The Ag-Pro 300 Xfinity Series race at Talladega Superspeedway was a thriller. Last lap chaos, wrecks, and a photo finish—there was everything a race fan expects from a superspeedway event. With Connor Zilisch sent sliding down the inside wall, there was a three-horse battle between Austin Hill, Jesse Love, and Jeb Burton to keep their noses in front.

Given that the field had taken the white flag, the next flag was going to end the race. So, as the caution lights flashed, NASCAR officials had to make a tough call between Jeb Burton and Austin Hill. After a short delay, the race control radioed in the message that #21 was the winner of the race. It was a close call, and Jeb Burton was almost in tears after hearing NASCAR’s verdict.

“I feel like when the caution flew, I was ahead of the #21 [Hill]. Last week at Rockingham, we got pretty screwed by a yellow and it put me back a row. And today, (we) lose the race because of a timing line. But I don’t see the #21 ahead of me at all, any of this time. And right there, you can see my nose is in front of the #21.” Burton explained in the post-race interview.

The Jordan Anderson Racing driver wasn’t satisfied after watching the angles NASCAR provided. “I don’t know what’s so complicated there. So, they need to go look at it. We’re gonna protest if you can protest. Do whatever the hell we can do because I think we won this race.” Veteran journalist Jeff Gluck also shared his take on the controversial call on X.

“Those are tough angles to make a call. Wish there was a more definitive view. Feel for Jeb Burton for sure. And there’s still got to be a better way to end these races.” Gluck wrote. What followed was a wave of support for Burton and demand for a better decision-making process by NASCAR.

Fans agree with Jeb Burton’s argument of winning the Talladega race

This year, in particular, has seen NASCAR flip-flop on its decision to end the race. Remember the Daytona race weekend, where they snatched the Duels win by Erik Jones, citing caution on the last lap, but allowed the Daytona 500 to stay green, with the field crashing behind? This is why a race fan argued that, “i’m happy for the Austin Hill win but it should’ve stayed green, Zilisch was way out of harms way.”

NASCAR uses scoring loops to determine which car is in the lead when the caution lights come on. In this case, the officials weren’t quick on the button, and it allowed Hill to catch up and draw level with Burton. The angles provided weren’t sufficient to tilt the scales in favor of Hill, but NASCAR thought they made the right call. Fuming over this decision, this fan added, “Not being able to determine who’s leading in this situation is really frustrating. Surely the technology exists.”

Some fans have seen this movie play out before. Remember the Xfinity Series race at Charlotte Roval? As Parker Kligerman was about to cross the finish line to bag his first win, NASCAR flashed the caution lights. The officials weren’t able to see Leyland Honeyman being buried under the tire barriers after a crash, and cited this reason for causing a stir. Now that Jeb Burton has suffered a similar fate, fans are starting to believe that NASCAR is against the underdog drivers. “I feel like anytime an underdog has a chance at a win there’s something controversial nascar does to manipulate the race.”

There were a few suggestions as well on how NASCAR should deal with such scenarios. It’s worth noting that this was a single-car incident, and none of the drivers reduced the speed of their cars, knowing that NASCAR will drop the caution somewhere down the line before they reach the start-finish line. “Here’s an idea: “clear single car wrecks with no other cars coming from behind shouldn’t bring out a caution.”

What are your thoughts on the controversial call made by NASCAR to determine the winner at Talladega? Was it Austin Hill or Jeb Burton?