After a controversial ruling allowed Kyle Busch to remain in the top-five following being involved in a wreck during overtime of the Ally 400, NASCAR is explaining their decision.
Late in the race at Nashville Superspeedway, Ross Chastain wrecked and the two-time Cup Series champion ended up getting involved. Busch had to check up to avoid Chastain, and he ended up hitting the wall himself in the process.
At the time, Busch was firmly in the top-five, looking for his first top-five finish since Dover, something the No. 8 team sorely needed. Then, Chastain washed up and Busch was passed by a ton of cars, but NASCAR allowed him to move back to the front before the following restart.
With drivers, fans and media members alike questioning the decision, Brad Moran, Cup Series managing director, explained Tuesday on “The Morning Drive” on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio why Busch was placed in the top-five following the incident.
“His spots weren’t taken away because our rule clearly states that you must maintain a reasonable speed,” Moran said during his appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “And reasonable speed is for what track conditions are at the time. We don’t want to encourage drivers to stay on the gas and just kind of, you know, bang their way through. What (Busch) did was he avoided the incident.
“We deemed him not involved in that incident. He didn’t stop. If he had to stop, he probably would have ended up towards the back of the field, but he was scored in the fourth-place position when that caution come out. He didn’t get into (Ross Chastain) or (Kyle Larson) and made very slight contact with the wall, so we would deem that as not being involved in that incident and that’s why he was able to restart where he was scored.”
Additionally, Moran provided a little more context, explaining that the order was set based on scoring loop data, and that Busch was placed in the correct spot.
“That’s what was the last loop that the leaders were scored on,” Moran added. “So really it comes down to do we determine him involved in that wreck, and we did not determine him involved in the wreck. We determined that he avoided being involved in the wreck.”
In the end, it didn’t end up benefitting Kyle Busch, as he was involved in a wreck on the following restart. Still, it certainly seems like the two-time champion was given a little bit of a break by NASCAR, even after hearing Brad Moran’s explanation on the matter.
On3’s Jonathan Howard contributed to this article.
The post NASCAR official explains controversial Kyle Busch ruling at Nashville Ally 400 appeared first on On3.
