NASCAR Establishes Formula For Setting Track Restart Zone
Robin Pemberton, NASCAR Vice President of Competition, said Friday at Atlanta Motor Speedway that officials will take the pit-road speed limit, double that figure and then set that as the distance in feet of the restart zone. At the start of this season, NASCAR created a zone where the leader must restart the race instead of giving the leader discretion from a certain area coming out of Turn 4 up to the starting line to restart the race. The rule is designed to create a more consistent restart at each track.
Pit-road speeds typically range from 30 to 55 mph, depending on the length of the track. That means the restart zone will vary from 60-110 feet, depending on the track.
"It will be twice the pit-road speed," said Pemberton. "It’s a means to get variable lengths in there for the race track itself. It’s something the garage area asked us to do. Is it perfect; maybe, maybe not. But, it’s a start."