“I Know the Fans Are Going to Be Mad at This” – HMS Legend Controversially Sides With NASCAR Amid Much-Debated Decision

.The Quaker State 400 race on Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway had all the elements that a NASCAR fan could ask for. Whether it was the tooth-and-nail fight for the lead or on-track incidents forcing the issuance of a caution, the race had it all. The premature cancellation of the race marred the whole essence of the Sunday race. As drivers and fans had their opinions on NASCAR’s decision, Steve Letarte chose to stand with the association’s regulations.

The impending thunderstorms always play a pivotal role in determining the end results of Sunday’s race, as the drivers were forced to change their strategy. However, the authority had announced the race official, as the rain set in, which many deemed to be controversial. But apparently, the NBC color commentator stands apart from the popular opinions.

Steve Letarte’s dilemma on NASCAR races and wet tracks

Unlike many other sports, NASCAR takes rain seriously. While many sports continue in bad weather, NASCAR waves the red flag. The governing body has also made provisions to call off the race and declare the winner if the race is halfway over. And the case in point was Sunday’s race, where William Byron was declared the winner.

Had the rain not interfered with the commencement of the Quaker State 400, perhaps the outcome of the race could have been different. And the declaration of the race as official surely irked the fans. But it seems that the former crew chief of Hendrick Motorsports holds different views. When it comes to supporting NASCAR’s announcement, Steve Letarte revealed that the association has its own set of policies and consistency. 

After playing a clip from the broadcast from the race and a conversation between Letarte and Jeff Burton on racing under wet conditions, Burton was heard saying, “Well, there comes a time too when if it doesn’t start raining in the next few minutes, you have gotta go over pit road, and you get back to racing. You are just being fair to the teams right here.”

And continuing on the same lines, Letarte shared his thought with Ryan, “I would have preferred, well I don’t know what I prefer to be honest and I had these mental- mental disasters right now. So here’s the problem, if the race track and or weather is not in an area that is allowing green flag racing, the question then becomes should we or should we not allow ride under yellow?”

“Everybody wants us to be aligned between the red flag or the green flag and that’s how it was. But now with this weather education, now there is a third choice, now there is ‘Hey guess what we can’t be racing it’s raining too hard and now under caution. But hey, it’s not raining hard enough to stop the cars, so we are going to ride under yellow and we are doing it with the pit road closed.”

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Steve Letarte shows his support for NASCAR’s rain regulations

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There are rules to race in wet conditions, however, these rules have always been restricted to road courses. But NASCAR had introduced similar packages for other tracks as well for the 2023 season as well. While many have shown their displeasure, however, it seems many veterans were in support of it. 

Continuing along the same lines, Letarte revealed, “I don’t know where I am on this, Jeff Burton was a big fan of it, he said on the broadcast, in this instance, I thought I am a fan of it because the looming wether was race ending it was huge. I also feel like this a little bit new of nuance and don’t feel like it is discussed.”

“What I would like NASCAR this week to communicate to the team is how this is gonna be handled. You and I have talked about this all the time. I don’t care and I know fans are gonna be mad at this. I don’t care if they like it or don’t like it. All I care about is NASCAR is consistent,” Letarte concluded.

With the introduction of the new rules, NASCAR is surely trying to make the sport more dynamic. But as controversies seem to spiral up. Stay tuned to see how NASCAR deals with similar instances in future races.

Read More: NASCAR’s Controversial Decision Triggers Grave Suspicion Over William Byron’s Atlanta Win as Fans Refuse to Accept Reality