Overtime and Restarts Redefining NASCAR: NASCAR’s fields now line up two‑wide on restarts more often than ever. With 2024’s rule changes ushering in unlimited overtime attempts, races are routinely extended. By late August 2024, nine of 24 Cup races had already gone into overtime (nearly tying the modern record of 11). Under the current rules, NASCAR will keep throwing out cautions and rebooting with a green-white-checkered until a leader takes the white flag under green.
In practice, this means leader vs. pack drama has intensified. As Racing America noted, when a late caution falls the race leader often sees victory slip away – four times in 2024 (Richmond, Kansas, Nashville, and Indianapolis) the leader at the yellow did not win. In other words, holding position with two laps to go can be a curse as much as a blessing.
Unlimited Overtime: More Attempts, More Chaos
The intent of “unlimited GWC” is simple: give fans a green‑flag finish even if it takes extra laps. In Nashville (July 2024) this philosophy went off the rails: a record five overtime restarts were needed to settle the Ally 400. Each restart seemed to create a new calamity – a dive‑bomb move by Kyle Larson, cars out of fuel, and blocking crashes – until two‑time champ Joey Logano finally limped home.
Logano and Team Penske gambled that their car could stretch fuel for 110 laps on the final tank. As Logano put it, his fuel light came on just as he crossed the line, but “we’ve got to give a lot of credit to Roush Yates…building fuel mileage. That’s what won today”. Crew chief Paul Wolfe confirmed the gamble: “We just got to the point…we’ve gotten this far, let’s just stick with it,” even though the car ran out of gas on the last lap.
Unlimited attempts aren’t common – only two races before 2024 had ever needed five overtimes – but they’ve reshaped strategy. Instead of banking on a late caution freezing the order, teams now prepare for a shootout. Leaders sometimes pit under caution to top off, knowing that a fuel shortage could hand the win to a rival.
Conversely, mid-pack teams see overtime as an unexpected gift: pack‑racing restarts let them make aggressive moves. Noah Gragson in 2024 epitomized this trend – he gained a whopping 36 positions across nine overtime finishes (an average of +4 spots each time), the most of any full-time driver. In NASCAR’s new era, the race truly isn’t over until the white flag waves and every late caution triggers a mini‑race that can completely reshuffle the finishing order.
Leaders Beware: Late Cautions Turn Tables
When the overtime caution falls, the scoreboard can flip instantly. Take Richmond (April 2024): Martin Truex Jr. had led virtually the entire final stage, poised for a victory. But as Truex seethed afterward, “lead the whole race…and then some stupid…move brings out a caution coming to the white flag and ruins our whole night”.
Truex was forced to pit, and Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin exited first and won the ensuing two‑lap shootout. As NASCAR recapped the race, Hamlin “took the green flag with a fast restart” and powered away, leaving Truex fuming about how a late caution “changed the race” entirely.
Similar stories played out at Kansas (May 2024). Denny Hamlin himself had dominated there, leading 71 laps, only to be trapped by an overtime restart. Racers.com reported Hamlin “was the leader going into overtime, but that ended up being the worst place to be”. On the restart, Kyle Larson darted on the inside and Hamlin was bottled up, eventually finishing fifth. “A difficult spot, right?” Hamlin quipped afterward. “I needed to get the push from the 5 [Larson], but I knew he wasn’t going to stay in line… it left me… vulnerable in the middle”. Hamlin’s frustration underscored how double‑file restarts can punish the leader if help doesn’t come.
At Indianapolis (July 2024), Ryan Blaney felt similar misfortune. He led on old tires as NASCAR prepared to restart the inaugural Brickyard 400 in overtime, picking the outside lane. But Brad Keselowski, running out of gas, coasted, and Blaney lost the preferred lane. When the green flag flew, Kyle Larson jumped to the lead on the inside.
Blaney was beside himself: “I’m the one getting screwed… the third-place guy is benefiting,” he told reporters, calling the top lane at Indy “a death sentence”. In his words, “We were in the perfect spot to win and just that weird circumstance…killed our race”. Blaney’s bitterness about “lady luck” deciding the outcome captures a common sentiment: late cautions and restarts inject a huge dose of randomness. Of course, that’s by design – NASCAR wants drama – but drivers know it can also be a cruel lottery.
Double-File Dynamics: Chaos and Strategy
These chaotic finishes have been amplified by NASCAR’s double-file restart format. Since 2023, road-course races and late-race restarts at all tracks line up cars two‑by‑two (the leader still chooses inside or outside). This has made restarts an art unto themselves. As Brad Keselowski observed years ago, “restarts have developed into a key part of our racing…you always have one line that’s preferred and one line that’s not”. No longer is a restart a mere procedure; it’s a make-or-break moment.
Drivers have learned to tailor their approach. Shane van Gisbergen – who swept the 2023 Chicago street race – noted that 2024’s double-file restarts in Chicago would be treacherous: “You kind of get going just before the last corner, so it’s a huge advantage to be the first guy… if you’re third row back, it’s going to be carnage”.
He recommended fighting hard to stay on the preferred side. Likewise, Jeff Gordon (as a driver in 2012) noted that double-file restarts changed the “game in a big way,” with the field rushing into Turn 1 on the drop of the flag. Old-school wisdom (“first who got fuel wins”) has given way to split-second decisions about lane choice and timing.
Leaders still hold the cards on restarts, but even they can gamble. In Richmond, Hamlin admitted post-race that he’d flunked the restart line by a hair – going “right at it, for sure” – because he felt threatened by cars behind. “I wasn’t going to let them have an advantage that my team earned on pit road,” he said. Hamlin insisted he did nothing wrong, but NASCAR deemed it a legal (although tight) restart. The point is, in 2024–25 even NASCAR’s officials recognize how contentious these moments have become.
On the flip side, those starting deeper can be opportunistic. At Darlington in April 2025, for instance, Hamlin inherited the lead on the final pit stop. He then “easily led the final two-lap shootout” to score the win in overtime. He praised his crew and even rival Kyle Larson for the assist. The scramble at the drop of the flag – and even drafting alliances – can make or break a race.
Talladega’s October 2024 playoff race underscored this pack mentality: after a 23-car wreck brought out a late yellow, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won in overtime by the slimmest of margins (0.006s). Stenhouse credited his Chevrolet teammates pushing him on the restart, noting he “had our Chevy teammates behind us” and even predicted how other competitors would block or draft. In superspeedways especially, overtime simply extends the frantic groove-strategy battle.
Fuel, Tires and Tactics: Teams Adapt on the Fly
Unlimited GWC and double-file restarts have forced crews to adapt. Fuel strategy has vaulted to the forefront. Two of NASCAR’s biggest summertime events – Nashville 2024 and Auto Club Speedway (Fontana) 2024 – were won by managing fuel in endless overtime runs.
At Nashville, Logano’s victory came only because he and crew chief Paul Wolfe vowed to “stick with it” on fuel; dozens of other contenders ran dry or backed off in a pitiful parade. At Fontana (March 2024), Ford’s Christopher Bell needed just one more gallon to survive a frantic 3‑way finish – a difference of a few laps – and his team learned that in overtime “fuel mileage” could beat raw speed.
Pit stops have become equally strategic gambits. A late caution often prompts a mad dash to pit road. Leaders must choose: take fresh tires and hand the restart choice to others, or stay out and hope for a clean restart. Denny Hamlin’s Darlington win (2025) came after he pitted under caution and beat rivals off pit road, allowing him to lead the overtime dash.
In contrast, at Kansas Hamlin did pit and stayed out on two tires – but still got caught in traffic on the restart. There’s no one-size-fits-all strategy; crew chiefs have only seconds to decide. As Blaney ruefully noted after Indy, “there’s no one to be ticked off at… it’s just racing luck” – but the preparation and calls you make before a caution often determine if that “luck” favors you or not.
Teams are also mindful of how double-file restarts affect tire strategy. A dirty restart (with lapped cars and random front-row neighbors) can chew up tires quickly, so some crews opt to bring two fresh tires while others gamble on fuel or track position. Even the pit box mentality is changing: a great pit stop in 2024–25 isn’t just about shaving tenths – it’s about earning the lane choice or track position needed to survive the showdown. In short, victory in the overtime era requires a blend of raw pace, split‑second decisions, and a little bit of good fortune.
An Evolving Era in NASCAR’s Premier Series
The 2024 season offered a glimpse of how unlimited overtime and double-file restarts will continue to shape NASCAR. Analysts like Joseph Srigley of Sports Illustrated note that these rules have “opened up Pandora’s box” for unexpected winners and losers. In 2025’s early races the trend has held: Darlington’s redux saw a late yellow give Hamlin a path to victory, just as Nashville’s extra laps helped Logano breathe for a playoff run. Drivers and teams know what’s at stake: Kyle Larson’s Daytona 500 wins and playoff points won’t matter if a late restart shoves them out of contention.
Moving forward, the question isn’t whether we’ll see more overtimes or close restarts – it’s how teams will exploit them. Will NASCAR ever change course? For now, officials seem content. As NASCAR’s competition boss Elton Sawyer noted, fans have “come to really enjoy double‑file restarts”, and the sport is committed to green‑flag finishes. What’s clear is that the late-race flag is no longer a formality. It’s the opening bell for NASCAR’s newest spectacle – two-lap shootouts where strategy and nerve can erase a huge lead or spring a surprise.
The result: by 2025, nothing can be taken for granted. Masters of restarts and strategy – drivers like Hamlin, Logano, and others – will likely thrive. And for the rest of the field, every caution flag now carries the promise of chaos. As Martin Truex Jr. lamented after yet another restart wreck, “It’s a joke” that races can be decided by such moments. NASCAR’s families of fans, drivers and crews may argue that point endlessly. But one thing is certain: in this new era, the green‑white‑checkered may just be the biggest weapon on the track.
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