Revealed: The real reason why NASCAR driver Josh Williams parked his car at the start/finish line and walked away during the race
Josh Williams does not regret his gesture at the Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Josh Williams. Image via Frontstretch.
Josh Williams, the NASCAR Xfinity driver, made a dramatic exit after being ordered out of the race on Saturday. The No. 92 Chevrolet Camaro driver was involved in a three-car crash early during the race at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. It brought out a caution on lap 28. Naturally, he had to make a pit stop. His team fixed the damage, and Williams went back on track.
The DGM Racing driver rejoined the race. Unfortunately, there was debris from his car that flew onto the track. Due to this, NASCAR had to throw another caution on lap 32. NASCAR ordered Josh Williams out of the race. The 29-year-old was asked to get back to his garage. He was in disbelief, but he followed the order on his terms.
The order did not bode well with Williams. As a form of protest, he parked his car on the track at the start/finish line during the race. Williams walked back to his garage, waving at his fans after making a daring move. However, this behavior by the driver will draw a penalty or other reprimand by NASCAR. William’s dramatic exit was a violation of NASCAR rules.
Josh Williams took the NASCAR viewers by surprise with his “boss move”
According to section 8.9. A of the NASCAR Xfinity Series, the organization can send a car back to its garage. The code states, “A NASCAR Supervisory Official may direct a Competitor to cease Competition, to leave the racing premises, or to bring the vehicle to the pit road and/or garage area for a specified number of the lap(s) and/or a specified time penalty, for the balance of Practice, Qualifying, Qualifying Race, Race, or future NASCAR Races, if it is necessary to do so to promote the orderly conduct of the NASCAR Event(s).”
“Such a directive will be given only in extraordinary circumstances, as determined by the NASCAR Supervisory Official(s). It will not be deemed or construed to be a disqualification, suspension, or other “penalty” within the meaning of Section 10 Violations and Disciplinary Action and is not appealable under that Section.” However, Williams was angry with NASCAR’s decision.
After the debacle, Williams was called to speak with the officials. Josh Williams is in his eighth year in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. After the incident at the Atlanta Motor Speedway, Williams stated that he was frustrated. He mentioned they were a small team who worked hard. He felt it doesn’t do any good sitting in the garage. Williams admitted he would learn from this and move on. It is still unclear what his punishment will be due to his outburst and rebellious behavior on Saturday.
“We all work really hard and to only run ‘x’ amount of laps and then to have something like a piece of Bear Bond [repair tape] fall off and put us out of the race, it’s really frustrating. Small team. We work really hard. We’ve got to make our sponsors happy, right? It doesn’t do you any good sitting in the garage. It is what it is. We’ll learn from it and move on,” Williams said after the meeting with NASCAR officials.
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