Kevin Harvick basically said there is nothing to see here regarding any controversy surrounding the ‘out of bounds’ penalty issued to Bubba Wallace after the NASCAR Cup Series race on Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Harvick gave his thoughts on the SPEED television program he shares with IndyCar play-by-play broadcaster Will Buxton.
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“This is a pretty easy rule to regulate,” said Harvick to Buxton. “I mean, when you see him go from behind those cars to beside those cars, it’s pretty hard to argue that you don’t have an advantage in advancing your position.
“You can’t advance your position when you go below that double yellow line or put yourself in a better position than you were when you started to go across the yellow line. So, I think overall, I think [Wallace] just kind of lost his train of thought and focus on where he needed to be on the racetrack right there.”
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The move in question took place on the final lap when Wallace took leaders Ryan Blaney and Carson Hocevar three-wide down the backstretch but crossed over the yellow line in the process. In the moments after the race, NASCAR issued a penalty that dropped him from second to 29th — a significant blow to his positioning in the Chase for the Championship.
Section 8.3.2 is the section of the NASCAR Rule Book at the center of the matter.
“If NASCAR determines that a vehicle goes beneath the double painted lines to improve its position it will be black-flagged. If NASCAR determines that a vehicle forces another vehicle beneath the double painted lines in an effort to advance its own position, the vehicle may be black-flagged.”
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The 2014 Cup Series champion agreed with that decision, even if he doesn’t believe Atlanta warrants the same out of bounds rules as traditional drafting tracks Daytona and Talladega.
“And in all honesty, I don’t know that we really need the double yellow line rule at Atlanta,” Harvick added. “It doesn’t change this scenario, but I think that when you look at the racing and the way that the racetrack banking and everything is, I don’t think it’s really like Daytona and Talladega in a certain sense.
“Down the front straightaway, it’s really rough, and you could kind of cut those sections … I can see it both ways, but to enforce this rule is very simple, right? Like when you look at him advancing his position, getting beside those cars, pretty easy call.”
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