Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

NASCAR fans are always offering up suggestions as to ways in which NASCAR can improve the sport. Some of the suggestions are silly while others might actually have some merit to them. One of the suggestions that one of our readers recently brought to our attention via Twitter was that NASCAR should not count caution laps after 10 laps to go in a race. Let’s take a moment to explore this idea a bit further.

For starters, an idea like this isn’t going to be a game-changer when it comes to the sport but it could potentially make some races better at the end.

The Good:

When a caution comes out late in the race (10 laps to go or less) NASCAR fans are often robbed of some quality racing. For example, if a caution comes out with seven laps to go at a track like Martinsville or Bristol than chances are once the race gets going again it’s going to be with two laps remaining or a G-W-C situation. When something like that happens fans and drivers are losing what could have been six laps of good racing and are getting instead only two laps. If NASCAR were to not count those caution laps than the race would resume on the next lap following when the caution flag came out and in that particular situation there would still be six laps left in the race.

These sorts of situation would only really make a difference on smaller tracks. If a debris caution comes out at Talladega with nine laps to go, NASCAR will most likely get them going again with about five or six laps to go so there would still be plenty of laps left.

Do you think NASCAR should continue to count caution laps with less than 10 laps left in a race? Yes - I don't like the idea of not counting caution laps.

No - I think not counting them is great!

Undecided - If the idea is tweaked a little more it might work. View Results

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The Bad:

With any idea there are going to be some negatives and this one is no different. Not counting cautions in the final 10 laps would cause races to take longer to finish. If a race has three or four cautions in the final 10 laps and then a couple of G-W-C finishes you could easily be looking at the race taking an extra 15-20 minutes to complete. While some fans might not care, others feel that NASCAR races are already too long.

Another drawback is that it negatively impacts planning for drivers and their teams. If a driver is good to go on fuel for the scheduled running distance and a couple G-W-C finishes, a handful of cautions could hurt them. Normally caution laps benefit fuel preservation as laps are being run and less fuel is being used. If caution laps don’t count drivers would be burning off fuel while the number of laps would not be dwindling down.

Lastly, some race fans could make the argument that NASCAR creating the G-W-C finish is more than enough. The G-W-C finish allows for a chance to preserve the possibility of the race ending under green which ultimately provides a more exciting finish. Having the G-W-C rules and not counting cautions in the final 10 laps might seem like a little much just to make sure that fans see ‘good’ racing at the end of the race.

What do you think of the idea of NASCAR not counting caution laps with less than 10 laps to go in a race? Be sure to comment below to let us know how you feel. You can also share your thoughts by reaching out to us via social media.

Christopher Olmstead is the Editor of BeyondTheFlag.com on the FanSided Network. Follow us on Twitter @Beyond_The_Flag and “Like” us on Facebook.