Drivers were able to communicate with non-teammates for the first time during the Daytona 500, which added an intriguing element to NASCAR's biggest race.
Should NASCAR Ban Radio Communication Among Drivers?
Because there was a need for two-car tandems to work together while the race was going on, many drivers set their radios up so they could speak with their competitors.
But some drivers believe the practice should be banned.
“I think NASCAR should step in on drivers getting on other teams’ radios,” Kurt Busch said. “... We shouldn’t be able to communicate with radios.”
Busch said drivers should all stay on their own channel and leave it to their crew chiefs and spotters to communicate during the races. He listed possible radio interference as one reason he’s against the practice.
“Let’s just say a driver wrecks and throws his steering wheel on the dash and (accidentally) keys up the mic – and he was just on your channel,” Busch said. “Well, now you’re messed up because you’ve just got the squelching (sound) on that channel.”
Busch said he stayed on his own channel throughout the Daytona 500, though other drivers switched over to his radio frequency to chat with him.
“If they wanted to come to us, they could come to us,” he said.
Mark Martin had only four drivers among his options for chatting: His three teammates and AJ Allmendinger. But the veteran agreed with Busch, saying he hopes his competitors “clean the radios up.”
“I don’t think that’s necessary going forward,” Martin said. “I’m not sure it would be a good thing to be able to talk to a competitor of mine. I would be better off keeping that to myself or sharing it with my spotter and my crew chief.”
Paul Menard said he had 12 different drivers on his radio during the Daytona 500 – and was just fine with continuing the practice for future restrictor-plate races if NASCAR doesn’t pass a rule against it.
"You're on one channel with two drivers and basically one spotter spotting for you," he said. "You just have to be quick. If you guys get split up or something you just have to flip back to your channel and then try to figure out where you need to go next."
Carl Edwards backed the open radio communication between drivers based on safety reasons, calling it “necessary.”
“I thought it was necessary for the guys in front to be able to say, ‘Wrecking, wrecking. Stop,’” Edwards said. “That’s a lot quicker than telling a spotter or a spotter seeing it and telling the guy behind.
“I don’t think we need that in the cars at every track, but it did help. It was good that everyone worked together and we were able to kind of do that because you just can’t see anything.”
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