Reviewing COTA track limit regulations is NASCAR.

 


Elton Sawyer of NASCAR stated that the team is examining its protocols for Circuit of the Americas and does not want officiating to be the main focus.

Sawyer stated on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on Tuesday morning that "COTA is very challenging." From an officiating perspective, I would like to travel to Daytona, Talladega, and Atlanta every day of the week. Every lap, we're calling balls and strikes, which isn't exactly where we want to be.

"I'd want to thank our tower team. They performed an excellent job, in my opinion, but there is far too much information about us and not nearly enough about the athletes, our teams, pit stops, strategies, and other related details. Thus, work still has to be done.

Drivers that attempted to take a shortcut through the esses were given 20 penalties in the Craftsman Truck Series race. In the Xfinity Series race and four times in the Cup race, the same call was made.

"We're preparing today, and we've been since basically the beginning of the weekend, on what we can do going forward with the facility and then how we would officiate it and what the deterrent looks like," Sawyer said. "Not sure if we will or will not be going back to COTA in (2025)." Of course, the fact that it was a drive-through penalty and that it was out of bounds there is important.

"There are a lot of things to consider before returning to COTA because, ultimately, it shouldn't be about the officiating; rather, it should be about our athletes and our fans, whether they are watching at home or in person at the venue."

Track limitations are solely enforced by NASCAR in the COTA esses; the remainder of the course is unaffected. According to Sawyer, it all boils down to where a driver can gain an advantage during a lap. Drivers would try to straighten things up, so they wouldn't make the same left and right moves if they didn't keep them on the track through the esses, which are Turns 3-5. (Denny Hamlin acknowledged as much during Sunday's race on his Actions Detrimental podcast).

"There are significant boundaries already built into those facilities that ensure you won't go out of bounds," Sawyer remarked, pointing to the other road courses we visit. One will either find themselves in the grass or facing some sort of barrier. This is not how COTA is designed; there is a lot of extra asphalt where our rivals will look if they can improve their lap times.

The officiating and lap time there are highly valued. Even though the course is only 3.41 miles long, the esses offer plenty of lap time opportunities.

Sawyer stated that the reason NASCAR doesn't police Turn 1 is because there isn't a gain in lap time. Drivers can go three, four, or five wide on the tight left-hander at the summit of the 133-foot rise, and they can also go far out to the right off the racing surface. However, he also reasoned that sometimes drivers are forced out wide, which leads to collisions.

Hendrick Motorsports, driven by Chase Elliott, attempted a similar defense when their driver was called for cutting the course. Even though Elliott got away and missed a turn in the esses, NASCAR still called a penalty. Sawyer likened it to an NCAA basketball foul, when the call is usually made even though the defense isn't attempting to foul their opponent.

"In our case this past weekend, I would say that although the drivers are not attempting to commit a foul, the foul was committed," Sawyer stated. Thus, calling that was necessary from an officiating perspective, which is why the nine was called. They persisted in claiming that he had wheel jumped, gotten loose, or whatever, and that's good enough. That is what I really think.

However, you still need to call because otherwise, every driver and team will be phoning to report that a driver got loose, wheel hopped, and so on.

Another reason, according to Sawyer, for NASCAR to reconsider its COTA officiating practices is Elliott's penalty.

He declared, "We don't want to over-officiate." "We don't want to do that. Again, in a race, we don't need 20, 30, or more penalties. That is not necessary. Thus, every one of those factors will be taken into account.

"Again, with the information we provided the teams, the facility, and the requirements for the officiating, I believe the decisions made on Saturday and Sunday were the right ones. That doesn't mean we won't be returning today and working incredibly hard in every aspect, so that won't be our main focus moving forward.

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