Josh Williams will miss Saturdays race in COTA. NASCAR suspended him one race for his actions in last weeks NASCAR Xfinity Series race in Atlanta.
The reason for the penalty was the fact that the No. 92 Chevrolet, which was driven by Williams, sustained damage in a Lap 27 accident last Saturday afternoon at the Atlanta Motor Speedway with the No. 02 Chevy of Kyle Weatherman. Williams dropped debris on the frontstretch to cause the fourth caution moments after the subsequent Lap 32 restart, NASCAR parked him under the Damaged Vehicle Policy.
Instead of driving his car to the garage, however, a frustrated Williams parked it at the start/finish line. NASCAR ordered Williams to the hauler for a discussion of the incident, after he was released from the infield care center.
Williams was quoted in saying that they can fine him, but it won’t gain NASCAR very much in a sense because he doesn’t have the money to pay for it. Several current and past drivers, most notably Denny Hamlin and David Ragan each said that they’d help pay the fine if need me.
However, NASCAR doesn’t like drivers calling them out and this stunt put him in the penalty box (NASCAR’s Hauler) for the entire race until they had a chance to meet with him.
The call to suspend him and not fine him is a good message but one that doesn’t hurt him financially. Williams knows what he did was wrong and I don’t think any further penalty past this is warranted.
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