Which NASCAR race has the most cautions? Exploring the most chaotic event in history

NASCAR is well known for its high-octane stock-car racing, engines powerful enough to go over 200 mph on oval racetracks. The NASCAR Cup Series, Xfinity Series, and Truck Series are the three national series that make it one of the largest motorsport racing events.

This automobile racing is filled with excitement and intense battle, where drivers compete to celebrate at the victory lane. The hard-fought battle on the ovals and road courses often results in severe crashes and wrecks, which can occasionally be fatal. However, it is not always in one's control and is not intentional. To curb further multi-wrecks, flags play a crucial role in getting the field in order. Under these circumstances, a yellow flag raised by the NASCAR official acts as a communication link between drivers, teams, and even spectators.

The yellow flag or the caution flag indicates that there has been a potentially dangerous incident on the racetrack and the cars need to slow down. As a result, the cars have to maintain their position and proceed with caution on the track. Moreover, in NASCAR's history, a record was made with the race with the most cautions. The 1992 Mountain Dew 500 at Hickory Motor Speedway witnessed 26 caution flags getting raised. The 300-lap event started with former Xfinity champion Steve Grissom on the pole with seven-time NASCAR Cup champion Dale Earnhardt on the front row.

NASCAR Xfinity Series Dead On Tools 250

The first caution came early when Ricky Craven spun on the turn four at one of the famous short tracks in North Carolina. Earnhardt Sr. benefitted from the green restart, taking the lead from Grissom to lead the next 11 laps. However, another caution was raised courtesy of a collision between NASCAR legend, Jeff Gordon and Jeff Green, which saw the latter become the first driver of the day to be out of contention.

The third caution flew when the Hickory native, Tommy Houston spun off on the turn three and four, which were freshly repaved a day before the race. As a result, a red flag was also raised to sweep rubber and broken pavement off the track. However, the trend was set for the day in giving NASCAR a new record number of cautions. On average, a green flag restart was raised every three to four laps of the race.

After the race was halfway done, the race had already seen 15 cautions. Former NASCAR drivers Jim Bown and Ed Ferree crashed four times at the 0.363-mile asphalt track. The longest caution-less stint of the Xfinity race lasted 24 laps at a stretch during the second half of the race.

In the end, Houston took the checkered flag at his home track to claim his 24th and final Xfinity career victory.