After the controversy with NASCAR “prematurely” calling a caution flag before Ryan Blaney crossed the finish line at last month‘s All-Star Race, sending that event into overtime, the sanctioning body vowed to avoid a repeat of such a situation.
Elton Sawyer, NASCAR vice president of officiating and technical inspection, said a few days after the race on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio that “we‘re going to put additional provisions in place … where those things don‘t happen.”
According to NASCAR, here is what has changed:
Since the All-Star Race, there has been an increase in communication between the race director, the senior vice president of competition and the series director in race control on the calling of cautions.
If there is a serious incident that requires an immediate caution to be called, the race director has the power to do so. But when it comes at a key juncture in the race, the increased communication between the three officials in race control is viewed as helping with consistency and accuracy in caution calls.
— NBC Sports —
