NASCAR plans to implement a new stage-break procedure for its Cup Series races beginning this weekend at Iowa Speedway and continuing through the remainder of the 2026 season.
Under the new rules, when a natural caution occurs with 10 or fewer laps remaining in the first or second stage of a race, the stage will be deemed complete at the time of caution — with that same caution period serving as the scheduled stage break.
NASCAR CEO Steve O’Donnell said Thursday on social media the change stems from the July 26 race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Brickyard 400, where he said fans were unhappy about too many back-to-back laps run under caution near stage breaks.
“Long periods of caution laps and not enough green-flag racing,” O’Donnell said. “We heard you, and we want to make a change. … No more back-to-back cautions. No more elongated cautions laps. More green flag racing. More action for you the fans.”
When the field returns to the start/finish line under a yellow flag, the leader will receive the green-and-white checkered flag along with the yellow, according to NASCAR.
At the time of the caution, the top-10 stage finishing order will be determined using all available resources, including scoring loops and video replay, similar to how stage points are awarded.