NASCAR Senior Official Drops His Verdict on Penalizing Joey Gase for His Richmond Shenanigan

It is apparent that the Xfinity Series at Richmond was more action-packed, if not entertaining than the Cup Series. And the reason we say that can be attributed to Joey Gase. The driver, in a clear fit of frustration, threw his bumper cover at Dawson Cram, while the race was still underway. However, Gase’s on-track shenanigan was not turned a blind eye by the authorities as NASCAR’s Senior Vice President Elton Sawyer delivered his verdict on dishing out a penalty to Joey Gase. 

Elton Sawyer takes a sarcastic dig at Joey Gase’s Richmond antics

The memories of Tony Stewart aiming his helmet at Matt Kenseth are still fresh in the minds of NASCAR fans. While the NASCAR world could get over with Stewart’s bull’s eye aim, a similar incident occurred on the tracks of Richmond during the Xfinity Series race on Saturday. The inception of the incident occurred at Lap 173 when Dawson Cram made contact with Gase at Turn 1, sending the driver outside of the SAFER barriers. 

The owner-driver was discernibly furious about how the events unfolded. As a result, after dislodging himself from the seat of his car, he ripped the rear bumper of his mangled car, aimed at the #4 Chevrolet and hit the windshield of Cram’s vehicle. Witnessing the turn of events, NASCAR levied a penalty of $5000 on the driver. Hoping to set a precedent in the NASCAR garage, NASCAR’s Vice President of Competition Elton Sawyer also stated to Sirius XM, “We understand Joey’s position, he was frustrated. He is a car owner so all that stuff is on him to get him repaired and fix it. We totally get that, his frustration of throwing the bumper cover.”

Taking a sarcastic dig at the throw, Sawyer also exclaimed, “Kudos to him for a great over-the-head pass. I think a lot in the NCAA appreciate that at this time of the year. Spot on with this throw. So there is really throwing the bumper cover or a helmet or something of that nature, we have really stayed out of that.” However, keeping in mind the safety protocol of the drivers, he also stated, “We are kind of cross the line with when he get down there and it is strictly safety. You have got cars and trucks that are single file and the obvious things that come to mind are not good. So I will leave this car and I will go into our 8:30 competition meeting today and we will debrief on all those things and see where we land.”

Joey Gase who was driving the #35 Chevrolet of his eponymous team Joey Gase Motorsports was fined for violating the sections of 8.8.8K of NASCAR’s rule book, which states that, “A safety violation may be imposed for any action or omission by a Competitor or vehicle that creates an unsafe environment or poses a threat to the safety of the Competitors, as determined by NASCAR.”

Although the driver was fined $5000, there is no denying the fact that the incident could have resulted in a fatality. However, when it comes to the man of the hour, Joey Gase seemingly he doesn’t regret much. 

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Joey Gase spills the beans for throwing his bumper cover

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Trying to justify the incident, Gase in a post-race incident stated, “I just wanted to give him a souvenir.” However, Cram’s slow speed on the track at the time of the incident helped him prevent a major incident from unfolding. Nevertheless, continuing on the same lines, Gase stated, “Let him know what he did.”

“I gave the kid his first ever start in Xfinity and comes over borrows our tools and parts and pieces every week. And you know, he’s a good kid, but he loses his head every frickin race,” the racer and team owner further continued. 

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Having said that, the penalty hopefully helps NASCAR in averting a major incident bearing similarities with the one that recently unfolded. Do you thin, with NASCAR’s strict policing, driver will draw caution from acting out their frustration in future races?