NASCAR Announces New Procedure for Late Stage Cautions

Kelsey Christman - Staff Writer

Green and white checkered flag waves as the stage finished at Kansas Speedway. (Jamie Squire, Getty Images, October 2020)

Charlotte, NC- With an increase in late-stage cautions during the opening two stages of races this season, NASCAR has introduced a new procedure for incidents occurring within the final ten laps of a stage. If a natural caution occurs with ten laps or fewer remaining in a stage, that stage will be considered complete at the moment the yellow flag is displayed. The running order at the time of the caution will determine stage finishing positions and stage points, eliminating the need to continue pacing until the scheduled stage-ending lap. The new procedure takes effect immediately, beginning with this weekend's races at Iowa Speedway.

The change comes after criticism of lengthy caution periods near the end of stages, which often resulted in several laps under yellow before the planned stage break. It is intended to reduce unnecessary caution laps, allowing races to return to green-flag conditions sooner and increasing the amount of green-flag racing. The new procedure applies only to Stages 1 and 2. The final stage and NASCAR's overtime rules remain unchanged.