Just hours before the start of today’s Gatorade Duel qualifying races at Daytona, NASCAR has informed drivers of a rules change: It will now stage up to three attempts at a green-white-checkered finish in order to try and end races under green.
NASCAR Announces Change To Green-White-Checkered Rule
NASCAR first told drivers it was considering the move Wednesday morning at its safety meeting. It was warmly received in the garage, as the sport attempts to make its events more enjoyable for fans.
Since the rule was implemented in the Sprint Cup Series, there had only been one attempt at a green-white-checkered finish, which is essentially overtime.
In the old days, if there was a late caution and the race got to its final lap, that was simply how the race ended – under caution. But the green-white-checkered rule added two more laps to try to make for better finishes.
If the leader takes the white flag under green and there’s a caution, the race is over – there will be no green-white-checkered after that.
Officials moved quickly – especially in light of Saturday’s Budweiser Shootout, which had an anti-climactic ending under caution after the first attempt at a G-W-C finish failed – and announced the rule in the drivers meeting.
It will extend to all three of NASCAR’s national series and last the entire season.
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