While racing back to the flag is completely legal it violates one of NASCAR's infamous "gentleman's agreements." Drivers generally agree not to pass after the yellow comes out, but it's not illegal to do so. NASCAR should join the rest of the motorsports world and stop racing back to the yellow.
Racing back to the yellow only causes problems. NASCAR found itself in a mess in Texas this season when Jeff Gordon passed Matt Kenseth under yellow while Kenseth was letting cars get their lap back. They penalized Gordon for that and then later apologized for their error.
Racing back to the yellow also causes the headaches of who to let get their lap back and when. Remember the Dover controversy when Ryan Newman refused to let Tony Stewart back on the lead lap? If a car is fast enough to pass the leader under green then he deserves to be back on the lead lap, otherwise let his suffer his mistake.
And finally, racing back to the yellow is a safety issue. Drivers in other series are told to slow down immediately when they see the yellow. This allows the safety crews to respond more quickly and more safely. Today NASCAR safety crews are paralyzed by cars racing back to the yellow. In a critical medical situation that extra 45 seconds can make a huge difference.
Have you ever compared the response time of the IRL safety crew to NASCAR's? The IRL Safety Safari sometimes make it to the scene of the accident before the car even comes to a complete stop! They have the freedom to react more quickly because they know that the other drivers are watching for them instead of watching their mirrors.
Racing back to the yellow worked in a time when NASCAR's drivers were all friends and a man's honor was worth more than the win. In today's high-pressure big-money NASCAR the desire to win is stronger than the desire to be liked (as it should be) so NASCAR needs to change the rule to better reflect today's NASCAR racing.
