Dystany Spurlock was having a great debut for her ARCA national race at Kansas. Throughout the race, she was in the top 10 and was looking forward to a good finish. Although by the end of the race, Spurlock ended up facing a tense situation that nearly took it all away from her. While Spurlock was fighting in P10, she was spun around by the driver behind her.
She made a miraculous escape and kept her car running without any damage. However, she lost a lot of positions due to the altercation, and a caution flag was thrown out. While Dystany was eventually able to climb back up to P10 and finish the race without any further loss, the fans are calling out Gio Ruggiero for executing a dirty maneuver.
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The #18 Toyota driver eventually ended up winning the ARCA race, but the fans are definitely not impressed. Most fans are calling him out for being jealous of Dystany and purposely wrecking her, only to gain an unfair advantage.
In his defense, Ruggiero said, “I was trying to work lapped traffic really aggressive to catch the leaders, or try to run them down. I was really struggling with a loose balance. Just kind of misjudged it, but I think [Spurlock] turned down, not sure if she was trying to go to the top or the bottom. Just got to work on that stuff, but I’m happy to get the win.”
However, it looked like the contact between the two drivers was intentional. It was like Ruggiero didn’t care if Spurlock’s race would end up getting ruined. Spurlock was in his way, and he was not about to let her stop him from charging to victory.
However, his unfair move did not go unnoticed among the fans who were quick to call him out for the same. “The bonehead move of the race goes to the 18! He had been running the outside, she gave him the outside, and he drove into the back of her!”
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The fans are upset with Ruggiero for purposely trying to wreck Dystany Spurlock even though she did not provoke him. After that, they started theorizing that Gio Ruggiero did it to ensure that he still had a chance at victory.
Fans mount criticism against Gio Ruggiero
“I think he did it on purpose because he wants a caution. Well, he got his wish because after the first overtime restart he is currently a leader.”
Ruggiero was far away from the race leader. As such, green flag racing would’ve ensured his loss. The caution, on the other hand, ended up giving him a second chance to try for the win. The move made the fans very angry as they felt like Ruggiero was trying to bully Dystany Spurlock. They even accused him of being jealous of her.
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“Gio was scared of being passed by a girl, so he wrecked a girl.” “Gio is a bonehead; he purposely dumps her for a caution because he wasn’t going to win.”
Amidst all the chaos, the fans did not shy from praising Dystany Spurlock and her presence of mind. She was able to save the car without much difficulty and continue onwards with the race. They also compared her to the former NASCAR driver Danica Patrick.
While taking a sarcastic jab at Patrick, one of the fans said, “It’s not every day you see a woman saving a race car like that, something Danica couldn’t do.” Patrick was once a female NASCAR prodigy, but she was never able to make her breakthrough. For now, Spurlock is carrying that torch as a Black woman in NASCAR.
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Her day ended on a positive note with a top 10 finish. Although the same can’t be said for Gio Ruggiero. Despite winning the race, Ruggiero is currently facing massive criticism for mowing his way through the field without any care for the other drivers.
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