During the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, Chris Buescher and Todd Gilliland had a run-in on Lap 323. The incident occurred while they were battling for a position inside the top 15, a common spot where crashes take place. As they exited Turn 2, Gilliland’s car made contact with Buescher’s car, pushing him into the outside wall.

Following the initial contact, Buescher’s car moved away from the wall and collided with the right-rear corner of Gilliland’s car. This caused Gilliland’s car to spin across the track and hit the outside wall. Despite the significant damage, Gilliland’s team managed to repair his car, allowing him to finish the race in 17th place, leaving fans curious as to what the officials have to say about this.

Elton Sawyer steps in to clear the air

This was a sensitive matter, so Elton Sawyer, NASCAR’s Senior Vice President of Competition, stepped up. Sawyer came forward to announce, “You look at Darlington; it’s tight. It’s hard racing; we’ve said that for years. We want our racing to be organic; we want them to go out and race hard, so we didn’t see anything that crossed the line.”

He reminded fans that NASCAR is a contact sport and that they do not want to over-officiate races. To support Sawyer’s claim, Buescher’s car did not sustain any damage from the incident as he continued to finish in sixth place. However, despite his strong finish, Buescher did not qualify for the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, as Chase Briscoe won the race.

Overall, NASCAR did not decide to take any strict action as both the drivers were not in the playoffs and a penalty would only affect the regular season, which the Darlington race concluded. Looking at how NASCAR took the back seat in this decision, fans were happy to see the racing incident slide.

[Joseph Srigley] Elton Sawyer, NASCAR’s Senior VP of Competition, confirmed Tuesday that Chris Buescher won’t be penalized for his run-in with Todd Gilliland in Sunday’s Southern 500 at Darlington:
byu/US_Highway15 inNASCAR

When the post with the news showed up on Reddit, many fans joined in chorus to celebrate NASCAR’s leniency. The decision was lenient only because the accident did not cause drama, and sometimes that’s exactly what the fans want. So let’s dive into what fans had to say about the verdict on Chris Buescher and Todd Gilliand’s incident on track.

Fans celebrate as NASCAR does not over-officiate the Darlington race

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This fan is a big supporter of Todd Gilliland and is surprised that anyone thought the incident was anything more than just normal racing. They believe these kinds of run-ins are just part of the sport as their comment read, “I’m a proud Gilliland Glazer but I’m surprised people even thought that was more than just racing.”

Another fan noticed from the in-car footage that Gilliland had no control over his car during the incident. They think it was just an unavoidable part of racing, which makes NASCAR’s decision to not penalize Buescher seem fair. They made this clear in their comment, “From the in-car, it was clear he had no control of the car when that happened.”

“Makes sense. NASCAR doesn’t need to start penalizing for every little thing like f1 does,” said one fan who agrees with NASCAR’s decision and compares it to Formula 1. They appreciate NASCAR’s more relaxed approach, which allows for more intense racing without constant penalties.

This fan explains how hard it is to control the car after being pushed into the wall. They believe that even if Buescher took advantage of the situation, it would be nearly impossible for NASCAR to determine intent. So, they think it was a good call not to penalize. “It’s really hard to keep the car perfectly straight when you just got walled and are bouncing off. even if Buescher used that to get away with one, nascar would never be able to know the difference. good no call”

One fan thinks NASCAR made the right call because the incident was kind of a gray area. They’re saying, “It’s plausibly deniable, so I see their perspective.” With no absolute grounds to penalize the drivers, the fan believes that the officials made the right move.

Do you think that Chris Beuscher deserved a penalty for the incident with Todd Gilliland? Share your thoughts in the comments below.