NASCAR limits green-white-checker attempts to 1 at Talladega
There will only be one green-white-checker attempts to finish Sunday’s Sprint Cup Series race at Talladega if necessary.
NASCAR announced the rule change on Tuesday. The limit of one is strictly for Talladega. Races are usually given three two-lap attempts to finish a race under green if necessary.
“Following extensive dialogue with the industry, we have decided to make a procedural change at Talladega Superspeedway this weekend,” NASCAR vice president Steve O’Donnell said in a statement. “In the event the race goes beyond the advertised distance due to a caution, we will use a single attempt at a green-white-checker finish. We take very seriously the responsibility of balancing exciting finishes and safety. We’re confident that this is a positive direction for both.”
The green-white-checker finish rule was instituted in 2004 to attempt to have every race finish under green. A green-white-checker finish is not attempted if a caution flag flies on the final lap of a race. If it does, the field is frozen and the race ends under caution.
Is the limit expected to siginificantly impact Sunday’s race? Well, if history is our guide, not really. Since the GWC rule was put in effect, 10 races (of 22) at Talladega have run further than the scheduled distance because of green-white-checker attempts. In only two of those 10 races has more than one attempt been necessary. It feels a bit like a limit for the sake of a limit.
So why is NASCAR making the announcement less than a week before the race? Well, it would like to avoid a lot of wrecks and a possible situation like what happened in Daytona in July when Austin Dillon’s car flew into the frontstretch catchfence at the end of the race. But Dillon’s crash came on the first attempt of a green-white-checker finish and came after his car crossed the finish line.
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
