Double-File Restarts

NASCAR vice president of competition Robin Pemberton said the excitement created by double-file restarts at last month's All-Star race at Lowe's Motor Speedway helped to determine the new format change.



Jeff Burton: "I'm shocked that we are doing this this year. I have become very used to the ship liner analogy about how it is hard to turn a ship real quick. (I) believed we would do it in the Nationwide and Truck Series and do it in Cup Series in 2010, I'm shocked that they made the decision and are doing it this year... For the fans, I think the double-file restart is great. For us, I think it is going to increase the workload quite a bit. A lot of guys complain about having to race the lapped cars but there is an advantage of doing that, too. … As hectic as restarts are now, it is going to increase that two-fold because the people you are going to be racing are faster."

David Reutimann: "So it's this weekend? I thought we were going to get farther down the road than that."

Jimmie Johnson: "The leader is going to have control and that's a good thing. I think another very positive aspect to it is that you're going to be racing cars that you need to be racing with. Lead-lap cars will be racing lead-lap cars. Guys fighting for Lucky Dog (a lap down) will be racing against themselves."

Mark Martin: "From a competitor's standpoint there are winners and loser in a double-file restart. You just have to hope that balances out equally. Sometime a double-file restart will put you in a less-desirable lane. Hopefully it balances out to 50/50 over the long haul and you gain some and you lose some and the fans gain every time."

Ryan Newman: "It's just another step to keep delivering to the fans what they want. It's something that I think will make the racing better from an excitement standpoint and that's what we're here for. We're delivering entertainment. If the fans say they want us to start the third restart in reverse … we're probably going to do it."

Kyle Busch: "If you're at Martinsville, Darlington, Indianapolis, then you're not going to be able to do much. Places like Texas, Atlanta, Michigan, here at Pocono — areas where you might have a little more room it won't be so bad. If you're stuck in the outside lane and the inside lane boxes you up against the wall then you can't go anywhere."

What do you think of the new double file restart - shootout style rule change. Thoughts?