NASCAR eliminates overtime line, effective immediately

NASCAR is changing its divisive overtime line rule, beginning with this weekend’s Xfinity Series and Monster Energy Cup Series races at Watkins Glen International.

The line, which marks whether a race is official following an overtime restart, will be moved from the backstretch to the start-finish line. The leader must complete one full lap under green-flag conditions after a restart for the race to be considered complete. If there is a caution prior to that initial lap being completed, the race will be restarted. There is no limit on the number of overtime restarts.

“NASCAR has been looking at the overtime procedure for quite some time,” Chief Racing Development Officer and Executive Vice President Steve O’Donnell said in a statement. “After many discussions with key figures throughout the industry, we recognize that having the start-finish line serve as the standard overtime line position will benefit the race -- and, most importantly, our fans.”

The overtime line being positioned on the backstretch caused controversial finishes during recent national touring races at Dover International Speedway (Cup), Daytona International Speedway (Xfinity) and Indianapolis Motor Speedway (Cup). In each instance the race leader had just crossed the overtime line when a caution occurred, effectively ending the race prematurely.

Several drivers have spoken out against the overtime line, which was instituted prior to the 2016 season after Kevin Harvick was alleged to have caused multiple cautions during a playoff elimination race at Talladega Superspeedway the year before, and as a result of last-lap multi-car crashes that frequently occurred in restrictor-plate races at Daytona and Talladega.

The rule was conceptualized by the drivers council, a select group that meets with NASCAR officials and executives regularly. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was on the council and advocated for the overtime line, but has since admitted multiple times that the idea has not delivered as expected.

Tracks also objected to the line, as the designated marker was on the backstretch often away from the grandstands.

“Driver council came up with the overtime line. I was in heavy favor of it, at Daytona and Dega in particular. It failed as a solution,” Earnhardt tweeted Wednesday after NASCAR’s announcement.