“It’s okay to be screwed up”: Ken Schrader gives his hot take on NASCAR’s ongoing caution dilemma

Respected NASCAR figure, Ken Schrader weighed in on the ongoing caution dilemma in the circuit. After two crash-heavy races to start the season, yellow flags are at the center of a rekindled controversy, and opinions are widely divided.

Ken Schrader, born in Fenton, Missouri, was a Cup Series driver from 1984 to 2013. He won 4 races, 23 poles, and finished within the Top Ten 184 times. After he retired from NASCAR, he continued to compete in a variety of motorsports, including off-road competitions, endurance, and rally racing. Now, he is still a well-respected figure in NASCAR, known for his passion, good humor, and unfiltered personality.

Recently, Schrader spoke with Kenny Wallace, another former NASCAR driver, on the Dirty Mo Media Podcast and addressed the caution debate.

"It's like being screwed up, you know? It's ok to be screwed up if you know you're screwed up, and NASCAR has said that they need to do a better job on that, so I think they will get it done. It's a judgment call that has to be made really really quick!", Ken Schrader said. (0:38 onwards)

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The ongoing caution dilemma can be traced back to last season's Brickyard 400 but was rekindled at this year's kick-off in Daytona Beach, Florida. In the very last lap of The Great American Race, eventual winner William Byron (then P7) was able to take advantage of the leaders of the race crashing against each other as he emerged victorious amidst absolute chaos.

Then, last week (February 23) in Atlanta, a similar situation arose after the white flag came out. Christopher Bell, Carson Hocevar, and Kyle Larson were fighting side-by-side for the first chequered flag when an incident happened behind them, and a caution was raised. The eventual winner was not decided by who came across the finish line first, but by who was in front at the moment of the caution.

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When Ken Schrader defended NASCAR on a different matter

Last November, amid accusations that NASCAR isn't what it used to be, Ken Schrader defended the governing body by saying that while many things aren't what they used to be, that's not necessarily a problem.

"Well, there's a lot of things that aren't what they used to be. So hey, the world's got issues, but you know, and NASCAR has its issues also, but they don't have any that's getting ready to put them out of business or anything they're doing just fine", Ken Schrader said to Dirt Mo Media Podcast last November. (0:07 onwards)

With COTA, the first road course of the season, approaching, the number of cautions is likely to decrease, potentially lessening the controversy. Nevertheless, regardless of this weekend's race, NASCAR officials face a significant issue.