The Flags of NASCAR

There is a total of eight flags that can be used at a NASCAR race. Three of these flags are seen at every race, while one of them has a fairly good chance of being displayed at least once during the course of a race. The remaining four flags are displayed less frequently and with the exception of one may only be seen by fans who are at the race.

The green flag is the one that gets it all started.The Green flag is waved at the beginning of every race and it is also waved during the course of the race to signify that it is again OK to race.

The white flag is seen only once in every race. The white flag is waved to inform the drivers (and fans) that there is only one more lap remaining in the race.

The next flag normally seen after the white flag is the checkered flag – a flag that has a checkerboard pattern of black and white squares. The checkered flag is waved to signify the end of the race and to indicate the race winner. The checkered flag is the flag drivers expect so see when crossing the start/finish line after the white flag has been waved.

The yellow or caution flag is waved to tell drivers to slow down. Caution lap speeds are set during pace laps. Each track has its own pit road and caution lap speeds. Since NASCARs have no speedometer readings from a tachometer that indicate engine revolutions are used. The caution flag is waved whenever there is an on track wreck or if debris from a race car has been deposited on the track. NASCARs are not set up to run in the rain so when rain falls on the track the caution flag is also waved to slow down the cars to prevent a wreck from happening. Drivers frequently take advantage of the slower speeds on caution flags to stop and take on fuel and fresh tires.

The red flag is waved to tell the drivers to stop. This flag is waved when rain has become to heavy to continue even at shower speeds or if a wreck has caused severe damage either to several cars which may be blocking the track or they have spread a large amount of debris that will require an extended amount of time to clean up. The red flag may also be waved if a wreck has caused damage to the track or wall around the track which requires a repair.

The black flag is reserved for a single driver. It is waved when a driver is circling the track at a too slow speed or if the driver’s car is depositing debris all over the track. A race car must maintain a certain speed to remain on the track. The black flag is also used for a driver who must serve a penalty for an on track infraction.

Drivers are given two laps to answer the black flag. If the driver has not responded in that time a black flag with a white X is displayed to inform the driver that his car is no longer being scored on the track.

To indicate the end of a practice session the black and red flags are crossed and waved together.

When NASCAR officials with to inform a driver to pay attention to his mirrors and watch for faster traffic that is approaching a blue flag with a yellow diagonal line is shown.

The last flag is only seen at road courses which Sprint Cup drivers use twice a year. The flag is yellow and red vertical stripes and is used by corner workers to indicate on track danger within that particular area. Road courses wind around using both right and left turns. Even if the track is of a similar length to an oval track the speeds are slower and do not always require a full course yellow like the oval tracks.

In a sense the flags used by NASCAR are similar to traffic signs on the street. They tell the drivers what to do.