NASCAR Moves Overtime Line To Start-Finish

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — NASCAR has changed its procedure for overtime finishes in its national touring series beginning with this weekend’s events at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) Int’l.

The move comes two weeks after the controversial finish of the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway when the overtime line was located on the backstretch.

NASCAR has relocated the overtime line as the start-finish line, requiring that the field complete a full lap under the green flag before a yellow flag can end the race.

“NASCAR has been looking at the overtime procedure for quite some time,” NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer Steve O’Donnell said in a statement. “After many discussions with key figures throughout the industry, we recognize that having the start/finish line serve as the standard overtime line position will benefit the race — and, most importantly, our fans. We are implementing this immediately, starting with this weekend’s races at Watkins Glen Int’l.”

When a race goes past the advertised distance the leader must reach the overtime (start-finish) line under the green flag before the next flag ends the race. If that does not happen, another restart will be required. Unlike the green-white-checkered-finish rule that preceded the overtime rules, there is no limit on the maximum number of attempts to finish the race under the green flag.