Every once in a while, I hear someone calling for the use of instant replay in NASCAR.  Please, NO!

The use of instant replay in other sports has gotten out of hand.  Especially in college football where, it seems, just about every play is subject to review.  I haven't seen a game played in less than 3 ½ hours yet this year.  And, that's too long.

We are involved in a sport that is already roundly criticized for having events that take too long.  We've talked often about the NFL model that is a maximum of 3 hours and 15 minutes.  That's one of the beauties of the NFL, its appointment television.  If you live on the East Coast, you know that you can sit down to watch a game at 1:00 and that you'll be done by 4:15.

There's nothing "instant" about instant replay.  It lengthens events. 

The fact is, NASCAR already uses replay to determine things like the order coming off pit road or positioning when the field is frozen on a caution.  It's all done within the flow of the event and rarely causes extensions of caution periods.

Frankly, I'm not sure how valuable a tool replay would be on a larger scale.  So, let's just squash any urge to bring it into wider use.