Sometimes it seems that no matter what they do people are quick to criticize the moves made by NASCAR.
On the last lap of the Daytona 500, cars were wrecking but NASCAR did not throw the caution flag – a frequent complaint when they do – and allowed the drivers to race to the end with Tyler Reddick winning the race for a first win for Tyler Reddick and car owner Michael Jordan.
In their Hauler Talk podcast, NASCAR explained…it was a new approach.
According to NASCAR managing director of communications Mike Forde whether or not a yellow flag is thrown depends on the track and the circumstances and used the upcoming race this weekend at EchoPark Speedway as an example. “We may see a hit that looks hard, a nose-into-the-wall collision that bent the front clip, and we need to get safety trucks out there as soon as possible. We did not see that in Daytona.”
He continued, “or that same type of wreck could happen, but the runoff area in Atlanta is nonexistent. There is a ton of runoff area in Daytona. And so because of that, they were able to get out of harm’s way. In Atlanta, that probably won’t be the case, so there may be a flag. We are going to do our best to maintain consistency. That is the ultimate goal, but every wreck is a snowflake. No two wrecks are the same, and because we’re at a different track, it changes the game.”
Forde noted that NASCAR has been consistent over the past year when it comes to throwing the caution flag after the controversy in the 2025 Daytona 500. During the driver’s meeting, officials did tell the drivers that they would be more aggressive about throwing cautions for debris.
Saying that they want the drivers to feel comfortable, Forde noted that they would take any feedback the drivers had; adding that recent actions were the direct result of driver feedback saying, “don’t put us in a situation where we’ve just got to go 100% throttle and hope for the best.’ You can’t have that.”
In other Daytona 500 news…numerous driver have complained about the mass fuel conservation during the race where in a three wide battle, the Toyotas blocked the field while pulling back on the throttle to save fuel.
Forde noted, “getting rid of (fuel conservation in the Daytona 500) entirely is probably not going to happen, but that doesn’t mean that we’re not going to try and work at it. It’s something on the docket. Fans wanted change in the playoffs, we did that. Fans wanted more horsepower, we did that. Fans wanted to change the (Charlotte) Roval to the oval, we did that. So this is also on the list of fan feedback, so we’ll see. TBD and no real answers yet, but it’s something that’s on the list.”
While doing an interview after the Daytona 500, Daniel Suarez, an as yet unidentified person interfered with that interview. NASCAR has launched an investigation into the matter and is seeking to identify the party. Forde said, “if we do find out who this person is, it’s certainly not going to end well for this particular person. It’s certainly an unfortunate incident that we are taking seriously.”