A few years ago, after a few photo finishes in NASCAR and margins of victory bleeding into triple digits to the right of the decimal point, I casually asked one of the higher-ups, “What’s going on?” Is there a total tie for the win?”
What if, I wondered, all the sets of eyeballs, as well as the electronic timing and scoring equipment, screamed equally?
I received a chuckle and the kind of look you would get if you were asking about meteor impact contingencies. But after two of the first four races this year were too close to call by sight, I decided to ask the question again. This time there is an official response. And here, according to the NASCAR rule book under the title “17.5.1.2.2 Race Finish”, here is how they would break a tie for any finishing position:
A. By awarding the highest finishing position to the vehicle that led the greatest number of laps in the race in which the tie occurred.
b. If the tie persists after this, the greatest number of rounds completed in second, third place, etc., will be used in the same manner, until the tie is broken.
vs. If the tie is not resolved by the above, the vehicle obtaining the highest position in any round of the race will prevail, or in the event the highest position obtained between tied vehicles is the same, the vehicle obtaining the highest position per lap. the first point of the race will prevail.
Look, we saw two races in the first month decided by a hundredth of a second. And since 1993, when the current electronic scoring system was implemented, nine races have been even closer than that. It’s only a matter of time before someone in charge throws us a little 17.5.1.2.2.
• A few weeks ago I wrote about these seven old Ty Cobb baseball cards that had been discovered. Charlie Cobb – Ty’s grandson, longtime area resident, retired State Farm broker, friend to all – called to say, “I told my wife Peggy it seems like everyone owns one of these old cards except me. »
Well, if everyone had one, they wouldn’t be worth the estimated $1 million. Charlie’s most treasured memento is a gold pocket watch that belonged to Georgia Peach, whom Charlie always calls “Grandpa.” It’s in a safe at the bank, he said.
Charlie, in fact, retired in 2008, was diagnosed with multiple myeloma a year later, but today, at 70, he says he “feels pretty good”, thanks to the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville. “I lost four inches in my waist and gained a lot of weight because of the steroids, but I was really happy to have it fixed,” he said.
• One team that likely contributed to your group’s demise was Stephen F. Austin, which upset West Virginia in the first round and plays Notre Dame on Sunday. SFA is coached by Brad Underwood, and if that name sounds familiar, it’s probably because he was the head coach at Daytona State College from 2003-2006.
• No, it wasn’t a press stop deal, but for some time now, longtime PGA Tour golfer Duffy Waldorf has been listed as being from New Smyrna Beach. But no one comes across him (and it’s not really a metropolis) and no one sees him in local yards.
He called from this week’s Champions Tour stop in Tucson to explain that he also still lives in his native California. His NSB condo at the entrance is an East Coast retreat where he blends in when the Tour runs east of the Mississippi for extended periods.
“When I’m out there, I don’t even touch my clubs,” he said. The four-time Tour winner has earned them $3.5 million (and two wins) since joining the 50-and-over league in 2012.
Contact Ken Willis at [email protected]. Twitter: @HeyWillieNJ.
