Getty Chase Elliott celebrates a win at Nashville Superspeedway.
The Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway came to a late end with Chase Elliott winning his second race of the year. The fans in the grandstands cheered for the four-time Most Popular Driver, but viewers had some strong words about NASCAR failing to throw a caution flag with multiple laps remaining.
The debate started after the final restart at the 1.33-mile track. Elliott had the lead as Kurt Busch tried to chase him down, but two other drivers caught the attention of the NBC camera operators. Cole Custer and Brad Keselowski got together, which sent the No. 6 RFK Racing Ford into the wall. Keselowski then had to limp his stock car back to pit road.
Love How NASCAR deems a blown motor from the 77 worthy of a caution but 2 Cars Destroying cars to the point they can’t even get up to speed not one. So done with these BS decision they make that ruin the finish
Despite having a car on the track that was way off the pace, NASCAR officials did not throw the caution. They let the race continue as Elliott held off Busch on the final two laps. He celebrated by doing a victory burnout while debates raged on social media about the officials and whether they should have thrown the yellow to force overtime.
Ngl if Chase Elliott wasn’t leading they would’ve called the caution🤷🏻♂️ I’m not complaining tho, LFG!
#NASCAR #NashvilleSuperspeedway #NASCARonNBC
The debates mostly focused on the driver that won the race. Elliott is the reigning Most Popular Driver, but he has also sparked some angry comments from fans. The Ally 400 was no different as some people said that NASCAR only let the race go green since the No. 9 was in the lead. Though some other Twitter users said that the officials had previously thrown the caution flag with Elliott in the lead due to Josh Bilicki having a mechanical issue.
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A Truck Series Driver Weighed In
The NASCAR fans were not the only ones that had some strong comments about the lack of a caution flag for Keselowski hitting the wall. Truck Series driver Carson Hocevar also weighed in by tweeting out a video of the late Steve Byrnes and Jimmy Spencer from their days with the Speed Channel.
The classic clip, which featured Spencer’s infamous crying towel, focused on the reasons why NASCAR will choose to throw a caution flag during a race. “Yeah, I’ve got it. I’ve got it figured out,” Spencer said. “Beer cans — caution. Wrecked race cars, shards of metal — clean and green.”
Wow @keselowski limping on track for 3 laps with no caution? @nascar says they are all about safety……the 6 was literally driving in the grass to get out of the way. Should have #PutItOut
Hocevar did not provide any context on Twitter, but there were many people that weighed in about his use of the clip. Several said that the Camping World Truck Series driver had picked the perfect historical moment to address the situation. Others continued to declare that the NASCAR officials should have thrown the caution based on potential safety issues.
“Absolutely no reason why they should run TWO WHOLE LAPS at full speed with the 6 maybe running 25 mph,” one person chimed in. “Such a safety issue. Especially right after a restart. Absolutely ridiculous. Just not at all a good call where safety is concerned.”
Another Race Featured a Controversial Caution
GettyChase Elliott races at Texas Motor Speedway.
The Ally 400 was not the first time in the 2022 season that a late incident has led to debates on social media. However, the previous example featured a controversial caution that forced an overtime restart at Texas Motor Speedway.
The incident occurred on the final lap of the All-Star Race. Ryan Blaney had the lead, and he was feet from crossing the finish line to claim the exhibition race. The caution flag flew before he took the checkered flag. The reason is that Ricky Stenhouse Jr. had hit the wall while running at the back of the field.
This incident created controversy for multiple reasons. The first is that Stenhouse was well out of harm’s way on the final lap of the race. There would not be any concerns about drivers battling for position and potentially hitting him. The second was that Blaney had already unfastened his window net, so he had to complete overtime with it sitting in violation of the Rule Book.
NASCAR officials later admitted that they should not have thrown the caution flag after Stenhouse hit the wall. Scott Miller, NASCAR’s SVP of Competition, said that the move was premature and that they wished they hadn’t thrown the yellow.
NASCAR officials said in the aftermath of the All-Star Race that they would strive to ensure that something similar did not happen in the future. Weeks later, another incident created even more debates about late cautions. Though it was for the opposite reason.
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