When to throw yellow color? NASCAR’s last-lap caution

NASCAR’s race control is struggling to decide that the first two races of the 2025 season have a yellow-colored warrant to be finished. But to understand why it is so difficult to respond to them, we need to jump back before Detona 500 of this year.

NASCAR’s final-lap precautions have been generally made to throw it to throw it out if there is a major event, it does not matter. That attitude will be seen a change, however, this came under fire at the end of the second duality wargraph qualifying race. Austin Cyndric and Eric Jones were side-by-side of being a photo finish as some cars crashed the mid-pack. The region was only a few seconds from the Finnish line and due to the time of caution, the syndric was declared the winner despite the nozzling ahead of him on the Finnish line despite the jones. As Jones it was a strange few minutes, considering themselves winners, parked on his fist pump and on the fronts, while the syndric returned to the pits.

The question was clear. When the accident occurred just before the Start/Finnish line, what is the difference with that caution? Most agreed that yellow did nothing that the ground was close to the line, except who won the race. Due to the increasing criticism, NASCAR admitted that the caution call was a mistake and took a more attitude for the final-lap events for the rest of the weekend. This approach was many shocked and surprised as Detona remained 500 green as five drivers led the race, all of who crashed, wandering in front of the pack in the last lap.

NASCAR maintained the same posture in Atlanta in the last weekend, allowing the ground to run back as several cars crashed on the backstream during the XFINITY race. This new pushback occurred, this time from the drivers who did not like how cars were growing rapidly through an accident scene, while those who raised lost many positions. Nevertheless, NASCAR said that he made a mistake and changed his position once again. Should such an incident be revealed at the end of the cup race the next day, he announced that care would be taken.

Well, as it would be in luck, the exact landscape was played. Josh Berry collected several other cars on the backstream at the end of the cup race. NASCAR took care, but unfortunately, those who did so refused to see another historical finish. The leaders were racing three-wide through the last corner, but the yellow flag put a stop for the photo finish this time. Naturally, the fans were angry, and the question of security versus entertainment went ahead in the conversation.

What is really the answer, so?

The problem faced by them is: Throwing caution will definitely ruin some finish, but by throwing it, it can endanger the good of the drivers on the track. And the acceptance made itself back and forth in the last two weeks, causing more confusion and changing its position so much and lack of clarity-they eventually be on the ground.

But he also made himself a dissatisfaction from where he was in the couple, where he was entering Atlanta. There is no situation where caution at the end of the duality qualifying race helped from a safety point of view. Just speaking for the supersedway, NASCAR should not throw a precaution for the debris that starts from outside the turn 4 to the finish line. And they should not be forced to floor through an event on the backstream or risk losing several positions and important points. A spin in the back is not a breed-turning caution, but the leaders crashes in front of the field on the backstrate, of course, and there is no reason for yellow after seeing the checker flag once. It is best in both world.

NASCAR is sometimes not alone trying to guarantee a green-flag finish to his own determinant. In recent years, Indianapolis 500 has been employed enough to eradicate the use of red flags to ensure that there are sufficient gaps to end under green (because Indycar has no overtime rules). Marcus Ericsson slammed the race control for a stoppage, which led to a-lap dash to decide 2023 Indi 500, which left him in front of a duck. And of course, Formula 1 infamously twisted its Niyam book, so that the 2021 title-conscious in Abu Dhabi could be allowed to go to Green Green for a-Lap Dash to decide the world championship in a race.

Another way to call

But what more nascar can do? Some have suggested that for the final-lap warning to push the bus race to another overtime restart, but I will be careful against it. NASCAR used such a rule in 2022 during the all-star race, resulting in Ryan Blene taking a checker flag (suspicious) caution. Yellow came so late, he thought that the race was over and even took down the window net. They had to really had to hold it physically while exiting the ground for a final restart.

To allow for subjective calls that are close to finish, just looks to open a pendora box to open only one more. The truth is that some races are about to end under caution. There is no avoiding this. And yes, it is useless. But NASCAR can definitely handle it better than the last two weeks.

But to be fair, the cup race in Atlanta really presented a difficult one for the race control because the leaders were three-wide because the mid-pack of the debris was revealed. And perhaps there is another option in situations – a precaution that accumulates the ground behind the leaders of the race or around the scene of the accident, which naturally allows those to deal with the fight for victory, while the drivers are not plowing through a debris to finish 15th in the 20th.

And no matter what path they have chosen to take, we simply need stability – some of these calls are historically lacking the NASCAR. Many times we see Elton Sawyer (Senior VP of the competition) explaining the decisions of the race control in the post-race media scam of Race Control. And many times the fans leave the race and are disappointed and confused. Although it would be good if the driver can crash in each other of the checker flag, NASCAR needs to be prepared in a better way to handle it when these very liquid circumstances exist themselves. No two debris are the same and they will not always find it right, but NASCAR should be able to call the fly that later seated right with the majority of drivers and fans. Apparent procedures are eligible for worthy processes of caution and what is not required to do and most, stability is required or they risk losing the trust of those who see every Sunday.