NASCAR is assessing what transpired in the wreck between William Byron and Ty Dillon at Las Vegas Motor Speedway but has no plans to tweak any pit stop procedures.
Byron was running second when he collided with Dillon, who made a sharp left turn toward the pits while running 35th. Byron, who said he had no indication Dillon was pitting, finished 36th and fell 15 points below the playoff cutline after winning the regular-season championship in Cup.
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“It’s not great from our perspective, and we want to avoid that,” NASCAR managing director of communications Mike Forde said during the latest episode of the “Hauler Talk” podcast. “So, our next step is really some more information gathering. We’re not going to make a formal investigation out of it, but Brad Moran, the NASCAR managing director of the Cup Series, is going to talk to the crew chief of the No. 10 and the crew chief of the No. 24 to see what happened and what didn’t happen.
“I think a lot of it might have been what didn’t happen, more importantly. And if there are any ways that we can tighten up that process, I think we’re all ears. We’re open to it. Obviously, we don’t want to overreact.”
After an apparent miscommunication between the spotters for Byron and Dillon, it’s expected there will be a discussion among spotters about the hand signals they use to convey pit stop information that is relayed to their drivers. Forde said NASCAR likely wouldn’t get involved in how spotters communicate with each other.
While drivers often wave to cars behind them before pitting, Dillon gave no signal to Byron.
Forde said there are no rules governing the driver protocols for indicating a pit stop under green.
“If that’s something that we feel that we need to do, I guess we could,” Forde said. “I just don’t see that as something that we’d want to add a rule and asking someone to take their hand off the wheel as a rule. There seems to be a lot of unintended consequences if we try to make a rule out of that.
“There seems to be a little bit of blame that you could be spread around from all parts. I think that’s what Brad wants to find out. We don’t want to come down super hard on anyone, but if there’s something that we can learn to make it better in the future, I think that’s what our goal here is.
Other topics covered by Forde during the 37th episode of “Hauler Talk,” which explores competition issues in NASCAR:
— What constitutes violating the uncontrolled tire rule, which led to a penalty for Chase Elliott at Las Vegas.
— The length of the caution for the collision between Byron and Dillon.
— A new safety modification at Talladega Superspeedway.
— The increase in horsepower for the 2026 season.
Click on the embed above to listen or search for “Hauler Talk” wherever you download podcasts to hear it on your phone, tablet or mobile device.
Nate Ryan has written about NASCAR since 1996 while working at the San Bernardino Sun, Richmond Times-Dispatch, USA TODAY and for the past 10 years at NBC Sports Digital. He is a contributor to the “Hauler Talk” show on the NASCAR Podcast Network. He also has covered various other motorsports, including the IndyCar and IMSA series.