Did Kyle Busch Make An Illegal Pass To Win Talladega Truck Race?

As soon as Kyle Busch crossed the finish line at Talladega – winning the closest finish since NASCAR went to electronic timing for the Truck Series (0.002 second) – a sizable number of fans began protesting Busch’s win.

The claim was that Busch passed below the yellow line as he got around Aric Almirola at the stripe – and passing below the yellow line at Talladega and Daytona is illegal under any circumstances, according to NASCAR rules.

Personally, after looking at the replay about a half-dozen times, I think the replay is too inconclusive to strip the win away from Busch.

Did Busch really improve his position while below the yellow line? Did Almirola make contact with Busch’s truck, as NASCAR later claimed to reporters? And was Busch actually even below the “out of bounds” stripe before he got to the start/finish line?

Just like with the NFL’s video replay system, in which inconclusive evidence means the calls cannot be overturned, there isn’t enough visual proof to strip Busch’s victory.

So who knows? If the decision is this close though, NASCAR shouldn’t be stepping in and taking wins away.

Look, I’m as hard on NASCAR as anyone for the sanctioning body’s inconsistent decisions when it comes to the rules. But in this case, you get the feeling that many of the people who want NASCAR to take the win away just don’t like Busch.

To me, it was too close to call. So I plan to enjoy Saturday afternoon’s race for what it was: An incredible, memorable finish by Busch. I mean, how many people can win a race while almost losing control of their car at the finish line?

That’s my take. Leave yours in the comments section below. If you’re undecided, check out the video replay below for yourself: