Just a few hours before the scheduled start of the Bank of America 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, NASCAR announced a change to the structure of the race.
Race officials will throw a competition caution flag at Lap 35 of Sunday’s race, giving the teams in Charlotte an early look at tire wear and other potential issues, NASCAR announced.
With rain washing out Saturday’s practice and qualifying sessions, according to NASCAR.com, the Lap 35 yellow becomes the first chance to correct cars that arrived off the pace.
NASCAR announced the planned yellow at the drivers’ meeting Sunday morning, according to NASCAR insider Bob Pockrass. Sunday’s race is the sixth of 10 in the Cup Series Chase.
| BANK OF AMERICA 400 — STARTING LINEUP | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| NASCAR Cup Series • Charlotte Motor Speedway • Sunday, Oct. 11 • 3 p.m. ET • USA Network | |||
| POS | NO. | Driver | Team |
| 1 | 5 | Kyle Larson (C) | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 2 | 19 | Chase Briscoe (C) | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 3 | 45 | Tyler Reddick (C) | 23XI Racing |
| 4 | 12 | Ryan Blaney (C) | Team Penske |
| 5 | 2 | Austin Cindric (C) | Team Penske |
| 6 | 24 | William Byron (C) | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 7 | 22 | Joey Logano (C) | Team Penske |
| 8 | 23 | Bubba Wallace (C) | 23XI Racing |
| 9 | 9 | Chase Elliott (C) | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 10 | 97 | Shane van Gisbergen | Trackhouse Racing |
| 11 | 77 | Carson Hocevar (C) | Spire Motorsports |
| 12 | 11 | Denny Hamlin (C) | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 13 | 17 | Chris Buescher (C) | RFK Racing |
| 14 | 7 | Daniel Suárez (C) | Spire Motorsports |
| 15 | 54 | Ty Gibbs (C) | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 16 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 17 | 20 | Christopher Bell (C) | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 18 | 16 | AJ Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing |
| 19 | 71 | Michael McDowell | Spire Motorsports |
| 20 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing |
| 21 | 35 | Riley Herbst | 23XI Racing |
| 22 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing |
| 23 | 4 | Noah Gragson | Front Row Motorsports |
| 24 | 43 | Erik Jones | Legacy Motor Club |
| 25 | 60 | Ryan Preece (C) | RFK Racing |
| 26 | 33 | Austin Hill (i) | Richard Childress Racing |
| 27 | 21 | Josh Berry | Wood Brothers Racing |
| 28 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing |
| 29 | 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | Legacy Motor Club |
| 30 | 41 | Cole Custer | Haas Factory Team |
| 31 | 34 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports |
| 32 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | HYAK Motorsports |
| 33 | 10 | Ty Dillon | Kaulig Racing |
| 34 | 38 | Zane Smith | Front Row Motorsports |
| 35 | 51 | Cody Ware | Rick Ware Racing |
| 36 | 88 | Connor Zilisch | Trackhouse Racing |
| 37 | 67 | Corey Heim (i) | 23XI Racing |
| 38 | 66 | Gray Gaulding (i) | Garage 66 |
| 39 | 44 | BJ McLeod | NY Racing Team |
| Pole: Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports • (i) = ineligible for series points • (C) as designated on NASCAR’s official lineup • TV/streaming: USA Network, HBO Max • Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio | |||
What a NASCAR Competition Caution Does to the Race
A competition caution is a planned yellow flag with no crash, spin or debris causing the slowdown, according to RACER‘s guide. Tire wear is the usual trigger, and lost practice time fits that need.
The field bunches behind the pace car, and teams can pit for tires, fuel and adjustments. A quick stop gains spots, a slow one loses them, and the restart erases whatever gap the leader built. Stage-end cautions arrive automatically in every race, while a competition caution depends on conditions.
“With no practice and qualifying, competition caution allows for some early changes if a car is way off. And to check tire wear if green track. Done more in Cup because of the longer first stage,” Pockrass explained on his social media channels.
The Bank of America 400 covers 267 laps, with stages ending at Laps 80, 165 and 267, according to Jayski‘s Bank of America 400 race guide. That makes the opening stage 80 laps, the second 85 and the finale 102. Lap 35 falls less than halfway through the first segment.
Competition Caution and No Cars to the Rear at Charlotte
Yearly Cup averages ran from 4.61 to 8.08 cautions per race from 2012 through 2021, according to Flow Racers. This season, races have averaged 6.62 cautions through 21 events, down from 7.53 in 2025, according to Beyond the Flag.
Competition cautions outside stage breaks are rare. A study of 1980 through 2020 counted 183 of them, each lasting four to 4½ laps on average, according to an analysis by Building Speed. Stage-end cautions, by comparison, average six laps. Because it requires no wreck cleanup, a competition caution tends to run short. That works out to fewer than five a season.
Darlington on Sept. 6 drew a Lap 35 competition caution, according to reporter Matt Weaver, and Pockrass confirmed another at Kansas on Sept. 27. No full-season tally for 2026 is available, so a year-over-year comparison cannot be confirmed yet.
NASCAR also confirmed that no cars will go to the rear at the start, according to journalist Jeff Gluck.
That penalty sends a driver to the back for unapproved changes, a backup car or a late arrival to the grid. With none assessed, the field lines up in rule-book order, with Kyle Larson on the pole and Chase Briscoe beside him.
Cole Custer’s No. 41 team failed inspection twice, losing its pit-stall selection and a crew member to ejection, yet Custer still starts 30th. The green flag waves at 3:19 p.m. ET on USA Network. Pre-race coverage begins at 2:30 p.m. ET.
NASCAR Announces Charlotte Cup Race Change Just Hours Before Scheduled Start