NASCAR Clarifies Contentious Xfinity Race Finish At Charlotte Motor Speedway

NASCAR Vice President of Competition Elton Sawyer has spoken out on the controversial ending to the Xfinity Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The incident unfolded with Parker Kligerman leading the race with just two laps to go. Leland Honeyman’s crash into a barrier led to a caution flag being raised, but not until there was a noticeable delay that left Kligerman’s team mistakenly believing they had secured the win. Ultimately, this mishap pushed the race into an overtime period, allowing Sam Mayer to take victory, a result that significantly altered the playoff standings.

In response to the debacle, Sawyer acknowledged the delayed reaction and decision-making during the incident. On SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Sawyer admitted (below):

“It did take too long. I met with our team in its hour after the Saturday night. We went through what happened there. We made some adjustments overnight as far as camera angles so that our replay operator could be able to see that quicker, to be able to get that information to the race director.

“We made an adjustment over Saturday night, felt like we’re in a much better place on Sunday. That’s a call that we wanted to get to quicker, but you got to have the information.”

Kligerman was particularly frustrated after the race. He explained in a post-race interview, as previously reported by Newsweek Sports:

“I want to be at this level, I got to nail this restart.

“We did that. I thought I cut off Turn 7 enough but he somehow got below me and it was on from there. I got damage. It was full contact. Sam didn’t do anything egregious.

“It was hard racing, but as close as you can be to the line. I said I wanted to cry, but I’m not gonna cry. I really love this game and I just really, really wanted that. It would have meant the world but it meant the world to be in that position.

“They called this strategy. I didn’t agree with it. I wanted to go for points, but they were right. It put us in the position to go and get that. God, I was driving my heart out for that last run.

“I needed five more feet or something. If it went green to the end, we had it. I don’t know how to process this. It’s gonna take a while. Just really thankful to have the opportunity … I love this game. I just want to get a trophy.”

“Oh man. Oh my gosh. You’re kidding me. What? Ugh. I don’t know. I’ve seen enough from the TV side what that — the heart-wrench and gutted-ness these people go through when you’re in that moment. It’s part of the sport.

“It’s why people buy tickets. It’s why they watch on The CW. I’m thankful to be in the position to have had the opportunity in my life. I love this so much. I just really wanted to get to the next round. But it was not to be. We’ll go try and get a checkered flag in one of these next ones.”