What a letdown. The highly anticipated return of the Brickyard 400 turned into another indictment of NASCAR officiating. On top of that, the on-track action failed to meet expectations until the final stint. Indianapolis Motor Speedway has never been a track to produce barn burners for the Cup Series, but there was some hope the NextGen could be an exception. Unfortunately, the bad omens from Pocono turned out to be true. Passing was difficult, especially for the lead. There was no on-track pass for the top spot outside of a restart. Clean air was king and aero-blocking reigned supreme. Despite those criticisms, the Brickyard 400 was fantastic to have back. The race felt important, especially to the drivers. However, there are some ugly headlines that have to be covered here. Overreaction Monday this week will only look at the Brickyard 400.
What is a Caution?
It seems that all sports have some rule that should be simple yet the officiating body has determined to be make it more complicated than needed. In the NFL, it is the definition of a catch. The MLB has the strike zone questions. For NASCAR, it is their process in determining a caution. Specifically, late race cautions and NASCAR’s digression (or lack of) to throw one.
Earlier this season, NASCAR held off throwing a caution before the white flag of the Daytona 500. While two cars spun into the grass entering the tri-oval, the decision was to wait and see if the race could finish under green conditions. For any fan, it was fairly obvious that the two cars were going to come up into traffic, causing a guaranteed caution. However, NASCAR withheld it until after the leader took the white flag to end the race under yellow.
The ending of the Brickyard 400 was a replay of that poor decision, except with more time to do the correct call. Coming out of Turn 2, Ryan Preece spun off to the bottom of the track and hit the inside wall. Initially, no caution flew while the leaders raced off to the backstretch. Preece attempted to get his car rolling as he drove toward the racing surface. In a rare NBC broadcast win, they showed a side-by-side view of the leaders and the stalling Preece. With a visible flat tire and no forward momentum, Preece sat idle at the bottom of the racing surface as Kyle Larson and Tyler Reddick exited Turn 4. At this point, the caution should have been waved. However, NASCAR withheld, surely knowing there was no way they could complete the white flag lap.
Don’t Believe Your Lying Eyes
After the race, NASCAR’s Senior VP of Competition Elton Sawyer discussed the reason for the late yellow. In a moment that can only be described as gaslighting, Sawyer stated that Preece did not stall out until after Larson took the white.
NASCAR Senior VP of Competition Elton Sawyer discusses the final restart and finish of the #Brickyard400. pic.twitter.com/0VNUaFkBdD
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) July 22, 2024
Do not believe your lying eyes, NASCAR tells you. Ignore that Preece’s last forward movement happened before Larson hit the beginning of pit road on the front stretch. According to Sawyer, NASCAR legitimately thought Preece had a chance to continue, enough so to risk finishing the third crown jewel race of the season under caution/red flag. That would be to ignore Preece’s flat right rear tire and him idly sitting on the track for 7 full seconds before he attempted to throw it in reverse. Unless the officials were egregiously optimistic, NASCAR withheld the caution knowing that the field would not be able to make it past Turn 2 under green flag conditions.
NASCAR allowed the white flag to wave knowing that the race would not finish under green flag conditions. As soon as Preece stalled out on the racing surface, the 41 was a safety hazard for the field out of Turn 2. There was no way that NASCAR could have let the race finish under green with Preece there. In Sawyer’s post race interview, it clearly is shifting the narrative about whether to throw the caution is the issue at hand. It is not. The issue is the deliberate stalling to throw the caution. There was no question that this incident was a caution. However, why did it take 40 seconds to do so?
Avoiding Nashville’s Finish
For the second time, a delayed caution allowed for Hendrick Motorsports to win a crown jewel race. So clearly, NASCAR withheld the caution until the white flag flew so Kyle Larson could win. After the disappointing attempted double with the Indy 500, Larson winning would be big for NASCAR. The fix was in, it is clear as day to see. Well, most likely not.
Yes, it is coincidental that Hendrick Motorsports has benefitted from NASCAR’s inconsistencies. That said, Larson likely wins even with another restart. So it is highly doubtful NASCAR rigged it for Larson and Hendrick. However, the probable main reason NASCAR withheld the caution is Nashville.
The finish of Nashville’s race saw a record setting 5 overtime restarts with nearly half of the field running out of fuel at some point. While it was not a big scandal, there was some pushback about the chaotic nature of the finish. The Brickyard 400 was shaping up to be the same type of finish. Half the field was hurting for gas. Plus, cautions breed more cautions. With how difficult it was to pass, Turn 1 had the potential to morph into 2023 COTA. Throwing the caution at the right time could have led to chaos. That seems way more plausible of an explanation than NASCAR rigging the race.
Results Should Not Dictate Execution
Either way, the simple fact is that a caution should be called the same no matter the circumstance. NASCAR has been improving their trigger finger, which is a welcome change. However, the inconsistencies are still there. It would not have been a “trigger finger” moment to fly the caution for Preece’s incident. Hell, if it had happened on Lap 37, the caution would have waved once he turned sideways. If it is a caution then, it should have been a caution on the second to last lap.
Results should not alter how the process is done. The ending of a race should be called the same as the start or middle. What is a caution at Lap 37 should be a caution with 2 to go. Deviating away from that puts NASCAR is the murky gray area that they should not want to be in. Shamefully, the return of the Brickyard 400 is overshadowed by NASCAR’s inconsistent officiating.
Clearly Define the Rules
Oh look, more NASCAR officiating nonsense. Early in the race, Chase Elliott was nabbed for a penalty for a blend-line violation. After his first pit stop, Elliott ran wide in the short chute between Turns 1 and 2. Cleary, his car went past the second white line and onto the “racing surface”. Brad Keselowski was also nabbed for the same violation. Both drivers were displeased with the penalties, especially Elliott who went on a verbal tirade on the radio.
During the race, Mike Forde from NASCAR put out the following post on X:
NASCAR sent updated language to the drivers yesterday morning to clarify the pit road acceleration lane rule. This is what was sent. Portion officiated for 9 and 6 penalties is 'stay off the racing surface.' pic.twitter.com/3LplnZbv6s
— Mike Forde (@mforde) July 21, 2024
Apparently, this is what was sent to drivers prior to the race to explain the blending rules for the Brickyard 400. While only Elliott and Keselowski were nabbed for the penalty, the above reading is not clear cut. Rather than clearly stating “keep all tires below the second white line” or something of that nature, it only says keep off the racing surface. Using the phrase “racing surface” could be up for interpretation.
Is the bottom of the shoot chute really the racing surface? Which driver took that line during the race? To be fair, the interpretation seems fairly easy to determine. There are two whites line to the right of the access road. Anything above that second white line would seem to be the “racing surface”. However, it is not clearcut. Should have Elliott and (especially) Keselowski tested that? Of course not. Although, Elliott claimed on his radio that he received the “okay” about what he did from NASCAR. If that is the case, then that would be a real issue that NASCAR would have to address.
Barring that exception, the ruling seems to indicate that the second white line was the enforceable limit. NASCAR should have been direct with that information, making it clear exactly where the limit was and what would constitute a violation. Their vague language leads to this whole snafu.
Also, Kyle Larson’s right side tires flirted with exceeding that second line. Should that have counted as penalty? It was not as egregious as Elliott or Keselowski, but one could argue he did exceed that limit. However, it is difficult to rule one way or another without a clear rule. Before next year’s Brickyard 400, NASCAR would be wise to polish the blend rule.
Scapegoat Inc
As the NASCAR season hits the Olympic break, it gives certain drivers time to reset after bad stretches. Ross Chastain is one of those drivers who likely welcomes the time off. It has been rough sledding for the Melon Man in recent weeks. Indy marked the fourth straight race without a Top-10. In addition to the poor results, Chastain has not picked up a stage point during that stretch as well. From having a safe lead over the cutline, Chastain enters the break with only a 7 point advantage over Bubba Wallace. To add insult to injury, drivers pointing the blame to Chastain has returned. At least he has a friend in this scapegoat company.
Carson Hocevar did an admirable job early in the season of flying under the radar. While he was putting together solid finishes inside the Top-20, he managed to avoid much ire from his competitors based on his immature reputation. However, that has changed in recent weeks as Hocevar has been on the wrong end of numerous incident. Most notably, spinning Harrison Burton out under caution at Nashville. Understandably, Hocevar is an easy target for criticism over potentially questionable actions on track. On Sunday, both Hocevar and Chastain were put under the magnifying glass of criticism from their fellow drivers.
Incidents on Track
On Lap 105, Martin Truex Jr smacked the wall in Turn 3 after making contact with Kyle Larson. Bizarrely, Truex radioed to blame Chastain for running into him. In the replays, Chastain does not make contact with Truex heading into the turn. Further investigation led to contact made on the restart, which is hardly any reason to blame the 1 driver for an accident in Turn 3.
Meanwhile, Carson Hocevar drew criticism from the Team Penske duo of Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano. On the subsequent restart after the Truex caution, Hocevar maintained his lane and was 3-wide as they entered Turn 1. Blaney turned down on Hocevar for the turn, wrecking out Logano and Jimmie Johnson. Despite being the one to turn into Hocevar, Blaney blamed the Spire driver, claiming he got into his rear end.
Four-time #Brickyard400 winner Jimmie Johnson AND Joey Logano with a big crash on the restart.
đź“ş : NBC pic.twitter.com/35FvZTt2Jz
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) July 21, 2024
A bad reputation means that other drivers’ ire and criticism has an easy target to find. However, if Jeff Burton in the booth is not railing against Chastain or Hocevar, then it is strong evidence that both drivers are innocent.
