Why last few laps of NASCAR race on Indy road course were kind of like a football game
The “win at all costs” mentality at the NASCAR national level these days oftentimes results in chaos and calamity after a late-race caution bunches up the field and drivers show zero respect and professionalism as they seek the coveted checkered flag, much like was seen Sunday afternoon at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Pole sitter Tyler Reddick led the first 12 laps in the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, before ducking to pit road ahead of the end of the first stage, yielding the lead to Chase Briscoe, who stayed out to win the stage and earn a playoff point.
Stage two was won by Christopher Bell as Ryan Blaney elected to pit prior to the stage break. Bell’s crew chief, Adam Stevens, called an audible for the team at that point, electing to stay on the track as the tire falloff was minimal and it was difficult to pass.
Bell and Reddick would have a side-by-side battle on the track, with Reddick taking the lead before hitting pit road for his final stop of the day. The lead would cycle between various drivers until the green flag pit cycle was completed and Reddick reemerged with the lead.
Reddick was driving away from the field and looked well on his way to winning the Verizon 200 at the Brickyard until Bell’s No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota blew a tire and scattered debris on the front stretch, bringing out the second natural caution of the race on Lap 78 of the scheduled 82-lap event.
When the field came to green for the ensuing restart with three laps to go, the top-10 was comprised of Reddick, Chase Elliott, Blaney, AJ Allmendinger, William Byron, Ross Chastain, Daniel Suarez, Michael McDowell, Todd Gilliland and Kyle Busch.
Enter: Chaos and Calamity at the 2.439-mile, 14-turn IMS road course.
The field plowed into Turn No. 1 with drivers going five-wide and several seemingly making little effort to make the corner cleanly. Multiple drivers spun off course but were able to continue and the race remained green until Erik Jones and Austin Dillon went around in Turn 4. Dillon’s No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet was stuck in the gravel, resulting in a yellow flag and setting up an overtime finish.
On the restart for the overtime finish, the No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet of Chastain completely blew Turn No. 1 and barreled onto the access road before rejoining the track alongside Reddick. Chastain took the lead briefly from Reddick, before Reddick took it back, all the while no official penalty had been called for Chastain and the NBC broadcast booth didn’t really know what to tell the viewing audience.
Ultimately, Reddick was able to drive away from the field to take the checkered flag and Chastain was penalized and credited with a 27th-place finish.
“I was like, uh-oh. But that was a scenario that had been talked about. If you get bottled up, what do you do? Take the access road,” Reddick said when asked if he was shocked to see Chastain suddenly passing him for the lead.
“I couldn't believe he got ahead of me. I was kind of waiting to see if he was going to have a penalty because I didn't want to move him out of the way and make his race worse than what it was. Yeah, I was really surprised by that; but hey, we made it work. Hats off to Ross (Chastain) for trying to do that, but really glad it didn't end up working out because I'd have been pretty pissed off.”
As for what Chastain was thinking going into Turn 1 on the overtime restart?
“Just trying not to be in the corners there in Turn 1," the noted Florida watermelon farmer said. "I thought we were four-wide, and couldn't go any farther right, and decided to take the NASCAR access lane out there.
"Just pure reaction there. I took it in practice on exit, overshooting Turn 1. You know where they're at and in 12 you have to go around the loop there, and there is around the pole. Just wanted to not get hit and merged back on where I merged.”
Reddick topped most of the statistical categories, including laps led (38), fastest laps (19), green flag speed (96.529), average running position (3.69) and driver rating (144.2) en route to kissing the famous Yard of Bricks.
For the 26-year-old Corning, Calif. native, it was the second win of the month, the second of his career and his second at a road course. It also continued the dominance of Chevrolet, as the manufacturer has now 10 ten consecutive road course events.
While one can take solace in the fact that the best car was raised into the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway victory lane, once again the narrative is that the end of the race was not a performance befitting of the best stock car drivers in the world.
This is where the drivers running in the top-10 prior to the caution at Lap 78 finished the race: Reddick (winner), Elliott (16th), Blaney (26th), Allmendinger (7th), Byron (31st), Chastain (27th), Suarez (28th), McDowell (8th), Gilliland (4th) and Kyle Busch (11th).
“That’s all people do at the end of these things, just dive in there and wreck you,” a frustrated Blaney said after climbing from his No. 12 Team Penske Ford. "I don’t know who shoved who and I don’t care, but tires didn’t matter at the end. We restarted top-3 both times and tires don’t really matter. It’s just a matter of getting through on the restart, but, apparently, that’s a hard thing to ask. People just run over each other.
“I’m pissed off about it and I have every damn right to be.”
When asked if he figured something stupid was going to happen in Turn 1 today, Blaney bluntly responded with a one-word answer: “always.”
A trio of Cup Series rookies finished in the top-five, with Austin Cindric (2nd), Harrison Burton (3rd) and Gilliland (4th). It marked the first time since 1994 at Pocono that three rookies finished in the top five in a Cup race.
“It definitely was (crazy going through turn one today)," said Gilliland, who earned his career-best Cup Series finish piloting the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford. "I would drive in and try to get to the guy in front of me and then I would just get pounded from the back, hit the guy in front of me, bounce off both guys to my sides."
“You have tunnel vision. Guys are getting spun right in front of you. You’re facing somebody and then you’re past them, off in the grass and then you’re just trying to merge out and get single-file as quickly as possible. Overall, I’m super happy to have survived those last few restarts and then obviously to put myself in position to capitalize on those restarts.”
Cindric finished second in the No. 2 Team Penske Ford, and he wasn’t even in the top-10 when the caution came out for Bell’s blown tire and was seventh on the overtime restart.
“That was nuts, oh my gosh," said Cindric, who was looking to add to the Daytona 500 win he earned to start the season. "I hope the race fans enjoyed that. Obviously, those green-white-checkereds, it’s just caution out the window and everyone has fenders and bumpers to use, I guess.
"(It's) a lot to take in, a lot to handle. I’m glad we survived it all. It’s probably not the day I wanted, but to come away with a good finish, we’ll take it.”
Asked if anything could prepare him for that last restart, Cindric said no.
“Maybe playing a little football. That’s about it.”