NASCAR’s Uncharacteristic Daytona Gesture Leaves Insider Snickering

The Daytona race on Saturday was eventful and dramatic, to say the least. It provided the right sense of nail-biting intrigue that NASCAR audiences were craving. The season finale also witnessed the resurgence of veteran driver Martin Truex Jr., and clinching the regular-season title, a year after being eliminated from playoffs.

The final race also beheld the unfolding of surprises that seemed to throw the NASCAR in a kerfuffle. While a majority of the drivers and insiders of the sport seized the opportunity to bash the authority for its double standards, veteran Kyle Petty seemed to applaud the authority for the unanticipated move on the latest episode of NASCAR on NBC.

NASCAR’s surprising move leaves the racing commentator excited

In the final hopes of clinching the playoff before finally relinquishing the last straw, NASCAR drivers portrayed an aggressive show. With the continual jockeying for the lead, the drivers were unwilling to budge and let their rivals get the upper hand in the race. However, it was just a matter of time before the drivers would come to a standstill on the track after the issuance of the red flag.

The reason: Ty Gibbs made contact with Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney and shoved the driver at a right angle to the outside wall. The race was immediately red-flagged, given that half of the field was trapped in the wreck and sustained damage. However, it was apparent that few of the drivers were able to evade the rules set by the authority to deal with mechanical issues and not be slapped with a penalty. This transgression of the rule without facing the brunt of a penalty divided and enraged the NASCAR world.

However, it was apparent Kyle Petty seemed to applaud the authority for not being stringent and was able to overlook it. In a conversation with NBC’s Nate Ryan, Petty expressed, “I like the way NASCAR, I like something they did last night when they had the crash and they had all those cars scattered from the middle of Turn 3 and 4 all the way entrance of the pit road, they sat there with wreckers behind them.”

“And then went under the green and went under caution and then they allowed him all to push at the same time, I like that. No team had an advantage over another team, by already being able to assess their car to be able to run to the truck and get what they need and all that. It kept the playing field for all those cars that were equal going in the turn 3.”

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“They were all equal by the time they got to the pit road. I know there were a lot of people screaming on the radio. I know Jeff and those guys were discussing in the booth. I thought that was great and I had never seen NASCAR do that, that was a good call,” Kyle Petty expressed.

Kyle Petty showers NASCAR with applause for turning a blind eye

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It was not just the assessment of the cars under the red flag that drew Kyle Petty’s adulation for NASCAR, but also turning a blind eye to Brad Keselowski’s tackling of a supposed fire in his car by making donuts on the paddock.

The former Cup Series champion expressed, “This was straight-up safety. There are issues; there have been issues. So, that’s a heads up, and I applaud NASCAR for the no-call, so saying, no harm, no foul, riding around the circles, looking for the pickup wind at the local McDonald’s. He is doing whatever he is doing; it just means he’s okay. And I do give him that.”

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Well, NASCAR does seem to deserve credit for dealing with the issues with pragmaticism and not slapping arbitrary penalties on the drivers and their teams. However, it remains to be seen whether the authority is able to continue on the same path in the remaining races of the season.