They say, “Change is the only constant,” and as per many, NASCAR seems to have taken that too literally! The community, with fans and drivers alike, has been split on the controversial decision to allow Kyle Busch to start back in his original position despite being involved in the wreck at Nashville, pointing out a ruling inconsistency. To clear up the confusion surrounding the decision, NASCAR publicly stated that they did not deem Busch involved in the wreck, as he tried to avoid being a part of it. But Dale Earnhardt Jr isn’t sold on their explanation and is leading the charge against the questionable call.

To support his views, Dale Jr also highlighted an incident where he and his then crew chief, Steve Letarte, faced a similar situation during a race at Watkins Glen. Back then, the officials made a complete mess by handing out final spots after the race, which ended with a big wreck under caution.

Dale Earnhardt Jr is riled up at NASCAR for not learning from their past blunders

You know the drill- a wreck happens on a racetrack and the cars have to maintain a reasonable speed to retain their spots. Moreover, the racecars should not be a part of the wreck. Simple enough, right? Well, not for Rowdy, as it seems. It all unfolded during a caution that ensued after Kyle Larson spun out Ross Chastain. Busch then slammed on the brakes, even collided with the wall, and yet managed to sneak inside the scoring loop that NASCAR uses to reset the field. But that was out of play, as he was collected in the wreck.

Reacting to this fiasco, Dale Earnhardt Jr went on to highlight a similar incident where Clint Bowyer got the better of him, thanks to a controversial call by officials. “There was a big crash somewhere in the last lap of the race, and we had gotten the white flag, so I guess the race is over. Clint’s car gets destroyed in this wreck, and we passed him. He wasn’t keeping pace; a lot of people passed him, like 15 cars go by Clint…. As we’re coming around to get checkered under caution, he drives back around everybody, back up a spot, and the race ends. And there’s Clint in 12th place, 10th place,” he said via the Dale Jr Download.

Fuming over the decision back then, Dale Jr had even confronted the officials and explained to them that they were in the wrong. But his complaints and arguments didn’t result in anything good, as Bowyer kept his spot. “Me and Steve went over to the NASCAR hauler, and we’re like, ‘How in the hell did he finish in front of us? He wrecked, he crashed. How do you put him back in front of us? We passed him’… But that was bullsh*t then, it is bullsh*t today, and I don’t care what you tell me.”

However, in NASCAR’s defense, this isn’t the first time they had to make such a call, handing the driver back their position in the race. A precedent had been set for them to make this call back in 2012 during a race at Pocono, where they gave Brad Keselowski his spot back after a late wreck that collected multiple cars.

Similar scenes unfolded at the 2012 Pocono race, so, nothing new!

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Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth were racing for the win on a late restart, and Brad Keselowski was lined just behind them in the second row. However, as the pack cleared the first corner, the race leaders got too close to each other and sparked a big crash. Just like Kyle Busch, Keselowski, driving the No. 2 Penske car, slowed down to avoid being involved in the wreck and kept his race car clear of the oncoming traffic.

Unfortunately, the race couldn’t go green after the wreck due to rain and lightning, and officials were in a tough spot to hand out the final positions. Jeff Gordon, who took the lead, was crowned the winner; meanwhile, Keselowski retained his fourth spot, ending the race in P4. However, a major difference between the two decisions was that Keselowski’s car was intact and functional. Whereas, the No. 8 Chevy was listed on the race report as one of the cars involved in the accident. However, if you ask NASCAR officials, there’s was no error in the Busch-ruling.

“His spots weren’t taken away because our rule clearly states that you must maintain a reasonable speed…“We deemed him not involved in that incident. He didn’t stop. If he had to stop, he probably would have ended up towards the back of the field, but he was scored in the fourth-place position when that caution come out. He didn’t get into (Ross Chastain) or (Kyle Larson) and made very slight contact with the wall, so we would deem that as not being involved in that incident and that’s why he was able to restart where he was scored,” Cup Series managing director Brad Moran said in a conversation on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

The decision did little to uplift the #8’s fallen fate as a late wreck took away his chances yet again. The incident occurred during the fourth overtime restart on lap 321, when Kyle Larson’s fuel tank (with no warning, according to him) gave out, creating a bottleneck and taking out Busch in the process. What’s even more heartbreaking is despite the crisis, Kyle Larson clinched a Top-10 finish, while Busch ended the race at P27 with a DNF. “It’s frustrating for sure but we’ll bounce back next week in Chicago,” is all Kyle Busch had to say about the incident.

Having said that, do you think NASCAR did the right thing by letting Kyle Busch start at fourth after the wreck? Tell us your opinions in the comments below!