By Michael Pedro
Saturday, October 12, 2024, marked the running of the seventh NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway’s ROVAL configuration. The ROVAL, which combines elements of the circular “main layout” of the race track with elements of the infield “road course” layout, serves as the final race of the season to exhibit not only left turns, but right turns as well.
The race played out as normal for the majority of its runtime, with drivers fighting for every spot on the track. However, controversy arose with just two laps remaining, when nineteen-year-old rookie Leland Honeyman Jr. lost control of his car and crashed into a tire barrier, lodging the vehicle underneath. Meanwhile, the lead pack of Parker Kligerman, Sam Mayer, AJ Allmendinger, and Shane van Gisebergen battled for the lead as they raced into the final lap. Meanwhile, the lead pack of Parker Kligerman, Sam Mayer, AJ Allmendinger, and Shane van Gisbergen would be battling it out for the lead as they raced to the final lap.
As Honeyman Jr. struggled to free his car, NASCAR hesitated to throw the caution, which would add a restart and another two laps to the race if the field didn’t make it to the final lap. Kligerman led the pack through the track’s final corners, with not only his first Xfinity Series victory but also a spot in the next round of the Playoffs in sight, something that would keep his title hopes alive. Strangely, with very little distance between his car and the finish line, NASCAR officials finally threw the caution. This ultimately cost Kligerman both his coveted playoff spot and his first win. Instead, Sam Mayer capitalized on the late-race restart to snag the win, while Kligerman slipped to a still-respectable sixth.
While the caution was the right call, many fans were left with one question- why did NASCAR wait fifteen seconds to throw it? Honeyman Jr. wasn’t getting his car free from under the barrier no matter how much he fought, and the car posed a potential danger to the other competitors on the track. If this were a one-time thing, it could have been justified with officials not seeing the car due to how deep it was lodged in the barrier. But, unfortunately, this isn’t the first time this year that NASCAR has held off on putting the caution out.
One of the more notable incidents from this season happened in the Cup Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway just before the sport took a break for the Olympics. With two laps to go, Ryan Preece would spin out on the backstretch, causing some of his tires to burst. This left his car slightly off the racing line, but Preece would struggle with his car to get it rolling again. The car would nudge itself slowly onto the racing surface once more, and it would take NASCAR approximately forty seconds to call the caution. This gave the field just enough time to race back to the start-finish line, granting Kyle Larson his fourth win of the season. This finish, much like that of the ROVAL, left fans scratching their heads. If the car isn’t going to move, why hold back? The answer may be an unfortunate one- waiting adds entertainment value.
If they hold off on throwing the caution, something the fans find entertaining may happen on the race back to the line. It puts NASCAR’s officiating body in a bad light, but there isn’t any way to not. What they did could have been detrimental had Honeyman Jr. been injured, first and foremost, but it also was unfair to Kligerman.
Had they thrown the caution earlier, he wouldn’t have been teased with the win right until the last possible second. Kligerman would have likely lost the race regardless in the situation NASCAR didn’t wait, as Mayer was simply faster where it mattered most.
So, what can NASCAR do to ensure an incident like the two aforementioned ones doesn’t happen again? First off, they’ll need to be more consistent with their cautions. While they tend to throw cautions at opportune times on many occasions, it’s the times they don’t that leave a sour taste in the fanbase’s mouth. There are some fans who believe NASCAR is in cahoots with Hendrick Motorsports, one of the sport’s most prestigious teams. While this theory doesn’t hold water, coincidences arise that don’t help their case. Ironically enough, both of these recent caution controversies wound up benefitting Hendrick Motorsports and their affiliates, as Larson drives for Hendrick’s Cup Series operation and Mayer drives for Hendrick’s developmental team, JR Motorsports in the Xfinity Series. These coincidences don’t help NASCAR’s look in the eyes of those fans.
NASCAR also needs to stop looking at the entertainment value of hesitating to throw a caution and put driver safety first. As mentioned before, while they tend to be fairly good with throwing cautions at fair and opportune times, if a car is lodged in a tire barrier with no hope of escape, then the caution should be displayed immediately and not fifteen seconds later. It’s a danger to drivers on the track, as there’s a car literally under part of the wall, and it’s a danger to the driver in the stuck car as well. If someone were to crash into the same part of the wall, then there’s a much higher risk that the stuck driver would be injured, while also putting the other driver at risk. Consistency is key, and so is prioritizing safety in instances like these.
While NASCAR’s officiating body definitely needs work, the racing product is as intense as ever, and while it’s okay to criticize the officials, it shouldn’t tarnish how the fanbase views the sport they love.
