NASCAR Changing Stage Breaks to Increase Green Flag RacingNASCAR plans to implement a new stage-break procedure for its Cup Series races beginning this weekend at Iowa Speedway and continuing through the remainder of the season. “Long periods of caution laps and not enough green-flag racing,” O’Donnell said. More green flag racing. When the field returns to the start/finish line under yellow, the leader will receive the green-and-white checkered flag along with the yellow, according to NASCAR. At the time of the caution, the top-10 stage finishing order will be determined using all available resources, including scoring loops and video replay — similar to how stage points are awarded.