"They're wishy-washy right now": Kenny Wallace criticizes NASCAR's inconsistency with caution flags

Retired NASCAR driver and former FOX NASCAR TV personality Kenny Wallace gave his thoughts on the controversy stemming from the finish of Sunday's Cup Series race at Atlanta. The Missouri native weighed in on NASCAR's inconsistency in throwing the caution flag on the final lap.

In his latest video of the daily series titled "Coffee with Kenny", which he posts on X (formerly Twitter), the 61-year-old claimed that there were two "bad guys" from the Ambetter Health 400. Wallace said NASCAR was one of them as the finish to Sunday's race left many fans displeased as the event ended under caution.

Wallace explained NASCAR is the "bad guy" because they don't know when to throw the caution. In the second Duel at Daytona last week, the caution was thrown just before leader Erik Jones crossed the finish line first. However, Austin Cindric led at the moment of caution, thus he was deemed the winner.

Then, Wallace pointed out there was a big-time wreck on the last lap of Saturday's Xfinity Series race at Atlanta, but a caution wasn't thrown. The same could be said for last Sunday's Daytona 500 as a massive wreck ensued on the last lap, but no caution was thrown.

In Sunday's race at Atlanta, Christopher Bell, Carson Hocevar, and Kyle Larson were in a three-wide battle for the win as they headed to turn three on the final lap. However, a wreck was triggered behind them, NASCAR threw the caution, and Bell scored the winner.

While Wallace later praised NASCAR for being great so far this season, he gave what he called constructive criticism as he believes they need to figure out when is the appropriate time to throw the caution on the final lap and when not to. He said:

"NASCAR right now is wishy washy and they've got to have a press conference, because right now, we've got the best start to the NASCAR season ever. Everything is awesome. NASCAR is awesome right now. ... But they've got to figure something out. They've got to figure out when to throw that caution and when not to and they've got to make a clear acknowledgment of it." [10:15 onwards]

One more person who would likely have been upset to not win the race would be Spire Motorsports' Carson Hocevar.

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NASCAR's Carson Hocevar said he had "shot to win" after runner-up effort at Atlanta

Carson Hocevar (77) and Austin Cindric (2) fight for position going into turn one at Atlanta Motor Speedway - Source: Imagn

If anyone were to be most frustrated with NASCAR's decision to throw the caution on the final lap, it would be Carson Hocevar. The driver of the #77 Spire Motorsports was charging hard on the final lap until the yellow flag was thrown, which ultimately gave the win to Christopher Bell.

Hocevar took to X following the race and expressed how he believed he had a chance to snag his first career Cup Series win. He wrote:

Hocevar won Rookie of the Year last season during his first year in the #77 car. He has two career top-five finishes in the Cup Series.