NASCAR’s weekend at the Charlotte Motor Speedway turned as chaotic as it could have been, with both the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and the Truck Series not ‘completing’ the races, and handing off the victory to drivers whom fans did not feel were fair winners. This was the case with Layne Riggs, who had a dominant pace throughout the race, but did not ‘race’ till the chequered flag; his competitor couldn’t believe the chain of events.
“No way, are you serious? Dude, there’s no f***ing way we lose the race like that? I thought it was 12 O’clock. Well, I guess. Well, never mind. I get it now. No way, man. That’s unbelievable. … I don’t even know how to put that into words,” Kaden Honeycutt, who was contending for victory against Riggs, said to his team after NASCAR decided to end the race under caution. But there was a lot that happened behind the scenes.
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The Truck Series race was originally scheduled for Friday. However, strong weather conditions postponed the race to Saturday, but NASCAR was once again treated with thunderstorm-like conditions, poor visibility, and an already-cut-short O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race. With no choice remaining, the 134-lap Truck Series race kicked off on Sunday, the same day as the Coca-Cola 600.
Riggs showcased a strong pace throughout the day, even winning the second stage. However, he was also under pressure from plenty of drivers, including Christian Eckes and Kaden Honeycutt. While Layne Riggs was a contender for the race win, it was apparent that he would face much competition to be the first one to take the chequered flag.
However, because of time constraints and scheduling limitations, NASCAR could not complete the entire race. Instead, they put up a time limit with a little over 40 laps remaining. Shortening the race, closer to 15 minutes. But several cautions were thrown around throughout this short time limit, and the drivers did not get a clear field to compete.
With just three minutes remaining, Layne Riggs was leading, but Honeycutt was chasing him down. The gap between the two had shortened to less than half a second. However, Chandler Smith crashed into the wall at the same time, and NASCAR was forced to make a call. This marked the 11 caution of the day, which became the new track record.
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The race never continued after that and finished under caution, handing the victory to Riggs. He didn’t have to battle Kaden Honeycutt, and the latter never got the opportunity to make a final run towards victory. Many were agitated towards NASCAR by this point, and safe to say, the fans did not seem too happy.
Fans agitated with Layne Riggs’ Truck Series race win
“The fans are the losers for the Orielly and truck races. Pathetic and NASCAR needs to be embarrassed for their decisions,” one of the comments, in the race’s regard, read. Something similar had also happened in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race earlier. Bad weather conditions and poor visibility hampered most of the race, with even some fluids on the race track triggering cautions. When stage 2 ended under caution with Ross Chastainin the lead, NASCAR called it quits with the weather. A large part of the race was canceled, and Chastain was handed the win on pit road. No racing action, no post-race burnouts, just a cold gesture and an announcement.
Moreover, most of the race went under caution because of the weather conditions and the consistent wrecks. Understandably, not many ‘racing fans’ were happy with how it turned out. This, followed by the Truck Series race being timed on Sunday, did not sit well with most fans as they voiced their agitation against NASCAR: “NASCAR has butchered the whole weekend. Both races were a disaster. They just want it over with.”
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However, there was more that agitated the fans after the chequered flag: “Doing a Smokey burnout after you win HALF a race is beyond pathetic…..there needs to be asterisks next to winning shortened races….absurd.” Despite not technically having finished the race while competing as it was behind the pace car, Layne Riggs went ahead to pull off some celebrations on the start/finish line. To the fans, these burnouts are a celebration and symbol of winning while competing. While Riggs led most of the race, fans felt the final laps—where Honeycutt could’ve challenged—were what counted.
Amidst all the frustration, there were a few who managed to find some humor in the situation: “Pace car is 2-0 this weekend so far.” Technically, it wasn’t a Cup Series driver who took the chequered flag in either the NOAPS or the Truck Series, but the pace car. While it seemed a bit hilarious at first, this weekend also revealed how dire the situation can get in NASCAR because of the weather conditions.
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