The Controversy 500? Thanks to our "Commissioner" it is

An otherwise very boring race kicked the excitement up a notch on the final lap of the 510 mile (4 additional laps were completed on the 2.5 mile "Roval") Pocono event.

After the leader, Dennis "Denny" Hamlin, crossed the line as the white flag waved (which, under NASCAR's current rules means that this will be the final lap of the race, come hell, high water, or Harry Gant) chaos ensued.

The other lead lap cars also took the white flag. If a catastrophe were to occur after the leader takes the white flag, the automatic scoring robots would 'freeze' the field, locking each driver into that finishing position. (All in the interest of safety, mind you. Competitors aren't even allowed to race for position after a caution flag is waved.)

Wouldn't you know it, that knucklehead Kasey Kahne decides to earn some gas money by mowing the lawn on the backstretch as he works towards completing the lap. As luck would have it, he traversed over a soggy spot in the yard, and his car was upset (he wasn't the only upset one that day).

What ensued was a very ugly wreck that involved many cars. NASCAR, those bastions of safety, acted in the interest of all competitors and safety crew members and quickly waved the yellow flag. The scoring robots froze and the race was decided. Dennis Hamlin, ahead of the crowd when the Yellow waved, was awarded the victory. When the scoring robots froze, each position was locked in. That being the final lap of the race, those locked positions became the finishing positions for each competitor, as no more racing was necessary or allowable.

Therein lies the dutch rub. Our co-Commissioner, J. Diggs, determined, after some thought, that those drivers that raced each lap of the event until they were no longer allowed to race should be awarded a DNF. Dat's not fair. I mean, that stands for Did Not Finish, which, in our league incurs a 20 point penalty.

This is how Holy Wars get started and wage on for centuries.

I follow the school of thought that those lead lap drivers who crashed on the last allowable and possible lap of the race, did indeed race until the finish. In fact, they caused the finish of the race. When I shared my point of view with my co-Commissioner, he had some choice words for me: "Stop your bitching, it's a DNF."

Our co-Commissioner has worked tirelessly at a thankless job to update the stats and the scoring all season. His fine work is not unappreciated. He's had to be firm about the rule requiring competitors to send in their picks weekly. Some people don't like that rule, but we wanted to keep our players involved all year. I can honestly say that we have a 100% participation level at this point in the season.

I just don't understand why logic can't prevail in a situation like this. I mean, official NASCAR statistics are even reluctant to assign a DNF to the race results. Do I believe DNFs exist? Sure! My new favorite driver crashed into the wall, rendering his car undriveable. Repairs were not made, and he didn't return to the race. That's a DNF if there ever was one. NASCAR statistics might not say "DNF", but Jamie McMurray did not finish that race.

I think we have a really different situation with the last lap incident at Pocono. DNFs mean nothing to NASCAR point standings, but they carry a stiff penalty in Sweetest Temptation land.
Let's use the discretion we have to make a wise decision.

Like Teen Wolf's dad and Spider Man's Uncle said, "With great power comes great responsibility." I think we have a responsibility to be reasonable.

What are your thoughts? How should this unique situation be handled?