Fast Facts: Flags

To really get into a race, you need to understand what's happening before the announcers tell you. The action is extremely fast, and if there are a few things going on at once sometimes an incident isn't even mentioned. And if it involves your favorite driver, you'll definitely want to know what's going on. One of the best sources of information is the team communications at the track, which anyone with a scanner can hear. But at home, watching the officials at the start-finish line and which color flag they use at a crucial moment will also give you a heads-up. So, here are the flags and what they mean--

Green--the start of the race and any restarts; the track is clear and cars can get up to speed

Yellow--caution; the track isn't clear and cars have to slow down and stay behind the pace car, usually because of an accident or weather

Red--stop; the track isn't clear and cars have to stay where they are (or sometimes go to pit road if they can), usually because of a very serious accident or long weather delay

White--one lap remaining in the race

Checkered--finish of the race

Black--infraction for an individual car, or waved in conjunction with red flag to end practice

Black with white cross--after disregarding the black flag, no further scoring for individual car until they return to pits

Blue with Yellow stripe--faster car approaching from rear

Yellow with Red vertical stripes--localized debris or hazardous condition, on road courses only

Judging from the tone on various NASCAR-related websites, everyone's just waiting for the green to drop on the season. And I will definitely have a guess on who will take the checkered at Daytona soon!