Based on its review of team radio, race video and driver data, NASCAR punished Ryan Preece for an incident with Ty Gibbs at Texas Motor Speedway.
The same type of review yielded no penalty for Kyle Busch for his collision with John Hunter Nemechek late in the race.
On the latest episode of the “Hauler Talk” podcast, NASCAR vice president of race communications Mike Forde explained the difference between the decisions.
Preece was docked 25 points and fined $50,000 for the incident with Gibbs, who slammed the Turn 3 wall in the skirmish.
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During a prior yellow flag, Preece had radioed his team about Gibbs: “What a [expletive] idiot that kid is. He is so lucky his car is so [expletive] fast. … All right, when I get to that 54, I’m done with him. [Expletive] idiot.”
Forde said the audio factored into the penalty.
“We do look at all available resources, whether that’s the video, in-car audio, SMT data,” Forde said. “And really what this came down to is … (Preece) said what he said, and then he did what he said. And so in our view, it was intentionally wrecking another vehicle.”
Forde said Preece (who radioed his Roush Fenway Keselowski team that he “never touched” Gibbs) can appeal the penalty.
Explaining why NASCAR declined to penalize Busch, Forde said competition strategist Scott Miller determined that SMT data was inconclusive as to whether the No. 8 Chevrolet driver had intentionally wrecked Nemechek’s No. 42 Toyota.
The handling on Busch’s car was also altered by damage from a previous incident with Nemechek.
“The SMT data is largely what played a role for us in this decision,” Forde said. “(NASCAR vice president of competition) Elton Sawyer said the data told us that after the incident, (Busch) was turning the wheel all the way left just to go straight. So we had a feeling that he had some pretty significant damage. And it was inconclusive on if that was a damaged vehicle that caused (Busch) to get into (Nemechek), or if it was intentional. There were zero things that, in our opinion, said he did this intentionally, and it rose to the level of penalty. So that’s why we landed on no penalty.”
Unlike Preece, Busch also refrained from vowing retribution against Nemechek on his team radio.
“There was no audio that came out that said, ‘I’m going to wreck the 42,’ and then he wrecked the 42,” Forde said. “So that’s one. And then two is the SMT data didn’t show anything that suggested that he did do it, and also the fact that his steering was so jacked, it showed that there was at least a plausible chance that his car had some damage that led to what happened.”
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Forde said NASCAR officials will meet with Busch and Richard Childress Racing leadership about the two-time Cup Series champion being involved in two incidents over the past four races. Busch tangled with Riley Herbst at Bristol Motor Speedway last month.
Other topics covered by Forde and Ellis during the 52nd episode of “Hauler Talk,” which explores competition issues in NASCAR:
-Whether the numbers in a race’s name have to correlate to the actual distance of the event.
-The decision to hold the yellow flag for Nemechek’s crash.
-Whether NASCAR would consider using pit speeding limiters.
-What happens if the Xfinity fastest lap is recorded by a driver ineligible for receiving Cup points.
-Watkins Glen International’s new date.
-Changes to the Watkins Glen layout.
-Why Sunday’s race at Watkins Glen has been extended by 10 laps.
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 has also covered various other motorsports, including the IndyCar and IMSA series.