The NASCAR Cup Series heads to the Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday for the 2025 YellaWood 500, a week after Denny Hamlin secured his spot in the Championship 4 with a win in Las Vegas.

The Superspeedway features a double yellow line on the inside. Longtime FOX reporter Bob Pockrass indicated that NASCAR reminder reminding drivers to avoid crossing the double-yellow line — or forcing another outside it — or they may face a black flag. 

Black flags are fairly uncommon, though Carson Hocevar earned one earlier this year. They are given when a driver commits an on-track offense (or cannot drive fast enough to stay in the race) and must consult a NASCAR official on the pit road to discuss the ensuing penalty. 

Pockrass shared a video explaining the amended yellow-line rule, first instituted in the early 1990s for tracks like Talladega and Darlington and detailing NASCAR’s strict warning. 

“Drivers, this is your warning: race above the double yellow line. If, in NASCAR’s judgement, you go below the double-yellow line to improve your position, you will be black flagged,” it starts.

“If, in NASCAR’s judgement, you force someone below the double yellow line in an effort to stop them from passing you, you may be black flagged.”

Exactly how much a car crosses the line is often considered fickle, though NASCAR directly addresses how much is too much in the official rulebook. 

“NASCAR defines beneath the double yellow lines as follows: when the vehicle’s left side tires are beneath the left line of the inside double yellow lines that separates the apron from the racing surface while passing another vehicle,” it read. 

DON’T MISS: 

Kyle Larson (+35), Christopher Bell (+20), and Chase Briscoe (+15) all sit above the final four cut line. The pack whittles down to four after the race in Martinsville on Oct. 26. 

William Byron (-15), Chase Elliott (-23), Joey Logano (-24), and Ryan Blaney (-31) are all part of the chasing back outside the top four. 

After Martinsville, the season concludes with the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at the Phoenix Raceway.