Should Indy finish under caution bring a change to NASCAR philosophy?

NASCAR Cup Series

Published Jul. 24, 2024 11:53 a.m. ET

NASCAR wants races to finish naturally, and the biggest question after Indianapolis is: what is the best method to do that?

The current method was on display when Ryan Preece spun in Turn 2 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and it appeared he was trying to get going (possibly to an opening where he could get off the racing surface). NASCAR didn’t throw the caution as the drivers were coming to the white flag in hopes that Preece would get going and the race could go green to the finish.

He stalled — he was out of gas and he had a flat tire — and NASCAR threw the caution after the leaders took the white flag as it was a major safety issue to have the car stalled on the track. Because the leader (Kyle Larson) had taken the white flag, that ended the race with drivers just having to keep a reasonable speed to come back around to the checkered flag.

Considering it was the second overtime and other drivers were possibly going to run out of gas, ending the race wasn’t totally a bad thing. Considering what occurred at Nashville a few weeks earlier with five overtimes, does it really need to go any longer?

Part of me says not really, but after a couple of days digesting it, the answer seems more murky in what often times can be a no-win situation for NASCAR officials. It was such a downer for fans to see the race under caution after sitting through a few hours of racing that included not much true passing but lots of wrecks and a red flag.

So two main thoughts after a few days of analyzing it:

–Preece’s team was clearly talking on its radio about him possibly being out of gas. That combined with the flat tire and the car being damaged should have been enough for NASCAR to know he more than likely wouldn’t get going.

–Is it better that NASCAR, instead of thinking it is possible the car could continue and so don’t throw the caution, thinks that if there is a decent chance the car doesn’t get going, that it should have a quicker trigger on the caution in these situations? Should the incentive of having a better chance to end under green be a higher priority than it ending naturally (and it could be argued another caution with the potential to end under green would be ending naturally)?

What’s the harm in re-racking them and having another restart (other than possibly running even later into a broadcast window that isn’t there and frustrating the fans who are already worn out)?

Well, there is one big thing — if teams know NASCAR is more than likely throwing the caution to potentially end under green, that opens the door to shenanigans of drivers who spin potentially pretending to be wounded worse than they actually are in order to get a restart to either help their finish position and/or a teammate who is second or third and could use another restart.

But NASCAR can watch for that and potentially officiate it by scrutinizing and indicating that harsh penalties would come.

Maybe it’s time to see how that plays out. The downside is it could create even more chaos and maybe look like a clown show. And, granted, any decision in this situation will lead to fans pointing the finger at NASCAR officials that they want a certain driver to win. But at least NASCAR would see how that tastes and if it is worse than the taste of the finish of the race on Sunday.

Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.