The free pass, commonly referred to as the "lucky dog" or "beneficiary rule", is a rule in some motor racing leagues allowing the closest lapped driver to the front of the field to gain back a lap when a caution is called.
The popular term for this rule, "lucky dog", was first used by Benny Parsons in 2003 during a TNT broadcast at Dover International Speedway.
In the NASCAR Pinty's Series, the term "VTech Lucky Dog" is a contingency award among drivers who were granted free passes during the race.
The use of the term "lucky dog" is often criticized by specific Fox staff members for not being informative and producer Neil Goldberg, who has since moved to ESPN.
[citation needed] During a 2004 conversation with fans on the Fox Sports website, Waltrip said, "You're not lucky, and you're not a dog.
"[citation needed] He also mentioned, for new viewers, the Fox terminology is easier to explain, especially since "we feel 'free pass' signals something happening better than throwing out the term 'lucky dog.'"
Later, however, Fox (and ESPN) agreed to use the term on-air after rent-to-own company Aaron's paid to sponsor the 'award', even creating a cartoon dog character to accompany the captioning.
The lapped-car rule in Formula One applies when the "lapped cars may overtake" signal appears on team monitors from race control.