Due to the sprint car racing incident at Canandaigua Motorsports last weekend, Tony Stewart will not be racing his Car 14 Mobil 1 Chevrolet this weekend in the Sprint Cup Series at Michigan International Speedway. Instead, Jeff Burton will drive the Car 14 Mobil 1 Chevrolet for Stewart-Haas Racing at the 2-mile track. The rest of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season has not been decided for Tony Stewart at this time. Stewart’s racing plans outside NASCAR have been cancelled and will not resume until further notice. The chance of Tony Stewart making the Chase for the cup now is pretty unlikely.
Jeff Burton has only raced twice this season as a part-time driver for Michael Waltrip Racing. This season he got a 17th place at Las Vegas and a 20th place at New Hampshire. In 40 career starts at Michigan, Burton has 4 Top 5s, 11 Top 10s and two poles. Burton has been in transition to be in the broadcast booth next season for NBC.
Since the racing incident at Canandaigua Motorsports last weekend, race tracks are implementing new rules regarding safety and driver behavior.
Besides tracks making new rules Nascar themselves have put out this media release today.
NASCAR Formalizes On-Track Incident Procedure For Competitors
Rule Enhances Sport’s Ongoing Safety Efforts
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Aug. 15, 2014) — In its continued efforts to evolve the safety of its sport, NASCAR announced Friday that it will add a rule that addresses on-track incidents as part of its race procedures. The rule, listed as Section 9-16, will be an addendum to the NASCAR rule book and will apply to all of its racing series, effective immediately.
Section 9-16 On-Track Incident Procedure
During an Event, if a racecar is involved in an on-track incident and/or is stopped on or near the racing surface and unable to continue to make forward progress, unless extenuating emergency conditions exist with the racecar, (i.e. fire, smoke in cockpit, etc.) the driver should take the following steps:
· Shut off electrical power and, if driver is uninjured, lower window net
· Do not loosen, disconnect or remove any driver personal safety equipment until directed to do so by safety personnel or a NASCAR/Track Official
· After being directed to exit the racecar, the driver should proceed to either the ambulance, other vehicle, or as otherwise directed by safety personnel or a NASCAR/Track Official
· At no time should a driver or crew member(s) approach any portion of the racing surface or apron
· At no time should a driver or crew member(s) approach another moving vehicle
All vehicles not involved in the incident or that are able to continue afterwards should slow down to a cautious speed as outlined in Section 10-4 (Yellow Flag), use extreme care as they approach an incident scene, and follow any directions given by safety personnel or NASCAR/Track Officials. Cars in line behind the safety car should not weave or otherwise stray from the line in the vicinity of the incident.
Robin Pemberton, NASCAR vice president of competition and racing development, says the rule is “part of the evolution of NASCAR’s rules and regulations.”
“Throughout the history of our sport, NASCAR has reviewed and analyzed situations and occurrences that take place not just in NASCAR racing but also throughout all motorsports and other sports,” said Pemberton. “When we believe we can do something to make our sport safer and better for the competitors and others involved in the competition environment, we react quickly. Safety always has been priority number one at NASCAR.”
As with other behavioral infractions, NASCAR will handle each instance separately when assessing potential penalties.
http://www.nascar.com/en_us/sprint-cup-series.html