diff --git a/test/simulation/test.common b/test/simulation/test.common
index 0cd0fce..36523cb 100644
--- a/test/simulation/test.common
+++ b/test/simulation/test.common
@@ -253,7 +253,7 @@ check_chronyd_exit() {
 	for i in $(seq 1 $(get_chronyd_nodes)); do
 		test_message 3 0 "node $i:"
 
-		tail -n 1 tmp/log.$i | grep -q 'chronyd exiting' && \
+		grep -q 'chronyd exiting' tmp/log.$i && \
 			! grep -q 'Adjustment.*exceeds.*exiting' tmp/log.$i && \
 			test_ok || test_bad
 		[ $? -eq 0 ] || ret=1