The last two cup races provided comedy and controversy

Admittedly I am a race fan. I have been to the Indy 500 several times and attended Nascar races at Las Vegas, Bristol, Martinsville, Phoenix, Michigan and Sonoma. Though the Indy experience is incredible, Nascar racing is where my real interest lies. Perhaps that is because I run a Nascar Fantasy League, but I actually started watching stock car racing long before the league began.One of the most common complaints about Nascar is that they seem to make up rules as they go along. I would not totally dispute that and it does give us something to complain about when the incidents occur. However, watching race cars go door handle to door handle at incredible speeds is very exciting.Recently Nascar held races at New Hampshire and Nashville. Both races were interesting and left us with much to talk about over the water cooler. We'll start at Loudon and then head to Music City.The forecast for the race in New Hampshire was iffy as far as racing weather goes. Showers were predicted, so Nascar brought along some wet weather tires. They had used them before, but only on road courses. If used, it would be the first time on an oval.The "wet" tires were not needed as the weather for much of the race was just fine. Then the skies opened up and Nascar would eventually be faced with some decisions. Once the rain stopped it was starting to get dark and the track has no lights. It would be nearly impossible to get the track completely dry and still be able to finish the race.But wait! We have "rain" tires. So it was determined that Nascar would partially dry the track. The cars would then be sent out to finish the race on the rain tires. And oh my, did it get interesting.The rain tires work when wet, but wear out quickly when the track dries out. So naturally tire problems arose. Nascar mandated that all teams use the rain tires and even called a couple of competition free pit stops so teams could change them. Some teams wanted to go to racing slicks, but Nascar would not let them.Hey I did say Nascar makes up rules as it goes! The race was eventually completed with Christopher Bell taking the checkered flag. The race did have a comedic moment as cars under caution sought any water they could find to keep their tires wet. John Hunter Nemechek even went so far as to drive through the wet grass. It was amusing.Nascar will get the hang of using the rain tires eventually. Hopefully they will allow teams to make their own choices on using them. Most Nascar fans agree that would be a good thing.In Nashville, Denny Hamlin was cruising to a victory when Austin Cindric spun out bringing out the yellow flag with just two laps remaining. So that gives us a green, white, checkered overtime finish, which fans love.The controversy here was the fact that Nascar rules call for an unlimited number of overtime restarts. Drivers take the green flag and if the leader completes that first lap and takes the white flag, the next flag (yellow or checkered) ends the race. If he cannot get to the white flag, we rack em up and try again.So let's backtrack a little. Ryan Blaney was also cruising to a win when he had to pit for fuel with 32 laps remaining. He went a lap down and his night was over. Or was it? Stay tuned.When the caution flew for Cindric's spin, several teams had to decide whether to risk running out of fuel to challenge for the win. One overtime finish would have worked for almost all of those teams – but what if it goes FIVE overtimes? That is exactly what happened.Blaney would get the lucky dog on the first caution. That is a Nascar rule that states when a caution flag flies, the first driver one lap down gets to circle the field and get back on the lead lap. Blaney would eventually finish sixth!Hamlin tried staying out for a couple of overtime restarts, but eventually would have to pit for fuel. So did several others. The only one who stayed out for the entirety of the green, white, checkered finish chaos was Joey Logano. This would create some serious controversy.A normal maximum fuel run at Nashville was 80 laps. Logano went 110. Yes one does save fuel under caution, but that much? Many believe the numbers don't add up even though Logano passed the post race inspection.Another controversy involved how many green, white checkered finishes should be allowed. Nascar does not limit the number and I assumed fans would be all for that. I was wrong. Many people complained about having even one of those as teams plan for a set number of laps when determining strategy for a race. If a race finishes under caution, so be it. Many people thought that, at the very least, the number of overtime attempts should be limited.My guess is that these are old school race fans. I know some people who don't like stage racing and don't like the playoff format. So I guess being unhappy with overtime makes sense. It still shocked me.It reminded me of the time my students at New Riegel were hearing rumors about the school considering requiring school uniforms. When I asked them what they thought about that possibility, many were for it. They suggested that they wouldn't have to worry about what to wear each day. I wasn't expecting that response, but these are the same students that when queried about the best meal served in the cafeteria, said it was the fish sandwich. No mention of my favorite – saucy hot dogs – so I guess there is some truth to the adage that one should never assume.So will there be changes involving rain tires or overtimes forthcoming in Nascar racing? Perhaps. It just may not be what we would expect.