A game of mere inches can seal your fate in NASCAR. That is what Parker Kligerman experienced firsthand at the Charlotte Roval on Saturday. If he could have been just 0.05 seconds faster, Kligerman would have capped off his final Xfinity season with a victory. But a an extremely unfortunate circumstance was afoot – his rival Leland Honeyman rammed into the tire barrier with two laps to go. And NASCAR’s apparently poor visibility riled up fans.

Despite the severity of Honeyman’s crash, the authorities shockingly neglected to signal a caution flag right away. That yellow banner flew just as Kligerman was about to grab the white flag. Caught in a whirlwind of emotions, the Cup Series analyst was heartbroken, knowing that his departure was imminent. And the community bashed NASCAR’s “lame” excuse.

NASCAR covering up for breaking hearts

The sport has been under a lot of fire recently. Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin’s lawsuit aside, NASCAR has made some controversial decisions in races. For instance, Josh Berry’s pit road fiasco at Kansas – four flat tires rendered him ineligible to finish the Kansas race due to the DVP rule. Now officials are on track for another onslaught of vehement criticism. After potentially depriving Parker Kligerman of his shot to a Charlotte Xfinity victory, they reasoned that better spectacles may have helped propel the driver to the next playoff round.

Kligerman overcame tremendous adversity to reach that glorious point. He passed two modern road course aces in the Xfinity Series, AJ Allmendinger and Shane van Gisbergen. Following a restart with 11 laps to go, he sliced up the field and stormed from 6th to 2nd on fresh tires. However, Honeyman wrecked out and NASCAR delayed the caution flag, offering a vague explanation. Bob Pockrass updated the reason: “Asked NASCAR about the delay in the caution and apparently that area where Honeyman was underneath the tires is difficult to see from the tower and that is partly what delayed them throwing the caution.”

Soon after NASCAR regained its visibility, Kligerman had to contend with a hard-charging Sam Mayer. He led through the first five corners, but eventually Mayer passed him, while he faded to 6th. Kligerman amply clarified his tumultuous emotions post-race: “This hurts. I said on the cooldown lap, I want to cry, but I won’t, and it’s gotten close a couple of times as I think about it.” He added, “I just felt like that was a poetic — if I could just do one thing, it would have been winning this damn race in that fashion, holding off some of the best in the world in SVG (Shane van Gisbergen), and AJ (Allmendinger), Sam Mayer, who’s a Roval master now. I thought I was driving at the highest level I’ve ever driven, and I didn’t get it done.”

And the NASCAR community is throwing its weight behind Parker Kligerman‘s heartbreak.

Fans scoff at the visibility excuse

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Time and again racing fans have bashed NASCAR for slip-ups this year. For instance, Fox’s inefficient coverage of the Daytona 500 race, missing the final photo finish between William Byron and Alex Bowman. Then there were the missing pylons at Talladega Superspeedway, riling up both drivers and fans. Now, as NASCAR fumbled to appease an already upset crowd, it failed. One fan flatly refused to accept the reason, making a hilarious comparison with musical connoisseurs. “Unacceptable. They have spotters all around the track. TV showed it as soon as it happened. Are they blind up there? Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles would do a better job at this point.” The reason simply tickled another fan, who cited the numerous eyes present. “Difficult to see” but yet there’s series spotters all round the track and TV….“

Unlike Fox’s bad reputation, NBC Sports has been doing a great job covering races. It efficiently covered Leland Honeyman’s crash at Charlotte, so one fan battered NASCAR to be more proactive. “When TV catches something 15 seconds before them, that should be the immediate followup question.” Then, immediately after NASCAR’s favoritism in towing out Chase Elliott from the chaotic Talladega Cup wreck, fans no longer believe in the integrity of decisions. Somebody commented: “So….NASCAR once again is saying it’s not their fault?!?!? Disgraceful.” Another fan chimed along similar lines, bashing the sanctioning body: “They even manufacture excuses! Geez, they knew what they were doing!“

Evidently, the Charlotte Xfinity race looked massively unfavorable for Parker Kligerman’s shot to glory. This controversy is bound to continue for some time.