What was the real shocker during the Ally 400 race at Nashville Superspeedway? The weather? No. So, was it Joey Logano’s victory or Zane Smith’s runner-up finish? Or was it Larson ready to crash anyone (as Hamlin said), or was it Kyle Busch’s unlucky resurgence? Perhaps none. It was rather NASCAR’s unprecedented decision to extend the race to a record-breaking five overtimes that left fans and drivers alike on the edge of their seats! 

NASCAR’s record overtime at the Ally 400 was chaotic and costly

NASCAR has been under fire for bending its rules time and time again. We recently saw that happen when Kyle Larson was granted a waiver, which many people didn’t stand for. Rules according to them are there for a reason and yet again at Nashville, the rules were bent for overtime. Denny Hamlin, in actuality, looked like he was heading for the win, but a spin from Cindric brought about a yellow flag and the first four overtime restarts resulted in further cautions. And then it was a race against fuel! Cars scrambled for position while some ran out of fuel, turning the 300-lap race into a 331-lap marathon. Recently Bubba Wallace’s spotter Freddie Kraft spoke about it in his podcast. 

According to him, when a race is supposed to be a set number of laps, it should end there. And understandably so, because the strategy, the fuel, and in fact, everything, relies on the laps set by NASCAR. Moreover, having extended laps just means wrecking and running each other over—this is exactly what we saw in Nashville. Kraft said at ‘Door Bumper Clear’, “You know, the yellow came out, it’s over. I get it. It’s not the most entertaining finish, but then you end up with, if you don’t do that, you end up with what we had last night. We’re just millions and millions of dollars of got torn up because we can’t figure out how to restart without running each other over. Um, so I, I mean, I, I don’t know. I’ve just, me being my typical old man yelling from the yelling at the sky, uh, traditionalist, but if the race 300 laps, it’s, that’s it.”​​

In the current format, overtime consists of two laps with unlimited attempts to finish under green flag conditions. Once the white flag is waved, the next flag ends the race. But the format was altered at Ally 400. Such a change led to crashes and the money that cost to repair is essentially money gone to waste. Moreover, it set the record for the most overtimes in NASCAR Cup Series history! Even NASCAR posted on their official X account, “A new record has been added to the history books.” But what followed was not a round of applause—rather, fans expressed their frustration and disapproval.

Fans slam NASCAR: ‘Can We End This Overtime Disaster?’ amid Nashville overtime frenzy

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NASCAR is a sport rooted in tradition and most fans appreciate when rules are followed. These changes are not something the traditionalists appreciate. NASCAR has been bringing in more changes year by year to appeal to a wider audience and these changes, according to fans, compromise the integrity of NASCAR. One fan posted in the comments section of the X post by NASCAR, “This is not something to be proud of. The legitimacy of this race was completely thrown out. It was really disgraceful how it ended. I have really grown to loathe gwc finishes. I guess drama and entertainment is more important than actual racing.” 

While the race was great for Logano, the most deserving drivers like Hamlin or Martin Truex Jr who were in contention to win missed the chance. And things like this don’t go unnoticed and fans came at large to show support for them. One fan said, “Can we stop this disaster of overtime already? Explain to me how this was fun to watch as fans of the drivers who actually had good cars the whole race. Logano and Cindric had no business getting 1st or 2nd. The race should be over at the designated mile of the race. SMH” 

Meanwhile, the fact that Logano managed to finish the race with the fuel he had has raised eyebrows. The statistics didn’t just sit right and one fan highlighted that, saying, “You cannot convince me that Logano had a legal fuel cell. I cannot see a single possibility how he made it that far.”

For most NASCAR fans, whatever went down at Nashville was an embarrassment to the sport itself. One fan said, “If I was you @NASCAR I would be embarrassed.” This is not an isolated but a collective agreement that many have.

Perhaps NASCAR should take a moment to reflect and decide what they prioritize most. What are your thoughts on the race at Nashville?