NASCAR does not check video on rainout finishes

Jeff Gordon told his team last week after the Daytona 500 that he believed he could have been scored 12th instead of 13th in that Sprint Cup race, depending on the interpretation of NASCAR rules and policies. The final verdict: He was 13th. Here's why Gordon was confused: When the caution comes out during a race, the field is frozen and reset to the previous scoring line. Depending on the track, there are a dozen or so scoring lines spread throughout the oval. But NASCAR policy is that on the last lap, it uses video in addition to the scoring lines to determine the final position. Gordon believed he had passed David Reutimann after passing the scoring line, but before the caution came out for rain in the Daytona 500. NASCAR later called the race because of rain. Gordon crew chief Steve Letarte discussed the situation with NASCAR officials after the race to learn about the interpretation, which was that NASCAR will only use video on the final scheduled lap or green-white-checkered situation. "We use the non-video freezing of the field because we didn't know that we weren't going to go back racing," NASCAR Vice President of Competition Robin Pemberton said Friday at Auto Club Speedway. Scene Daily