Lucky Dog - Wikipedia.com

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The "Lucky dog" rule known as the Free Pass or officially the Beneficiary Rule is a NASCAR rule. The rule allows the driver of the next lapped car or truck behind the leader to gain back a lap during a caution. The driver is called to move to the end of the longest line of the cars at the end of that caution period. This rule was instituted to prevent drivers from racing back to the start/finish line when a caution was called.

The rule applies regardless of the number of laps a car is behind the leader.

Furthermore, a driver may not receive a beneficiary rule lap in certain situations:

* There are less than ten laps remaining in the race based on the scheduled distance.
* The driver caused the situation bringing out the yellow.
* The driver had been penalized one (or more) laps for rough driving. This rule may be waived if the driver passes the leader and regains his lap back, and then is passed back.

There are two restrictions on the pitting in regards to the beneficiary rule:

* The driver pits with the lap-down cars, unless officials declare a quick yellow, when all cars may pit.
* During that pit stop, it is the only lap that car may take fuel. This rule was implemented October 30, 2004, after Ryan Newman won the first race with the beneficiary rule by stopping for fuel multiple times after gaining the free pass during that caution period, resulting in a win.

In 2006, NASCAR began to use this rule at road course races, despite previous years where it was not used at road course events.

The same rule is implemented in Grand-Am road racing, whilst rules where lapped cars between leaders may gain one lap exist in Formula One as of 2007.

In the Indy Racing League, lapped cars ahead of the leader following pit stops (which may happen if a lapped car does not pit during yellow when the lead lap cars do so) are allowed to move to the tail end of the lead lap on restarts in the Indy Racing League on the one lap to go signal -- which automatically closes the pit lane until the restart.