NASCAR’s rules and officials are detrimental in deciding the winner of the race. They clarified its stance on the Ryan Preece incident at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which raised some questions. Some are even calling it a controversial decision.

But do you remember the 2003 run of Dale Earnhardt Jr. at Talladega? His win stirred up a debate on whether he went below the yellow line or not. NASCAR then gave him a green light. However, for a similar incident, Regan Smith was penalized during the 2008 Amp Energy 500. Currently in discussion is Ryan Preece’s incident on track, which might have paved the way for Kyle Larson taking the win. And championing NASCAR’s decision is none other than Dale Jr.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. calls it a “caution”

On the 30th anniversary of the race, Kyle Larson kissed the bricks. However, his victory did not come before a series of dramatic incidents. Which makes one feel that the racing gods were truly in his corner. With just 3 laps to go of the final overtime, it had all come down to Larson, Brad Keselowski, and Ryan Blaney. All credit goes to a multi-car crash, Keselowski’s empty fuel tank, and a red flag. Ryan Blaney lost the lead, and Larson took the victory.

Many would have thought the crash that ended Denny Hamlin’s hopes would be the final episode of Brickyard. However, it did not end there. On the final lap, Ryan Preece spun in turn 2 but couldn’t rejoin the race as he ran out of fuel. The car came to a complete halt in the middle of the track, yet there was no yellow flag.

Preece opened up after the incident, saying, “To clear the air. Normal operating fuel pressure is 66psi. When I slowed, the engine went to 12 psi. The engine would not go at WOT. (Wide open throttle). I ran out of fuel.” The incident raised a lot of eyebrows, as another restart could have shaken things up. Post-race NASCAR justified their move.

NASCAR’s Elton Sawyer said, “Obviously we’d like for it to play out naturally. We want our teams to race to the checkered flag. We did everything we possibly could. We kept an eye on the #41. He got turned around. He was really giving a solid effort and once he came to a stop and we could tell that he had, I think, a flat left-rear tire he wasn’t going to move. We’d already taken the white, we just couldn’t run by there again. So it was unfortunate, but it was the right call.” Supporting NASCAR’s decision was veteran Dale Jr., who did not see anything wrong with NASCAR’s decision as he applauded them on the July 23rd episode of the Dale Jr. Download.

Junior said, “That to me is a great explanation. But only problem with that is. I knew he wasn’t going to be able to move before they got to turn 4 and I think a lot of people feel that way. This isn’t like an intentional goof by NASCAR.”

Getting into technicalities, Dale Earnhardt Jr. mentioned the decision depends on the size of the track; he said, “His decision has a lot to do with the size of the race track. So if this happens at a short track, I think it’s a caution. You know it’s a caution before the white. If it happens at a smaller track even Nashville. But it’s such a large race track that there’s time to wait and they took advantage of that unique aspect.”

However, not everyone was satisfied with NASCAR’s decision. Veteran Kevin Harvick called out NASCAR on their decision.

More disagreements on NASCAR’s “badly missed call”

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Kevin Harvick is a 3-time winner at the legendary Brickyard and wasn’t pleased with NASCAR’s move. Critiquing their decision, he emphasized it should have been a caution when Preece’s car came to a stop.

In Episode 45 of “Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour, he said, “I thought the call at the end of our race was not good. When Preece spun out, he was mid-pack. He wound up nosing into the fence barely and the tire was flat. He was on the rub blocks, the tire was flat, he was not going anywhere. And they waited and waited and waited and he wasn’t moving sitting up on the racetrack. The caution should have been thrown in Turn 4. And it just doesn’t seem there’s as much consistency as there needs to be when it comes to these calls at the end of the race. Whether you throw a caution or not throw a caution.”

Harvick went on to express his disappointment at the way how things were ended in the race; he said, “I didn’t like how the race ended with the caution not being thrown. … Whoever was watching that needs to be talked to. Because the tire was down… it was sitting on the rub blocks. And when they sit on the rub blocks, they don’t move,” Harvick wasn’t alone to be mad. Even Denny Hamlin, who missed out in the Brickyard vented his anger. 

Speaking on his podcast Actions Detrimental, Hamlin lashed out, “So they had roughly eight seconds to make a call there, and they did. Austin Cindric spun through the infield at Nashville, gathered up, kept going, and that was instantly a caution. This is what we’re talking about. NASCAR, this is your inconsistencies that people gripe about. They have a right to gripe because it is just so inconsistent. You can’t decide whether you want the caution or don’t want the caution. That’s the agitating part.”

Decisions at such a historic track, or rather on any race, must be taken with absolute caution. As it can be a deciding factor in the race to the championship. What do you think about NASCAR’s decision? Tell us in the comments below.