NASCAR’s admission that it didn’t see William Byron discreetly spin Denny Hamlin during Sunday’s Cup playoff race is troubling.
Inappropriate video evidence and Hamlin’s team’s vigorous insistence on redress are reason enough for series officials to take a closer look at returning Hamlin to second place before the race returns to green flag conditions. There have been other remedies, even after racing has resumed.
In addition to series officials having access to Byron’s in-vehicle cameras, fans were able to see it right away on NASCAR.com and the NASCAR mobile app, and this weekend’s Talladega Superspeedway. Changes should be made before the playoff races at
NASCAR should make every effort to determine issues between drivers regardless of playoff status, but it deserved greater attention because it was two playoff drivers involved in the incident. With three races per round, one wrong move can mean the difference between progress or elimination.
Just as the playoffs expect drivers and teams, the same should be expected of officials.
Scott Miller, NASCAR’s senior vice president of competition, said: Sunday night. “One would have been to put Hamlin back in place or the other would have been to have William start from the back.”
Here’s how the incident unfolded.
A warning was issued for Martin Truex Jr.’s crash at 8:19pm ET on lap 269.
As Hamlin slowed, Byron closed and hit him in the rear.
Byron admitted after the race that the contact was intentional, but had no intention of breaking Hamlin. Byron felt Hamlin pushed him into the wall as he exited Turn 2 side by side. Byron expressed his displeasure during the warning.
＃NASCAR‘s Scott Miller says officials didn’t see William Byron give Denny Hamlin a discreet spin. pic.twitter.com/1PuA2JSsk0
— Dustin Long (@dustinlong) September 26, 2022
About 90 seconds after the warning lights came on, US broadcasts showed a low-angle replay and clear contact of Byron just behind Hamlin’s car.
Contact can occur in multiple ways. It could come from the leading car hitting the brakes and forcing it into the car behind, or from the car behind hitting the car in front. Because it wasn’t clear, it was difficult for those involved to make any judgments based on that alone.
This was also the time when NASCAR officials were monitoring safety vehicles on the track, checking lineups and making sure pit road was ready to open. This is something NASCAR often does effortlessly. Not this time.
Another replay aired in the United States 11 minutes and 16 seconds after the warning that showed Byron and Hamlin’s cars together. That replay aired about a minute before the green flag waved at 8:31 PM ET. During the caution, Hamlin’s crew chief Chris Gabehart argued that Hamlin should have restarted second.
But once racing resumed, NASCAR’s problems were resolved. Or so it seemed.
Three minutes after the green flag was waved, the NASCAR Twitter account posted an in-car video showing Byron hitting the back of Hamlin’s car while the warning was in effect. Such actions are usually penalties. Often park drivers for the rest of the race. Instead, Byron was allowed to continue and nothing was done for the rest of the event.
Let’s see what happened in between @William Byron When @dennyhamlin. #NASCAR Playoffs pic.twitter.com/UgPH2EIiNd
— Nascar (@NASCAR) September 26, 2022
After the race, Miller told reporters that series officials had not heard from Byron.
“The cameras and monitors that we have are primarily dedicated to reviewing and watching our safety vehicles and how we dispatch them,” Miller said. By the time we have installed the cameras (on the control tower monitors), there will be no room to monitor all the on-board cameras.
“Having quick access to[Byron]’s dash cams has been very helpful in locating them quickly.
But it didn’t.
“By the time we were able to handle the case in replays, we were back on the green,” Miller said.
We yelled on the radio what had happened to them. I challenged my place. what are they doing there?
— Denny Hamlin (@dennyhamlin) September 26, 2022
NASCAR did not act. By then it may have been too late to do so. But that’s also a problem. If it’s clear what happened, shouldn’t the violation be addressed immediately instead of days later? Shouldn’t he have been offered access to the? Instead, Miller hinted at a possible penalty for Byron this week.
Miller didn’t give details, but it wouldn’t be surprising if he dropped Byron down the field and lost a point. ) is logical, it costs Byron 23 points and puts him near the cut line.
Texas winner Tyler Reddick said something should have been done. he knows He was parked at a 2014 truck race in Pocono for vandalizing a German Quiroga in retaliation for an earlier incident.
“In William’s situation, whether he was run over by accident or on purpose, he completely ruined someone’s race, so whether it was on purpose or not, he had to should be given some kind of penalty,” Reddick said. “So he feels he has to do something.
“I’m sure[NASCAR]will make some decision. I’m sure there’s something on NASCAR’s part that they’ll be addressing this week. I’m curious what it is. Throw someone out with caution. Nothing like that is really possible, and this could be an interesting situation down the road.”
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