CONSISTENCY WITH RULES WOULD HELP NASCAR.

Byline: TIM HADDOCK Auto Racing

Two races into the NASCAR Winston Cup season and two very distinct endings.

The Daytona 500 ended with a red flag stopping the field to clean up the track for a green-flag finish with Ward Burton holding on in a three-lap shootout.

The Subway 400 at North Carolina Speedway ended Sunday under caution as track crews cleaned up an accident that left oil and debris on the track and Matt Kenseth took the checkered flag with the rest of the field helpless to pass him.

The big question after the first two races of the season is why doesn't NASCAR have a consistent rule for how to finish races? One week the field is stopped to clean the track and ensure a green-flag finish, the next week the field is allowed to drive through the mess and debris under caution until the checkered flag drops.

What's even more frustrating is NASCAR has developed a consistent rule for finishing races in its lower divisions, specifically the Craftsman Truck and Winston West series.

The trucks and Winston West use a green-white-checkered rule to ensure every race ends under green-flag racing. If a race is under caution as the field completes the final lap, the race continues until crews clean up the track and resumes for two more laps.

But the green-white-checkered rule probably wouldn't work at the Winston Cup level for a couple of reasons. One is fuel management. The other is the varying lengths of tracks that are used at the Winston Cup level.

Probably the biggest reason, as Roush Racing driver Jeff Burton will attest, is most drivers don't see a problem with the inconsistencies.

``I don't know how I'd like to see 'em done,'' said Burton, driver of the No. 99 Exide Ford and brother of Daytona 500 winner Ward Burton. ``I think the way we do 'em, even though it is a bit confusing, on a race-by-race situation, which is the way we do it now, I think it has some merit to it.''

Jeff Burton said he has little problem with the way NASCAR makes its decisions on how to end races. Furthermore, he can understand some of the factors involved in making those decisions.

``In last week's case, it wasn't obvious because I couldn't see it on the race track and I ran through it, there was a tremendous amount of oil on the race track that needed to be cleaned up. And there was debris all over the track.

``By the time we got back around to the caution, I think there was probably going to be, maybe at the most, going to be only one lap of green-flag racing. I'm probably not in favor of that. I think it shouldn't be a one-lap shootout. If we can't get at least three laps, I'm not for it.''

Brendan Gaughan, two-time Winston West champ and driver of the No. 62 NAPA Chevy on the Truck Series, said he is a fan of the green- white-checkered rule, but he can see how it wouldn't work at the Winston Cup level.

``Winston Cup can't do green-white-checkered because everyone is geared up for a 500-mile race,'' Gaughan said in cases like the Daytona 500. ``Teams make every call for that. We all want to see a green-flag finish, but fuel mileage plays such a big part, it's too much to cut it that close.''

Gaughan said that for the most part, the green-white-checkered rule played into his favor over his racing career, but it did cost him a victory on the Winston West Series when he ran out of gas waiting for a race to restart.

``Normally it worked out pretty good for us,'' Gaughan said. ``I like the green-white-checkered rule, but for Winston Cup, it would be unreasonable to run extra laps.''

Even though NASCAR has found a consistent way to finish races at some of its lower levels, Winston Cup will continue to race week to week with some inconsistencies. It's unlikely the rules will change to ensure green-flag finishes, but it seems some drivers don't mind.

``I thought the right decision was made last week,'' Jeff Burton said. ``And I thought the right decision was made at Daytona.''

WEEKEND AT THE RACES 

NASCAR

WINSTON CUP

UAW-Daimler Chrysler 400

Site: Las Vegas.

Schedule: Today, qualifying (Fox Sports Net, 2 p.m.); Sunday, race (Fox, noon).

Track: Las Vegas Motor Speedway (tri-oval 1.5 miles, 12 degrees banking in turns).

Race distance: 400 miles, 267 laps.

Fast facts: Last week's race marked the debut of the new NASCAR rule that states only one engine is allowed for practice, qualifying and the race. Las Vegas Speedway's ovals are known to put more pressure on the 750-800 horsepower engines than the 1.017-mile North Carolina track.

Next race: Atlanta 500, March 10, Hampton, Ga.

On the net: www.nascar.com

BUSCH GRAND NATIONAL

Sam's Town 300

Site: Las Vegas.

Schedule: Today, qualifying, 12:30 p.m.; Saturday, race (FX, 12:30 p.m.).

Track: Las Vegas Motor Speedway (tri-oval 1.5 miles, 12 degrees banking in turns).

Race distance: 300 miles, 200 laps.

Next race: DarlingtonRaceway.com 200, March 16, Darlington, S.C.

FORMULA ONE

Australian Grand Prix 

Site: Melbourne, Australia.

Schedule: Today, qualifying (Speedvision, 6 p.m.); Saturday, race (Speedvision, 6:30 p.m.).

Track: Albert Park Circuit (3.28 miles).

Race distance: 191.118 miles, 58 laps.

Next race: Malaysian Grand Prix, March 17, Kuala Lumpur.

On the net: www.formula1.com

INDY RACING LEAGUE 

Grand Prix of Miami

Site: Homestead, Fla.

Schedule: Today, qualifying, 9:30 a.m.; Saturday, race (ABC, 10 a.m.).

Track: Homestead-Miami Speedway (oval 1.5 miles, 6 degrees banking in turns).

Race distance: 300 miles, 200 laps.

Next race: Bombardier/ATV Indy 200, March 17, Avondale, Ariz.

On the net: www.indyracingleague.com

CAPTION(S):

box

Box:

WEEKEND AT THE RACES (see text)