There is no new NASCAR policy this season on waiting to display a yellow flag after a crash, but there was a new approach for the Daytona 500.
On the latest episode of the “Hauler Talk” podcast that was released Tuesday, NASCAR managing director of communications Mike Forde said NASCAR was prepared to throw the yellow when chaos erupted in Turn 1 on the last lap Sunday at Daytona International Speedway. The race still ended under green despite multiple incidents involving more than a dozen cars.
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But Forde noted a similar type of crash this weekend at Atlanta’s Echo Park Speedway could trigger a yellow flag because of different circumstances involving the wreck and track dimensions at the 1.5-mile track.
“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,” Forde said. “We did not see that in Daytona.
“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.”
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Forde said NASCAR’s philosophy on throwing the yellow has been consistent since the second race of the 2025 season. After controversy over the yellow being held during a big crash in last year’s Daytona 500, officials announced in a drivers meeting they would be more aggressive about throwing cautions for debris fields.
“That was kind of a line of the sand of moving forward, this is the philosophy,” Forde said.
NASCAR senior vice president of competition Elton Sawyer also has been in touch with Drivers Advisory Council consultant Jeff Burton about caution flag timing.
“They’re making sure that the drivers feel that what we did (at Daytona) was correct,” Forde said. “And if they have any feedback, we’ll absolutely take it. … We want to make sure that the drivers feel comfortable, and that’s why we changed on the debris field philosophy. That was direct driver feedback from the likes of Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell and others who said, ‘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.”
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Forde said NASCAR is also evaluating potential changes to address the trend of mass fuel conservation on superspeedways.
“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,” Forde said. “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.”
Forde also said NASCAR’s operations and security team has launched an investigation into an unidentified fan who interrupted a TV interview with Daniel Suarez after the Daytona 500.
“If we do find out who this person is, it’s certainly not going to end well for this particular person,” Forde said. “It’s certainly an unfortunate incident that we are taking seriously.”
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Other topics covered by Forde and senior director of racing communications Amanda Ellis during the 43rd episode of “Hauler Talk,” which explores competition issues in NASCAR:
— The infraction that kept Anthony Alfredo from qualifying for the Daytona 500;
— An alteration to the windshield signage in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series this season.
Click on the embed below to listen or search for “Hauler Talk” wherever you download podcasts to hear it on your phone, tablet or mobile device.
Nate Ryan has written about NASCAR since 1996 while working at the San Bernardino Sun, Richmond Times-Dispatch, USA Today and, for the past 10 years, at NBC Sports Digital. He is a contributor to the “Hauler Talk” show on the NASCAR Podcast Network. He has also covered various other motorsports, including the IndyCar and IMSA series.
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