Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: NASCAR mulls change to ensure green-flag finish

Tuesday, June 29, 2004 | 8:50 a.m.

Brian Hilderbrand covers motor sports for the Las Vegas Sun. His motor sports notebook appears Friday. He can be reached at bh@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4089.

There is speculation that NASCAR will -- once again -- changes its rules sometime in the coming weeks to ensure that its Nextel Cup Series races end under the green flag.

With four of its past seven races ending under caution and facing increasing criticism from fans, NASCAR likely will adopt a rule similar to one in effect in the Craftsman Truck Series, which calls for green-white-checkered finishes.

That, according to Nextel Cup rookie Brendan Gaughan, would be a mistake.

"I wouldn't be a big fan of a green-white-checkered in Cup, I can tell you that much," Gaughan said. "Green-white-checkered in Cup would probably be a disaster, especially the way guys are driving right now. I think the fans for 50 years have had great races; some of them end under caution."

Gaughan used a personal experience from last year's Truck Series season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway to illustrate why he isn't in favor of adding two extra laps just so the fans can see a green-flag finish.

"I got hit last year at Homestead and we already had the rule that we don't race back to the caution," he said. "I got T-boned real hard because guys were still going a little bit too quick to that caution. I've been on that last lap sitting there going 'racers are coming back to me to take the checkered and everybody is racing hard.' "

Although Gaughan went on to blame the media for forcing NASCAR to change its rules, he made one good point: NASCAR has been in business since 1949 and races occasionally have ended under caution -- and yet the sport still managed to experience staggering growth through the past two decades.

Fans will make the argument that they are paying $100 to $200 for a ticket and "deserve" to see a green-flag finish. Well, nowhere on that ticket is it guaranteed that spectators will see drivers racing to the checkered flag; heck, fans aren't even guaranteed that a race will be run the full advertised distance.

Anybody who has followed NASCAR's premier series for any length of time knows this. Caveat emptor .

Busch, a longtime Cubs fans, is in Chicago to help promote the July 11 Nextel Cup Series race at Chicagoland Speedway.

"In all my time in racing, I have found that situations either work out or they don't," Connor said in a prepared statement. "The 2004 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season has not gone as any of us would have preferred. As a result, (team owner) Jim Smith and I have reached a very amicable and mutual agreement to part ways at this time."

Through nine races this season, driver Andy Houston's best finish in the No. 2 truck was a seventh place earlier this month at Dover International Speedway. Jimmy Spencer drove the truck for Houston this past weekend at The Milwaukee Mile and finished 16th.

Trickle said that he would enter the 2004 Miller Lite Nationals for Late Model stock cars July 13 at Slinger Super Speedway in Slinger, Wisc. Current and former NASCAR stars Matt Kenseth, Scott Wimmer, Johnny Sauter, Rich Bickle and Dick Trickle are expected to compete in the "Slinger Nationals." ...

This week's NASCAR Dodge Weekly Racing Series card at The Bullring will be held Friday night. Super Late Models, Late Models, IMCA Modifieds and Legends Cars will highlight the racing, which will be followed by a jet-car burn, demolition derby and fireworks show. Spectator gates will open at 6 p.m., qualifying begins at 5:50 and racing will get under way at 7:15 p.m.