Lucky dog

The "Lucky dog" rule known as the Free Pass or officially the Beneficiary Rule is a NASCAR rule. The rule allows the driver of the next lapped car or truck behind the leader to gain back a lap during a caution. The driver is called to move to the end of the longest line of the cars at the end of that caution period. This rule was instituted to prevent drivers from racing back to the start/finish line when a caution was called.

The rule applies regardless of the number of laps a car is behind the leader.

Furthermore, a driver may not receive a beneficiary rule lap in certain situations:

* There are less than ten laps remaining in the race based on the scheduled distance.
* The driver caused the situation bringing out the yellow.
* The driver had been penalized one (or more) laps for rough driving. This rule may be waived if the driver passes the leader and regains his lap back, and then is passed back.

There are two restrictions on the pitting in regards to the beneficiary rule:
* The driver pits with the lap-down cars, unless officials declare a quick yellow, when all cars may pit.
* During that pit stop, it is the only lap that car may take fuel. This rule was implemented October 30, 2004, after Ryan Newman won the first race with the beneficiary rule by stopping for fuel multiple times after gaining the free pass during that caution period, resulting in a win.

In 2006, NASCAR began to use this rule at road course races, despite previous years where it was not used at road course events.

The same rule is implemented in Grand-Am road racing, whilst rules where lapped cars between leaders may gain one lap exist in Formula One as of 2007.

In the Indy Racing League, lapped cars ahead of the leader following pit stops (which may happen if a lapped car does not pit during yellow when the lead lap cars do so) are allowed to move to the tail end of the lead lap on restarts in the Indy Racing League on the one lap to go signal -- which automatically closes the pit lane until the restart.

History

The rule was first used in 2003 for the three national series, and in mid-2005, all NASCAR-sanctioned series began offering the rule.

Before the rule was installed, drivers would "race back to the caution". However, there was a gentleman's agreement not to race, but to slow down and not pass, to allow slower cars to get their laps back. During a September 14, 2003 Siemens 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway, Casey Mears came close to contacting the stalled car of Dale Jarrett whilst racing back to the line during a caution caused by Jarrett's crash. NASCAR chose to abandon the practice and stop racing immediately in the wake of the incident. The rule was created as a way of continuing the practice of yielding to the slower cars without sacrificing safety.

The popular term for this rule, "Lucky Dog", was first used by Benny Parsons in 2003 during a TNT broadcast at Dover International Speedway, especially in reference to Jimmy Spencer, who drove a car sponsored by Sirius Satellite Radio, and became used by all NBC and TNT broadcasts, along with the Performance Racing Network radio broadcasts.

Another oft-used term, "Free pass", was first used by Mike Joy during the 2004 broadcast of the Subway 400 at North Carolina Speedway in Rockingham, NC. Sometimes, Larry McReynolds, especially during the 2004 season, would refer to it as a "pardon (sometimes accompanied by "from the Oval Office")", and sometimes Darrell Waltrip uses it only for the #38 Robert Yates Racing Ford and later #18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, because that car is sponsored by Mars, Incorporated, which manufactures the Pedigree dog food brand. ("Oval Office" is a term referring to the NASCAR mobile office and the proper series logo). It is used by MRN Radio and Fox Sports by its main announcers, and is used by the Fox graphics package.

On SPEED Channel and ESPN the term "Aaron's "Lucky Dog" (which is the Aaron's corporate mascot, and is part of their branding) is used. During ESPN broadcasts, it is used only when it is officially awarded. During ESPN broadcasts, Jerry Punch follows the code established by ESPN producer Neil Goldberg, using "Free Pass" (which was Goldberg's policy on Fox). The term "Lucky Dog" is also used in Arena Football League broadcasts on ESPN in the "Aaron's Lucky Dog Fan of the Game," where a fan who catches an errant football is deemed the honor because the spectator keeps such balls he may catch. (Aaron's is an AFL sponsor.)

NASCAR refers to the rule as the Beneficiary Rule.

Criticisms

The term "lucky dog" is often criticized by specific Fox staff members for not being informative and producer Neil Goldberg, who has since moved to ESPN. Mike Joy has mocked the term on Fox broadcasts, first in March 2005 during the Busch Series Telcel-Motorola 200 at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, where a dog ran across the track during a caution, and in April 2006 during the DirecTV 500 in Martinsville Speedway, where Joy referred to Ryan Newman's love of pets and said despite his love of dogs, he hadn't been a lucky dog.

During a 2004 conversation with fans on the Fox Sports Web site, Waltrip said, "You're not lucky, and you're not a dog. You just happen to be the recipient of a free pass. You get to go around the track and get back on the lead lap."

Conversely, Goldberg told the NASCAR.COM Viewer's Guide in April 2004 the term "free pass" suits the audience easily because "it easily bridged us into explaining of what it is each time it happens." He also mentioned, for new viewers, the Fox terminology is easier to explain, especially since "we feel 'free pass' signals something happening better than throwing out the term 'lucky dog.'"

tatistics

According to Jayski.com, 7 drivers have won a race after receiving a "free pass" (after the 2007 season) in NASCAR Sprint Cup alone, with one driver doing it twice.

#Ryan Newman, Dover, Sept. 2003
#Mark Martin, Dover, June 2004
#Ryan Newman, Michigan, June 2004
#Jeff Gordon, Martinsville, April 2005
#Kyle Busch, Phoenix, Nov. 2005 and Talladega, April 2008
#Kurt Busch, Bristol, March 2006
#Kasey Kahne, Michigan, June 2006

Most Free Passes used in a race:
#Kyle Busch, 5, Watkins Glen, Aug. 2006, finished 9th
#David Reutimann, 5, Daytona, July 2008, finished 21st
#Kevin Lepage, 4, Charlotte, Oct. 2005, finished 21st
#Bobby Labonte, 4, Talladega, Apr 2007, finished 20th
#David Gilliland, 4, Talladega, Oct 2007, finished 27th
#Kevin Lepage, 3, Charlotte, May 2005
#Kevin Lepage, 3, Chicago, July 2005
#Mike Wallace, 3, Bristol, Aug. 2005
#Dale Earnhardt Jr., 3, Bristol, Aug. 2005
#Kyle Petty, 3, Talladega, Oct. 2005
#Rusty Wallace, 3, Charlotte, Oct. 2005, 24th
#Terry Labonte, 3, Bristol, March 2006, finished 27th
#Jeff Gordon, 3 Indy, Aug 2006, finished 16th
#David Stremme, 3 Michigan, Aug. 2006, finished 28th
#David Ragan, 3, Martinsville, Oct. 2006, finished 25th

NOTE: Kyle Busch was the beneficiary in five consecutive caution periods at the 2006 AMD at the Glen; the beneficiary rule was not used on road course events in 2004. The first driver not on the lead lap -- no matter how many laps they are behind the leader -- gains one lap back per beneficiary; another reason the rule is somewhat unpopular. In Busch's case, he lost five laps from repairs caused by an oil leak, and upon returning to the track, gained all five laps back through the beneficiary rule.

External links

* [http://www.nascar.com/2006/news/features/track_smack/07/26/tracksmack.offweek/index.html Track Smack: Smoke and Junior all the talk]
* [http://www.jayski.com/pages/luckydog.htm Jayski's Silly Season Site 'Lucky Dog' Rule]