NASCAR Fan Poll: Should There Have Been A Caution?

Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports

The end of the Auto Club 400 from Fontana brought with it plenty of excitement and maybe a little big of controversy. On the second green-white-checkerd attempt the field took the white flag with Kurt Busch leading and Brad Keselowski in pursuit. Moments after taking the white flag, Greg Biffle wrecked towards the back of the pack. As Biffle was wrecking the camera panned to the front where Busch was still leading and for a few moments it seemed like the race was going to end under caution.

However, that caution never came.

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Instead of Busch winning the race under caution Keselowski passed Busch and the race finished under green. The win by Keselowski is something that many fans questioned almost instantly on social media. The initial outcry was that NASCAR decided not to throw the caution because Busch was leading. Many fans seemed to be upset with the lack of a caution on the final lap.

So, should NASCAR have thrown a caution flag? There are two ways to look at this and they are listed below.

Let Them Race

By rule of thumb NASCAR will generally throw a caution flag when there is a danger on the track to other cars. The act of Biffle spinning was certainly dangerous assuming that he collected other cars, spewed debris across the track or wasn’t able to remove himself from the path of the remaining drivers in the race.

In the case of Fontana, Biffle didn’t seem to collect anyone else in his wreck nor did he cover the track in debris. Moreover, after waiting a few moments to see if he was able to move his car; he ultimately was. Biffle cleared his car from the racing surface and as a result of that NASCAR did not throw the caution.

Throw The Caution

In many instances in the past we have seen NASCAR err on the side of caution in these situations. In those instances NASCAR will simply throw the caution in an effort to protect all of those on the track.

One could easily argue that in those few seconds NASCAR couldn’t tell for sure if the track was safe. Sure, it was clear that Biffle was able to remove his car from the racing surface but was anything else truly clear in those few moments? Could NASCAR have known for sure that Biffle didn’t drop anything unsafe onto the track? Why not just throw the caution like they have done so many times in the past and be safe rather than potentially sorry?

Good Ending or Anti-Busch?

Depending on where you fall on this debate you will believe in one of these two things. NASCAR either felt the track was safe and wanted to give everyone a good ending or they saw a chance to keep Busch from winning and getting into the chase.

The first of the two options is easier to believe than the other. Biffle was off of the track and it all happened fairly quickly making it seem like a green finish was possible. The other scenario would involve NASCAR fixing races in an effort to keep one driver from making the chase. It would involve someone having something against Busch and feeling strongly enough to jeopardize the integrity of the entire sport.

NASCAR fans are going to feel how they feel regardless of how anyone tries to debate them. How do you feel about the ending of the race? Be sure to take the poll and then comment below.

Christopher Olmstead is the Editor of BeyondTheFlag.com on the FanSided Network. Follow us on Twitter @Beyond_The_Flag and “Like” us on Facebook.