NASCAR caution flags: Is Kurt Busch right?

Kurt Busch showed frustration with NASCAR’s decision not to throw the caution flag late in Sunday’s race at Talladega Superspeedway. Was he right?

Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kurt Busch took the white flag in this past Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series round of 12 playoff race at Talladega Superspeedway, the 1000Bulbs.com 500.

The driver of the #41 Ford had led 108 of the first 192 laps of the 193-lap race, which was extended by five laps as a result of the fact that a late caution flag period caused it to go into overtime, around the four-turn, 2.66-mile (4.281-kilometer) Talladega Superspeedway oval in Lincoln, Alabama.

As the field, which was surprisingly nearly complete even though it was late in a restrictor plate race, approached turn one, a wreck involving several drivers, including Matt DiBenedetto, Chase Elliott and Kyle Busch, ensued.

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However, NASCAR did not throw the caution flag period because they knew that it was the final lap of the race and (a) they did not want the race to end under caution, which would have robbed fans of an exciting finish, and (b) they felt that there was no need for it to do so because of the fact that the leaders would not have the chance to approach the scene of the accident at full speed since the field had already taken the white flag.

Busch ended up running out of fuel coming out of turn four on the race’s 193rd and final lap. Aric Almirola, one of his three teammates, led only lap 193 and won the race because of it to lock himself into the third four of the four-turn, 10-race playoffs, the round of 8.

Busch, meanwhile, finished all the way back in 14th place despite the fact that he dominated the race, meaning that instead of locking himself into the round of 8, he will have to race his way into it in the third and final round of 12 race, the Hollywood Casino 400, which is scheduled to take place this Sunday at Kansas Speedway.

Here is a video of the end of the 1000Bulbs.com 500.

After the race was over, Busch was clearly frustrated with NASCAR’s decision not to throw the caution flag period. While this may have seemed like sour grapes to many fans, did the 40-year-old Las Vegas, Nevada native have a point? Here is what he had to say about the matter, according to Autosport.

"“Yeah I was trying to use all the information I could with my guys telling me about how the other team-mates were lifting, what their fuel mileage looked like. You don’t want to conserve too much and draw the gap of our cars back to the other guys.“I was trying to do what I could to manage the fuel and there was two missed calls by NASCAR there at the end. Why [we had] an extra yellow flag [is] beyond me. The track was ready to go. And at the end you know, once we crossed the white flag, if there’s a wreck, an ambulance needs to be dispatched.“I’ve been on the other side of that where I was racing coming back to win the race and they said, ‘well we had to dispatch an ambulance’. There was two cars dead in the water down there, Chase Elliott’s safety is of my concern, so is the #32 car [of Matt DiBenedetto]. And so, it’s a human call. There’s rules that need to be stricter at the end of these races.”"

Here is how NASCAR responded to Busch, according to Autosport.

"“We were closely monitoring each car involved, and were actively communicating with spotters and safety trucks in Turn 1. All cars were able to either roll off under their own power or signal they were clear. As always, we make every effort to end under green for our fans in the stands and at home, which we did.”"

Is Busch right?

Busch is both right and wrong in this situation, but he is more so right that he is wrong. He is right in that safety needs to be NASCAR’s number one concern. After all, there have been crashes that, in getting to the driver, every second counts. While this was not one of those crashes, it is never good to set a bad precedent.

However, Busch is wrong in that a caution flag was needed in this case. The wreck took place far enough away from the finish line that it had absolutely no impact on the end of the race, even with an ambulance on the track to make sure that the drivers involved in it were alright.

Had the wreck happened with two laps to go, it definitely would have had an impact on the end of the race, as the field would have approached the scene of the accident, and a caution flag would have had to have been thrown.

But keep in mind the fact that a caution flag with two laps to go does not end the race nor rob the fans of an exciting finish like a caution flag with one lap to go does. That’s the whole idea behind NASCAR’s relatively new unlimited overtime rules. They worked to perfection in this case; there’s no way around that.

That said, Busch is more so right than wrong because of the fact that he discusses the idea that rules need to be stricter regarding caution flags at the end of races. It can’t come down to judgment calls, especially in the playoffs. NASCAR needs to set a precedent and stick to it.

NASCAR needs to be consistent in terms of making crucial calls such as this one at the ends of races, which is something that Busch pointed out as having not been done in the past. I’m sure most if not all fans would agree, and there have been multiple instances that have happened in the past that make this the case.

Do you agree or disagree with Kurt Busch that something needs to be changed in regard to NASCAR‘s caution flag procedure when a race is about to end? Regardless of whether you agree or disagree with him, do you believe that something will end up changing about this procedure, and if so, when will it be changed?