CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The next three-race set of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup playoffs comes with a round-capping layer of dread at one of the circuit's most feared tracks, Talladega Superspeedway. The possibility of adding laps under the green-white-checkered finish rules only ratchets up the pressure.
Chase-eligible drivers talked Tuesday about the possibility of reducing the specter of overtime, saying that exploratory discussions have been held with NASCAR about potentially limiting the mayhem predicted for the Contender Round finale, the Camping World.com 500 (Oct. 25, 2:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Drivers in the newly whittled field of 12 competing for the championship spoke favorably about decreasing the number of attempts at a two-lap shootout finish at restrictor-plate venue Talladega and its sister track, Daytona International Speedway. The "green-white-checkered" rule, instituted for NASCAR's premier series in 2004, currently has a cap of three attempts to finish the race under the green flag.
Because of the Talladega facility's tendency toward large multicar wrecks, especially in the late stages of its races, decreasing the number of shootout-style finishes has won over some fans among the series' competitors.
"I don't think it's a bad thing," 2012 series champ Brad Keselowski said. "We go there and say we're going to run 500 miles. You run 500 miles and it ends under yellow, it kind of feels a little uncomfortable. Give another crack at it and see if you can't finish it off for the fans, and if it doesn't come together, well, we tried. I would feel pretty good about that if I was a fan. And as a team owner, I would feel pretty good about that, too.
"I feel like one crack at it kind of feels like, if you've ever been to a concert and the guy gets up there and does an encore, it kind of feels like that. It's like a showing of appreciation and respect toward our fans. But I think one gesture toward it is good."
A NASCAR spokesperson said Tuesday that nothing has been decided in terms of changing Talladega's rules. Denny Hamlin, winner of the Chase opener at Chicagoland, said that "another option for sure that's on the table" would alter the restart format altogether.
"I actually think the biggest change at Talladega for the finishes would be a single-file restart," Hamlin said. "I think double-file restarts really play into whoever's leading's advantage. Now if you put us all single-file, it forces the people in second, third, fourth, fifth to make a move to try to get the lead. Right now, we're where the leader has such an advantage that he's able to block both lanes, that I think single-file restarts at the end, there's more exciting finishes there than what we've seen in the past. It probably would be safer."
Two of the last three Chase events at Talladega have gone into overtime, with one of those green-white-checkered attempts producing one of most frantic crashes in recent NASCAR history -- a race-ending 25-car melee in October 2012. Though there were no major injuries, the toll came in the form of a majority of the field suffering some form of damage.
In addition to potentially reducing some of the danger associated with one of NASCAR's fastest tracks, drivers foresee positives in also dialing back any financial destruction.
"Just from the standpoint of owners throwing away money for one extra green-white-checker, yeah," Martin Truex Jr. said. "All you do is destroy race cars and when it gets to that point, guys just lost their minds and hold it wide open no matter what the situation. I think it's a good thing. We tear up so much stuff there, it'd be nice for at least half the field to bring home a race car."