jimculp

I watched some of the race yesterday. I couldn't believe Montoya got a stop and go penalty for speeding during (what I think was) his last pit stop. He was leading by a pretty large margin before the penalty. He had led more laps at that point of the race than all his other NASCAR races combined.

ESPN broadcast Montoya's in-car radio transmissions as he was coming into the pit for the penalty and he was largely pissed.

He said "Thank you so much NASCAR" and some other gems.

I was hoping for some youtube posts with post-race commentary, but I cannot find anything this morning.

Found the video

mdrums

I think he was screwed with....total BS...bu I'd like to see the timing of the exit speed of that pit stop.

BrianKeithSmith

From jayski.com:
Montoya was over 5mph past limit: #42-Juan Pablo Montoya was well on his way to winning the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard. He had the field covered, including winner #48-Jimmie Johnson and runner-up #5-Mark Martin. But Montoya was caught speeding on pit road with 26 laps to go. On his final stop, Montoya came in a little too hot, not once, but twice. NASCAR officials made the call, meaning Montoya would have to go down pit road again for a pass-through penalty. After the race, Sprint Cup director John Darby had the specifics about Montoya's double no-no. Pit road has eight zones where the speed is measured. The speed limit in the pits at Indy is 55 mph. NASCAR gives the drivers a 5 mph cushion. Darby said Montoya was caught over the cushion in Zones 2 and 4. Officially, the speed was recorded at 60.06 mph in Zone 2 and 60.11 mph in Zone 4. "And he was already pushing it," Darby said. "He was over 59 miles per hour in most of the other zones." Montoya's big boo-boo caused him to fall back to 12th. He finished 11th.(ESPN)(7-27-2009) Comment here

mdrums

Brian, thanks for this post...I have not read this yet. It was 1st reported that he was only a few tenths over but 5mph over I can see why he got busted.

Animus

I didn't see the race, but from reading here, I still think there may be some BS at play. The limit is 55mph, but there is a 5mph cushion. I'm sure most drivers are using that 5mph cushion, so most are doing close to 59mph or close. Being 0.11 mph over the 5mph cushion seems a little **** to me. What have other drivers been penalized for in terms of pit lane speed limits?

JClark

Screwed means he broke a rule and was penalized for it as stated in the rules?

LDadrenaline

that's what people don't understand. there used to be no cushion at all and people were getting pissed after being caught a few tenths over. They now give a HUGE cushion and the teams decide to push the boundaries. The problem I had is that he said he was "being conservative". If he really was, then he would have been doing 58mph or less. It sucks that it happened, but when you push the limits this kind of stuff happens.

BrianKeithSmith

The days of no pit road speed limit were cool... except for people getting killed/injured.

But it was pretty awesome to watch them come off of the last corner before pit road and just fly down pit road sliding into their pits. And awesome site to watch.

jimculp

I guess my thoughts turn to different circumstances. If Dale Jr. had done the same thing in the same circumstances would NASCAR have penalized him?

007DT

I thought it was an over all timing for the zones? and take the average of that?

If he is over for the entire route than they have to stick to the rules. If he was barely over in a couple zones and slower in the other than I think they should take the average.... but that is my opinion.

amaist

I can't comment about the other drivers. Only NASCAR knows if there are others who went by a few tenths of an MPH over the 5 MPH cushion.

But if the rule exists it has to be enforced as some point. The 5 mph is nice to have but it doesn't mean the limit goes to 60 mph. You should not try to go 59.5 mph and then complain if you get busted. He was not 0.11 mph over. He was 5.11 mph over. You gotta start pulling the trigger somewhere. Should it be 10 mph? Then everyone will go 64.5 and the claim that they were only 0.11 over when clocked at 65.11.

The thing is JPM did not need to go 59.5 in the pits. Dial it down to 57. He had a 4 second lead and the car to beat. It was a stupid move on his part. The crew chief could have been more vigilant, too. He knows his driver, he knew he was seeing the victory lane in his head. You need to keep the excitement in check. Epic fail for JPM and the team.

LDadrenaline

100% my sentiments. you put it a little better than I did lol

Flying Finn

+1 He was over the limit, period.

It doesn't matter whether he was over the 60 mph (55 + 5 mph "cushion", WTF is this "cushion" used anyways? It's either 55 or 60) limit by 0.11 or by 11 mph, he WAS OVER THE LIMIT.

He should stop whining.

ew928

Maybe he needs a better lawyer next time he goes to traffic court.


Set a speed limit.
Don't put a "cushion" on it.
You're either legal or over the limit.
But it's Nascar. More drama and rubbin'.

ltc

Clearly it was due to a defective speedometer...I mean it's a stock car, so it must have a speedometer...

Or perhaps it was simply due to a defective cruise control.. I mean it's a stock car, so it must come wtih cruise control (NA$CAR speak for a pit lane speed/rev limiter).