“Caution clock” will destroy NASCAR racing

(Source:  http://www.nascar.com/en_us/news-media/articles/2016/1/19/nascar-caution-clock-camping-world-truck-series.html)

	NASCAR today announced that the Camping World Truck Series will institute a “caution clock” for the 2016 season, guaranteeing that each race will see a caution period at least every 20 minutes.  The caution clock will start counting down from 20 minutes at the start of every race, and will reset to 20 minutes upon every restart of the race.  If the clock hits zero, the caution flag will wave regardless of on-track conditions.  The caution clock will not apply for the last 20 laps of any race.

	The new rule is designed to “add to the strategy of the races” by allowing teams that are behind in the early parts of races to have additional opportunities to make adjustments to their race trucks and ultimately make the Truck Series races more exciting.  However, I believe that the caution clock will actually hurt the quality of Truck Series racing and serve to lessen fans’ interest in the sport, while also hurting the development of the series’ drivers and pit crews.

	One significant effect of the new rule is that it will effectively eliminate green-flag pit stops, as the 20-minute period is less than the time required for the trucks to go through a full tank of fuel.  This will serve to lessen drama during the race, as the chance for the drivers and/or pit crews to make costly mistakes on these pit stops will be eliminated.   Furthermore, the lack of green-flag pit stops deprives the young drivers of the Truck Series from the experience they need in order to skillfully perform green-flag pit stops at higher levels of NASCAR racing.  Additionally, end-of-race drama will be lower as well, because fuel-mileage races will also become a thing of the past.  No longer will you have the uncertainty of wondering whether or not one or more trucks will run out of fuel just short of the finish of the race.

	Another consequence of the caution clock rule will be a lack of incentive for drivers to race their hardest, particularly if they are leading the race.  Because drivers will know that there will be a caution within the next 20 minutes, they know that any progress they make toward getting a lead over the drivers behind them will be wiped out in the near future.  Therefore, drivers will end up only going as fast as necessary in order to maintain their position before the next caution flag and pit-stop period.

	Less unpredictability, less pressure on drivers and pit crews, and less all-out, full-throttle racing?  That doesn’t sound like a recipe for more strategic and exciting races to me.  I get that the Truck Series is the most appropriate place for testing experimental features because it is the least watched of NASCAR’s three major national touring series, but I do not believe that this rule change is in the best interest of NASCAR or its fans.