The short answer is because car counts are an issue (and have been for a while), promoters are afraid to tell drivers/race teams "sorry 'bout your luck" for fear that the team will pack up and race elsewhere. They do the same thing at the one and only asphalt track that I've attended in the past few years, and I hate it there too. I've seen many great side by side battles for the lead ended because the guy running 17th decided he needed a caution, so he pulled up to the outside and slowed, and then headed to the pits as soon as the yellow was waved. Of course they then hold up the show for 3 laps until the guy that stopped the show can rejoin..... The show suffers, but there's no downside to the guy that brought out the yellow. (Often, once they go green, the guy that brought out the yellow pulls off after a lap or two anyhow....) I've been on the other side of this for the brief time back in the late 80's/early 90's when I was on a crew, and for selfish reasons, probably would have loved having the option of bringing out the yellow to stop the action so that an adjustment could be made, or something could be checked. But back then, no individual driver/race team thought that they were more important than "THE SHOW", and realized that "THE SHOW" was more important than their individual situation. I can remember a high profile driver (who I like by the way) about 20 years ago at New Egypt... slowing intentionally in turn 2 to bring out the caution, and the yellow had to eventually came out, but they went green right away once he hit the pits, so while it did interrupt things, the driver/race team did not benefit from it, and it did deter repeat performances from everyone else. I also remember that driver/team being pissed off, but that was back when there were 40+ modifieds, and 60+ sportsman.... and probably 30+ Super Stocks, and tracks were willing to do the right thing for the good of the overall show, and the integrity of the show. Nobody likes to see their favorite driver get a flat... or something else, but it was always part of the game... How many features did guys not win, or championships lost because a driver pulled into the infield instead of stopping on the track, and then headed to the pits? Maybe it's an indication of just the way the world has gone in a larger scale... with bending rules to make sure nobody's feelings are hurt, and making sure nobody gets upset. Seems telling somebody "NO" isn't as easy as saying..."sure.. no problem... do whatever you want..." It's also one of the reason why the show isn't as compelling as it used to be. There is so much downtime/interruptions during features, that absolutely kill any momentum that the race may have had. With car counts getting lower and lower each year, it will only get worse.
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