NASCAR is weighing solutions to reduce the number of laps run under caution, particularly for yellows that occur near the end of stages.
During the latest episode of the “Hauler Talk” podcast, vice president of racing communications Mike Forde said NASCAR officials started discussions during the Brickyard 400 about tightening yellows in the future. The caution flag flew near the end of the first two stages at Indianapolis Motor Speedway — among five cautions that lasted for 27 of the race’s 160 laps.
RELATED: Brickyard 400 results
“If NASCAR fans are angry at the length of caution periods, I can promise you that NASCAR matches that displeasure,” Forde said. “We want green-flag racing, and we want to get it as fast as possible.”
Despite a four-lap caution for Kyle Larson’s crash, NASCAR managed to end the first stage with a lap under green. But an incident with four laps remaining in Stage 2 resulted in an eight-lap yellow as the stage concluded under caution.
“So when you’re at that late, there’s no way to pick up the field, open pit road and get back to green,” Forde said.
NASCAR worked with TNT’s broadcast production team to ensure commercials could be run during the yellow-flag laps that ended the stage, ensuring the pits were open on the lap that the final stage began.
Forde noted that cautions generally consume a minimum of four laps around the 2.5-mile track because of the time needed to open the pits and choose positions for the double-file restart. NASCAR could potentially move the location of the Choose V to help eliminate a lap under caution.
“Maybe there’s something there that we can look at where we can choose and then go immediately back to green, but it won’t work at every single track,” Forde said. “So there are several things in the hopper. It’s something that’s on our radar. It’s important to us to get back green. We keep stats religiously on the blocks of time between red-, yellow- and green-flag racing. We’re always working to get that green number higher and higher and higher.
“Stage breaks are a big topic of conversation. We hear it, and we see it.”
Other topics covered by Forde during the 64th episode of “Hauler Talk,” which explores competition issues in NASCAR:
— How NASCAR relays to drivers that burnouts on the bricks at Indianapolis Motor Speedway are to be avoided.
— Whether Noah Gragson will face a penalty for hitting Connor Zilisch under caution.
— The future of the NASCAR In-Season Challenge.
Click on the embed below to listen or search for “Hauler Talk” wherever you download podcasts to hear it on your phone, tablet or mobile device.
Nate Ryan has written about NASCAR since 1996 while working at the San Bernardino Sun, Richmond Times-Dispatch, USA Today Co. and, for the past 10 years, at NBC Sports Digital. He is a contributor to the “Hauler Talk” show on the NASCAR Podcast Network. He has also covered various other motorsports, including the IndyCar and IMSA series.