NASCAR will issue “stern communication” to the drivers in all three series ahead of the races at Pocono Raceway after restart issues at New Hampshire.
Elton Sawyer, NASCAR senior vice president of competition, appeared on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on Tuesday morning and responded to questions about the multi-car crash during Saturday’s Xfinity race at New Hampshire.
“I don’t think either race – the Cup race or the Xfinity race – I don’t think our guys did a very good job on restarts, we’ll start there,” Sawyer said on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “And as we unfolded and looked through the SMT data and just the optics of it, it felt like it happened maybe in the second or third row where cars were laying back.
“So, as we get into Pocono this weekend, there will be a very stern communication line to our drivers in all three series – that laying back is not going to be acceptable as we go into the final stages of our regular season and as we go into the playoffs.”
The Xfinity incident on Lap 71 began when the field stacked up behind leaders John Hunter Nemechek and Chandler Smith on the front row. It collected Parker Kligerman, Ryan Sieg, Jeremy Clements, Blaine Perkins, Mason Massey, Parker Retzlaff, Chris Hacker, Patrick Emerling, Ryan Ellis, Anthony Alfredo, and Alex Labbe.
WHAT. JUST. HAPPENED?!
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) July 15, 2023
A HUGE WRECK on the restart! #NASCAR
📺 : @USANetwork pic.twitter.com/vGKqthF5GA
The majority of drivers involved were able to continue in the race. Allgaier finished sixth with a damaged Chevrolet Camaro. The cars of Kligerman, Alfredo, and Sieg had too much damage to continue.
Sawyer said that laying back on the restart will fall under the category of a restart violation. There will be a black flag for the offending driver, and they will have to serve a drive-through penalty.
“Our guys have done a great job this year with that,” Sawyer added. “It just feels like it’s starting to get a little sloppy, so we need to get that cleaned up before we head into the playoffs.”
All three national NASCAR series are in action this weekend at Pocono. The Truck Series and Xfinity Series will both race on Saturday while the Cup Series will race on Sunday (2:30 p.m. ET on USA Network).
