For the past four decades, NASCAR has had a rock among its ranks in the form of Wayne Auton. Auton is currently the managing director of the Xfinity Series but it was recently revealed by those close to the sport that 2024 would be the veteran’s final season in the role. Although he will remain in NASCAR in a different role, fans expressed their sorrow at the news on social media.

The Xfinity Series is not the only NASCAR competition that the veteran has looked after. Earlier, Auton used to be the director of the Truck Series. His fantastic job in the series earned him a promotion to the second-biggest racing series under NASCAR’s purview. The consensus among fans is that Auton’s services to the Xfinity Series will be missed after he bids his final farewell to his role as the managing director. However, amid this disheartening update is the fact that Wayne Auton isn’t actually going anywhere.

Wayne Auton will still remain with the company in a different role

When news surfaced that the revered NASCAR insider is nearing his retirement, not many people expected it. However, the decision seems to be set in stone as, starting in 2025, the Xfinity Series will see a managing director take Auton’s place. While Auton will still be associated with NASCAR in a different capacity, his new position is yet to be confirmed.

“NASCAR announces this will be 40-year racing veteran Wayne Auton’s final season as Xfinity Series managing director. He will remain with NASCAR after that,” Jeff Gluck posted on his X handle, confirming the sad news.

Coming from humble beginnings, working on the Hickory Motor Speedway track alongside his dad, who was at the time assisting driver Elmer Killian, the official had an interesting start to his career in motorsports. Auton finally got his official start with NASCAR in the 1970s as a fire marshal at the speedway.  However, it wasn’t until 1978 that the veteran became an official at the Busch series.

“I was part of the ‘over the wall gang,’ the bomber division. We parked outside the track. One night, we thought we’d be so smart. All of the cars are leaned to the left, of course, so one night we ran them to the right. It didn’t work out too good,” he said recalling one of his stories from that time as per The Auto Racing Journal.

Auton’s departure from the Xfinity Series was met with a lot of sorrow and well-wishes from the NASCAR community. It is clear that the fans have a lot of respect for the work he has done over the years.

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Tributes pour in for legendary competition director

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Reacting to the news, one fan simply commented, “That sucks,” expressing their disappointment at the latest development. Another fan made a dull prediction that Wayne Auton may be heading closer to retiring from NASCAR altogether. “Sounds like he’s moving toward retirement,” they wrote.

A lot of tributes poured in from the racing community for the veteran as well. “One of the nicest, funniest guys in the garage,” one user wrote. Another fan claimed that Auton and their father were acquaintances and that he was grateful that the motorsports legend was not leaving NASCAR completely.

“One of the truly great men in NASCAR, a friend to my Dad and I’m just grateful he is staying with NASCAR,” they wrote.

Another user called him a class act and hoped that his run with NASCAR would not end anytime soon. “Wayne’s a class act, hopefully he’ll remain active with NASCAR,” they commented.

While Wayne Auton’s decision to step down as the managing director of the Xfinity Series is not the best news, it will be interesting to see who replaces him. Who would be a suitable replacement in your mind? Let us know your thoughts.

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