- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,264,904
- Reaction score
- 59
NASCAR announced a significant competition procedure change on Thursday that will take effect immediately, beginning with this weekend’s national series races at Iowa Speedway.
The new policy changes how stage breaks will be handled when a natural caution occurs late in a stage. NASCAR said the adjustment is designed to reduce unnecessary laps under yellow while maintaining the integrity of stage racing for the remainder of the 2026 season.
The change will be in effect starting with the ARCA Menards Series event on Friday before carrying over to Saturday’s NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race and Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Iowa Corn 350.
Under the updated rule, if a natural caution occurs with 10 laps or fewer remaining in a stage, NASCAR will immediately declare the stage complete at the moment the caution is displayed.
Instead of restarting the race for the remaining laps before the scheduled stage break, that same caution period will also serve as the official stage break.
When the field returns to the start-finish line under yellow, the race leader will receive the green-and-white checkered flag to officially end the stage. NASCAR said the finishing order for the top 10 positions, and the corresponding stage points, will be determined using all available scoring resources, including electronic scoring loops and video replay, just as they are during any other stage finish.
The new procedure applies across NASCAR’s national series beginning this weekend and will remain in place for the rest of the 2026 campaign.
According to NASCAR, competition officials implemented the adjustment after reviewing the amount of time races have spent under caution near the end of stages.
By allowing a late-race caution to serve as both the stage-ending yellow and the scheduled stage break, NASCAR hopes to eliminate unnecessary additional caution laps while keeping stage points and stage victories intact.
The sanctioning body said the procedure will be used for the remainder of the season following its evaluation of caution lengths and race flow around stage endings.
The timing means drivers and teams will encounter the new process immediately during one of the busiest weekends on the calendar.
The NASCAR Cup Series headlines the Iowa Speedway schedule with Sunday’s Iowa Corn 350, while the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series competes Saturday. The new procedure will be in effect throughout the weekend as NASCAR debuts the rule for the first time.
Continue reading...
The new policy changes how stage breaks will be handled when a natural caution occurs late in a stage. NASCAR said the adjustment is designed to reduce unnecessary laps under yellow while maintaining the integrity of stage racing for the remainder of the 2026 season.
The change will be in effect starting with the ARCA Menards Series event on Friday before carrying over to Saturday’s NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race and Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Iowa Corn 350.
How NASCAR’s New Stage-Break Procedure Will Work
Under the updated rule, if a natural caution occurs with 10 laps or fewer remaining in a stage, NASCAR will immediately declare the stage complete at the moment the caution is displayed.
Instead of restarting the race for the remaining laps before the scheduled stage break, that same caution period will also serve as the official stage break.
When the field returns to the start-finish line under yellow, the race leader will receive the green-and-white checkered flag to officially end the stage. NASCAR said the finishing order for the top 10 positions, and the corresponding stage points, will be determined using all available scoring resources, including electronic scoring loops and video replay, just as they are during any other stage finish.
The new procedure applies across NASCAR’s national series beginning this weekend and will remain in place for the rest of the 2026 campaign.
Why NASCAR Made the Change
According to NASCAR, competition officials implemented the adjustment after reviewing the amount of time races have spent under caution near the end of stages.
By allowing a late-race caution to serve as both the stage-ending yellow and the scheduled stage break, NASCAR hopes to eliminate unnecessary additional caution laps while keeping stage points and stage victories intact.
The sanctioning body said the procedure will be used for the remainder of the season following its evaluation of caution lengths and race flow around stage endings.
The timing means drivers and teams will encounter the new process immediately during one of the busiest weekends on the calendar.
The NASCAR Cup Series headlines the Iowa Speedway schedule with Sunday’s Iowa Corn 350, while the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series competes Saturday. The new procedure will be in effect throughout the weekend as NASCAR debuts the rule for the first time.
Continue reading...
