NASCAR made a bold move by mixing up the way green-white-checkered finishes would be handled and their new rules got put to use in the Sprint Unlimited.
Just a few days prior to the Sprint Unlimited, NASCAR brought out a new set of rules regarding the ending of races. One new feature was the “overtime line” which would serve as a way for them to end races with little to no controversy concerning who won.
The NASCAR sanctioning body introduced the new procedures (via FOX Sports):
"“After taking the green on the overtime restart, if the leader then passes the overtime line on the first lap under green before a caution comes out (a “clean restart”), it will be considered a valid green-white-checkered attempt. However, if a caution comes out before the leader passes the overtime line on the first lap under green, it will not be considered a valid attempt, and a subsequent attempt will be made. If necessary, multiple subsequent attempts will be made until a valid attempt occurs.”"
The release went on to say that if a caution came out and the leader had passed the overtime line, the race was to end at the time of the caution and the results would be based off of where each car was at that moment.
New rules brought anticipation as many were interested to see how it would work out in an actual race and they got their answers as early as the Sprint Unlimited. With just three laps left, Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski made contact and started up a huge wreck that took in others like Casey Mears and Kyle Busch.
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Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano led the field at the start of overtime. As everyone battled for position, the pack eventually made it to the overtime line to complete one lap. Then on the next lap, multiple cars were involved in a wreck in Turn 1. Just a few seconds later, the caution flew and the race was over, giving Denny Hamlin the win, as he had managed to pull out ahead of everyone else.
The first test of these new rules brought many new thoughts and questions to the equation.
It’s likely that at one point during the season, we’re going to look back on a race and think that a driver that finished second or third actually should’ve won.
Tonight, it seemed as if Denny Hamlin had a lead that was eventually going to propel him to a win, but what if Joey Logano had received a late push from Kyle Larson, or even Paul Menard? That is always a possibility at a restrictor plate track.
There’s always times throughout the year when two drivers are neck and neck during the final moments of a race. What if someone slides just a foot ahead of the other driver and the caution is called ending the race? It would be understandable if that happened at the finish line but the thought if it happening anywhere else on the track is certainly something interesting to think about.
For example, in the Sprint Unlimited, the field was already on the final lap of overtime when the wreck happened so, they could’ve just ran the rest of the race and hit the finish line. After all, wouldn’t it make sense for the overtime line to be somewhere on the backstretch on the first lap and for it to be the finish line on the second lap?
That is going to cause some issues for drivers at times when a win could shake things up, like during elimination races in the Chase. NASCAR will be able to determine a winner easily because they can simply go back to the time when the caution was flown and see who was ahead, however, the way in which the driver got to that point is not going to be favorable for many fans and teams alike.
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NASCAR’s new change has brought many new elements to the ending of a race, and though the first one went over rather smoothly, controversy is never far off and it will be interesting to see how future “overtime” finishes play out.