What is NASCAR without the insider controversies and behind-the-scenes drama? NASCAR is indeed one of the most coveted sports in the US. However, it is also a mega-entertainment business. As NASCAR was deep into the playoff-opening race, something unusual happened that provided an immense amount of fodder for the media and NASCAR enthusiasts to munch on.

Speaking of controversies, can Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs be far behind? The aftermath rolled onto the Door Bumper Clear crew members. Each of them had various opinions about this eventful race. But a 23XI insider spoke particularly about a certain incident that is now a major highlight of the Southern 500. And yes, Hendrick Motorsports and JGR were involved.

Just camera and action for the Hendrick Motorsports star?

Last week’s race proved that Darlington is literally the Lady in Black. With 50 laps to go till the end of Stage 2, NASCAR threw the yellow flag owing to an issue with the track lights around the insiders of turns 3 and 4. A major inconvenience for the drivers; driving without lights would hinder their sight of the outside wall and increase the chances of them running into the fence.

Nevertheless, the 500-plus-mile-long race came to a halt for 6 minutes and 55 seconds as the mechanics repaired the lights. In a recent DBC episode, Bubba Wallace’s spotter, Freddie Kraft, opined that the caution was sheer manipulation on the part of some HMS and JGR drivers. Freddie hinted that a Hendrick Motorsports driver and a Joe Gibbs Racing driver tried to stretch their halt down the pit lane so that NASCAR would bring out the caution flag.

Kraft said, “It (lights) didn’t go out, it never came on. Obviously, we knew it but there were a couple of guys trying to manipulate to get a caution, like they were running long hoping to get a caution. Christopher, the 48 was another one. The 48 was the last one to pit.”

Although Hendrick Motorsports star Alex Bowman might have pitted the last to aid the caution, Bubba felt like he was doing okay with the lights off. Strange, isn’t it? Little did Freddie know that Bubba had not noticed the lights going off.

“…when I said the yellows out now for those lights not being on, Bubba’s like the lights aren’t on?” added Kraft, as the entire crew laughed out loud.

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According to racingnews.com, drivers like Kevin Harvick felt like the last two feet against the wall were difficult to figure out. But RFK driver Brad Keselowski did not see any problem with that.

“Brad said they were already running against the fence, it wasn’t affecting the drivers at all,” said Freddie.

The entire fandom bashed NASCAR for not doing the obvious

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When 40 cars pass you in the blink of an eye, it is quite normal that the chances of contact and accidents soar up to the limit of the sky. Take the vision of the drivers of these cars away, and that chance just goes off the charts.

Fans on social media felt that rather than allowing the cars to run while wasting laps, NASCAR should have brought the red flag out and prioritized fixing the lights. After all, safety should never go on vacation.

Someone wrote, “Well if everyone thinks they need the light then RED flag the race and stop wasting laps. @TooToughToTame #Nascar”

Concurring with that, one wrote, “Caution here is egregious. This should be a red flag.”

Another enthusiast rebuked NASCAR, saying, “Are the track lights like a string of Christmas lights? They have to figure out which bulb to change to get them all to work?”

Read more: Hendrick Motorsports Star Reveals his Stance After Ruining the Day for Daniel Suarez – EssentiallySports

On that very note, a stock car racing fan exclaimed, “So you let them run for how many laps under yellow because of the lights? Ridiculous. If it was that important, should have thrown the red flag immediately instead of letting the cars make non-competitive laps.”

Someone scorned NASCAR for asking them to use the money they had to improve the infrastructure. They wrote, “Why don’t NASCAR some of their Billions of dollars on their race tracks? GREED”

Although we choose not to pick sides, we would love to hear your thoughts about this. Do let us know in the comments below!