NASCAR 2026: Mark Martin reveals idea that could end controversial racing debate

NASCAR legend Mark Martin has revealed where he stands on the green and white checkered flag being used at the end of races, revealing a solution that could end the debate around the topic.

Commonly referred to as overtime, NASCAR introduced green-white checkered flag sequence across all three national series in 2004 to combat races finishing under caution.

However, whilst some love the fact that races go to overtime and that every race is guaranteed to finish under a green flag, some fans disagree and would rather see things play out naturally and without so-called gimmicks.

The debate arose once again at the conclusion of the 2025 Cup Series season, with Denny Hamlin having been cruising to his first-ever championship before a late caution sent the race to overtime with just three laps remaining.

Hamlin went on to miss out on the title, with Kyle Larson winning it instead after a superior strategy call, but had the final laps of the race played out under caution without overtime, the Joe Gibbs Racing star would have remained in the lead and taken what most felt was a deserved title victory.

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Mark Martin on NASCAR overtime

Now, speaking on the Kenny Wallace Media podcast, Martin has revealed where he stands on the debate.

"Well, that's a touchy subject,” he replied when asked for his stance. “It was done to done to give the race fans…they were screaming about races finishing under cautions.

“It was done to give them a green flag finish, it was done for a great reason. Unfortunately, the last five years, four years, it's been ridiculous. There's one after another after another.”

Mark Martin: Limit races to one overtime

Whilst stating the situation has been ridiculous of late, Martin is undecided as to what would be best, although he does have one suggestion.

“I don't know what they should do,” Martin continued. “I have a preference, but I understand the other side.

“The other side is there's a lot of fans that want to see a green flag finish, and I don't know what you're supposed to do about it, but maybe a good start would be limiting it to one and see how that goes.

“These speedway races, you can get three or four. It gets to be almost a joke, and we don't want our sport to look like a joke.

“Unfortunately, I'm not sure what the answer is. As I say, I have my preference, but I understand why we have it.”