You’re watching an action-packed race, full of passes and some heavy-hitters battling it out for the lead, and in the blink of an eye, the race’s outcome is already decided, not by what happens on the track, but by a rule that feels outdated and downright confusing. But is NASCAR really that complicated?

The answer to that is probably just that the fans want to see side-by-side racing, good race strategies, and the best driver to win on the track. But that raises an important question: if the rulebook is supposed to ensure fairness, why do so many fans feel it gets in the way?

To answer that, we dug into the fan perspective and took a closer look at some of the most debated regulations. And, to begin with, here are NASCAR’s seven most controversial rules of all time.

1) The Double Yellow Line rule at Superspeedways

The double yellow line at Daytona and Talladega Superspeedway is sacred ground. If a driver crosses it to gain track position, they’re penalized by NASCAR, and sometimes even stripped of a win.

Now, the idea behind it was to prioritize safety, ensuring that cars don’t drive onto the apron at 190 mph. But over the years, this rule has become notorious for deciding the outcome of races in the most anticlimactic way, where instead of allowing drivers to battle it out on track, finishes are overturned by the sanctioning body.

1. Take the 2003 race at Talladega as an example. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was accused of making a race-winning pass below the yellow line with four laps remaining. And, according to NASCAR, he was already in the clear before dipping low. But the decision proved to be controversial.
2. Denny Hamlin went below the line to win at Talladega in 2020, and NASCAR decided he was ‘forced’ down, allowing him to keep the win. It’s that kind of inconsistency that fans don’t like to see.

Solution: What NASCAR can consider doing instead is adopting a ‘penalty box’ concept. This means that if a driver clearly and intentionally cuts below the line to gain an advantage, the sanctioning body can then enforce a drive-through penalty or points deduction later on.

And if it’s a racing incident, like being forced below the line when cars go three-wide, then the driver can be let off. Maybe it’s time NASCAR needs to change how it handles track boundaries.

2) Stage cautions breaking up natural strategy

Remember how the stage racing was introduced by NASCAR in the 2017 season? All just to give drivers an incentive to push for points throughout the race, while keeping fans engaged. While it has worked to some extent, the cautions that accompany it have not.

1. It breaks up the natural flow of the race, as long-term strategy, fuel mileage, and tire strategy, which added to the tension during the middle segments of the race, have been replaced by what is essentially a forced reset.
2. Drivers were forced to choose between stage points and the overall win, leading to a conflict in strategy. And, NASCAR fans are finding it difficult to understand how stage points are awarded and the overall playoff implications.

However, earlier this year, the race at Bristol Motor Speedway ended with a 235 green flag run. That was the longest in the Cup Series since Dover in 1997, more than 27 years ago, leading to natural strategy battles, where tire wear and pit cycles play a big role in the outcome, without mandatory cautions affecting the race.

Solution: NASCAR should consider keeping the stage points.

Reason:

• It gives the drivers an incentive to fight for, but ditch the mandatory stage cautions or not count stage caution laps.
• It will also allow the race to progress naturally, and if a caution happens organically, then fine, as long as it’s not ‘manufactured’.
• And, NASCAR fans want to see stage points being earned under green flag pit cycles, and the execution of race strategy to play a bigger role. In this case, they can get both the reward while also experiencing old-school, uninterrupted racing.

3) “Green-White-Checker” is just chaos

Initially, the idea of having overtime was to ensure that the race ended under a green flag. And, we get that NASCAR didn’t want the outcome to be decided by a ‘technicality’, but that sounds great ‘on paper’. The rule in real-time leads to demolition derbies in those final laps.

After all, who would want the race’s outcome to end up becoming a game of chance depending on who survives the wreckfest?

Take the 2015 fall race at Talladega Superspeedway, for instance.

NASCAR had introduced a new ‘green-white-checkered’ overtime rule after Austin Dillon’s wreck at Daytona that summer. This allowed multiple overtime attempts to be enforced so that the race finished under the green flag. However, what followed was complete chaos, as Kevin Harvick’s car had engine issues on the first overtime restart, and it ended up triggering a massive crash just as the field crossed the start-finish line.

Some drivers argued that the ‘restart’ shouldn’t have counted, since Harvick’s vehicle blocked the traffic, while others said the wreck happened after the race went green, which meant that the attempt was official. Ultimately, Joey Logano was crowned the winner, but other drivers like Dale Earnhardt Jr. were frustrated at the outcome, leading to plenty of debates. And, here’s one such from Reddit.

Solution: Now, to curb such situations, NASCAR could cap the number of overtime attempts to two and give teams a choice. If they want to compete for the win, they can line up for the restart. However, if they want to protect their points and avoid a wreckfest, they could pit under caution and forfeit their chance at the green-white-checker. Such a twist would add strategy to the chaos and reduce the ‘luck’ element in the race.

4) Inconsistent track limits across circuits

It’s no secret that track limits are somewhat of an enigma for fans. On some tracks, drivers can use the apron like an extra lane, while on other venues, it’s off limits. That kind of inconsistency leads to frustration, and ideally, drivers should know exactly what counts as out of bounds every time the green flag drops.

Example: Earlier this year, many teams were confused as to why NASCAR was not enforcing track limits on Turn 6 at the Circuit of the Americas, especially during the first half. While the sanctioning body made it clear that drivers couldn’t cut Turns 3, 4, and 5, cutting Turn 6 was apparently fair game despite being on the same part of the road course.

Cup Series managing director Brad Moran even said, “So, going back, we will not make that error again. We will make sure that everybody totally understands.”

Solution: Maybe what NASCAR needs to do is to have a standard, universal system for track limits, which can be enforced by using technology such as sensors or GPS. That way, there is consistency across racetracks and the rules can be enforced uniformly, preventing confusion and post-race debates. For a sport defined by fine margins, letting drivers cut turns gives some an unfair advantage, bringing the integrity of stock car racing into question.

5) Lack of transparency in post-race penalties

We, through the Lucky Dog on Track Newsletter, have firsthand gathered comments from NASCAR fans wanting to feel a sense of closure after a race. And, why not?

After all, they’re investing time and money.

Where they see a problem: In an ideal scenario, the finishing order needs to be set in stone as soon as the checkered flag is waved, and the finishing order shouldn’t be reshuffled 48 hours later after a violation was found. But the reality is very different. Here’s a reference;

At Richmond Raceway in 2024, Austin Dillon wrecked Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin on the last lap to take the win. While NASCAR handed him the trophy after the race, question marks were raised about the way he won, and it took the sanctioning body three days to come up with a verdict.

Ultimately, the Richard Childress Racing driver’s win would not count toward eligibility for the Cup Series Playoffs, with Elton Sawyer, Vice President of competition of NASCAR, saying, “that the line was crossed.”

Solution: What NASCAR can do is consider borrowing the NFL’s ‘review model’. Every time a penalty is assessed, the footage is shown to fans along with the evidence and reasoning behind the verdict. By making it public, the sanctioning body can have more transparency about its decision-making process, and by releasing a small breakdown video after each race that highlights the infractions, fans will have a clear understanding of the situation.

6) Charter system locking out talent

The objective of the charter system is to provide stability to teams. But as for a few teams on the grid, all it has done is guarantee some of the weaker cars a spot in the Cup Series, while locking away fresh talent out of the field.

In a recent Actions Detrimental episode, Denny Hamlin opened up about how the charter system is responsible for locking out talent. He spoke about Cody Ware, who drives the No. 51 Ford for Rick Ware Racing.

“Nothing against Cody Ware, but he has no top-fives. I don’t know if he has top tens this year. But Cody Ware could eliminate Alex Bowman or Tyler Reddick from the playoffs by winning the Daytona. So everything that Tyler Reddick or Alex Bowman did for the first 25 races can be eliminated by what happens on a green-white-checkered on the 26th race by someone in the mid-30s in points.”

Now, situations like these not only gatekeep elusive Cup Series seats from more deserving candidates, but the win-and-in format also locks out talent in the playoffs simply because of a one-off result.

Solution: NASCAR can introduce ‘open charter’ clauses as well, which will allow top-performing Xfinity Series drivers or independent teams to race their way into the Cup Series, regardless of the charter status. That way, established teams will remain protected, but the sport remains open to hungry newcomers.

7) Crew interference penalties

In a sport defined by the smallest of margins, every infraction can have major repercussions. That’s especially true on the pit road, where a loose tire or a simple hand on the wall a second too early results in a penalty to the driver. And, NASCAR is too quick to enforce a 10-second penalty as well. Now it undoes 400 miles of hard work.

For instance, earlier this year, on lap 108 of the Pennzoil 400, Christopher Bell’s crew realized the left-front wheel was not properly tightened as he left his assigned pit stall. And, the crew chief, Adam Stevens, instructed Bell to stop in a teammate’s pit stall. Bell pulled into Chase Briscoe’s No. 19 pit box, where Briscoe’s crew quickly tightened the lug nut. But, all that to restart from the rear of the field.

While the move was unconventional, NASCAR allowed it, given the safety rationale. Still, it came with the necessary consequence for the procedural breach. Now, in recently clarified rules, NASCAR stated: “If a vehicle receives service in another team’s pit stall to correct a safety issue, the vehicle will receive a flag status penalty (restart at the tail of the field or pass-through). If the service is for competition adjustments, the car may receive additional lap penalties.”

This rule could still result in a potential top 5 finish or good points to top the leaderboard for someone. But maybe NASCAR can take a different route.

Solution: Like Bell, his quick stop in another driver’s pit box avoided what could have been a potentially dangerous situation, but instead, the racer was punished for prioritizing safety. So, maybe the penalties that could affect the race’s outcome should be enforced for certain cases only, and drivers should not be solely responsible for every misstep on the pit road. It could be the pit crew or even the crew chief.

Conclusion

Ultimately, NASCAR is a passion-driven sport. Known for its raw, unfiltered, and high-octane nature. And, the rules should improve the race quality, not dictate it.