the way through turns 1 and 2, all the way through turns 3 and 4, you will not be allowed to push someone, bump-draft them or shove them through the turns. … We have seen the progress, particularly at Talladega, of two cars hooking up and basically locked up all the way around for a lap.
“You will not be allowed to do that through the turns – that’s from the green flag all the way through to the checkered flag.”
Helton vowed that it will be enforced the entire race.
“If the guy that takes the checkered has got that position by drafting up through the turns, … that’s going to be an issue with us,” Helton said. “The guy from the back will catch the penalty most all the time. But if you win the race by [bump] drafting through 1 and 2 with help, then you’re going to have a problem. The guy that pushes you is going to have a problem, too.”
Helton said what happened on the final lap of the Truck Series race when Billy Ballew Motorsports teammates Aric Almirola pushed Kyle Busch for the win in the trioval would be legal. What would not be legal would be a situation where a drivers team up and push and bump in the turns, much like Roush Fenway Racing’s Carl Edwards and Phoenix Racing’s Brad Keselowski did in April to turn a lap in excess of 200 mph.
“We’ve tried to avoid this all along because this isn’t easy,” Helton said. “We’re going to stay on top of it the best we can. That doesn’t mean we’re going to catch every one of them. But if somebody hooks up long enough, it’s going to be pretty obvious. … We think we’re at a point where we think we need to get in the middle of this.
“If you push through the turns, we’re going to get involved. And it could be the first four cars, it could be three, five, six cars. So the slickest thing, guys, is just not to do it. What we’re asking you right now is to not do it. We’re also telling you not to do it.”
