Who doesn’t love green flag racing? On the final lap of the Daytona 500, fans loved NASCAR’s decision to let the race drama go on and have a true winner emerge, without raising a caution. And this could have only been possible thanks to another decision NASCAR took at the end of last year, which is gaining all the respect right now.

NASCAR’s caution problem

For years, fans have called out the inconsistencies of the caution flags during races. However, NASCAR seems to be getting ahead of this issue as it was seen at Daytona. While the fans absolutely loved the green flag finish at the Daytona 500, there might be a direct cause related to this.

Last year, NASCAR split ways with Jusan Hamilton. He held the title of managing director for competition operations, having worked with the sport for well over a decade.

He was made the race director in 2022, succeeding Tim Bermann. While it was understood that NASCAR parting ways with him was not performance-related, the fans threw some serious allegations at the time.

It was repeatedly claimed that the cautions were not consistent. Sometimes the flag would be thrown out for the smallest of bumps, but sometimes even the biggest of crashes did not stop the race.

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Brad Keselowski also pointed this out once, saying: “It doesn’t bother me when yellows don’t get thrown for me, or I get penalties that are questionable, IT MAKES ME MAD AS HELL when it’s not the same for others.”

But this seems to be changing this season.

Fans have been happy with how the Daytona 500 ended, with Tyler Reddick clinching an unimagined race win, and there has been much appreciation for the sport and the authorities on social media.

Fans praise NASCAR’s decision at the Daytona 500

Some of the fans claimed that it was better for the sport that Hamilton was not directing the races anymore, owing to how the caution situation had changed: “Thank god the last guy got fired, great call from NASCAR He was up my nerves.”

“Man soon as they started wrecking i just knew the race was over due to yellow. Im glad I was wrong that was such a fun finish.”

Right at the final lap, Chase Elliott’s chances of winning went from over 90 to 0 as Keselowski’s contact with Riley Herbst also took the #9 out, along with the #22 of Joey Logano. Reddick steered clear, but what was more surprising was that the race continued to run green without the caution.

This was the trend throughout the weekend. Even during the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race, fans appreciated how calculated the race director was with the cautions. “I deada** couldn’t believe it when they let them race back to the checkered flag. It was incredible.”

At the same time, fans also made some strong recommendations to NASCAR, “Agreed Now they just have to make them much shorter,.” and “Fire. Flip. Finish Under Green. There can be other exceptions, but as long as there are no trigger fingers. Let it play out as long as possible before throwing yellows with a green finish always being the preference. That’s what I want.”

The race was exciting. Apart from a few justified cautions, it did not stop for long, and postponing the schedule played the trick for NASCAR as the weather did not disrupt the Daytona 500. Moreover, fans loved the race director’s work as well, making it the perfect weekend to kick off the 2026 season.