NASCAR’s Elton Sawyer said drivers in all three series will receive “stern communication” this week regarding restart cleanup.
Sawyer, NASCAR’s senior vice president of competition, made the comments Tuesday morning on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. The answer came when asked how NASCAR viewed the multi-car crash during a restart of the Xfinity Series race Saturday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, which resulted in no penalties or warnings.
The accident occurred during a restart on lap 71. Those who had it the worst were in the middle to back of the pack, like Justin Allgaier and Parker Kligerman, when the pack found itself behind front-row leaders John Hunter Nemechek and Chandler Smith.
New Hampshire is a race track with a long straight front, which Sawyer said played a role. In his opinion, there are more variables at play when NASCAR competes on tracks with long straightaways instead of a traditional tri-oval.
“If you think about it, there are two long lines in the front row,” Sawyer said of New Hampshire. “So if you’re in the second row, third row, fourth row, you’re looking through the windshield of your car and through the back window and the windshield of the car in front of you. So there’s a lot going on in this dynamic.
“I’ll start by saying, I don’t think, whether it was the Cup race or the Xfinity, that our guys did a really good job on the restarts. We’ll start there. As we unfolded and looked at the SMT data and just the optics, we had the impression that maybe this was happening in the second or third row, where the cars lay.
“So as we enter Pocono this weekend, there will be a very stern line of communication with our drivers in all three series that resting will not be acceptable as we enter the final stages of our regular season and we advance in the playoffs.
If a driver was called for a restart violation, it would be a black flag and a drive-through penalty. However, Sawyer believes once word gets out that NASCAR is taking a closer look at restarts, it will change what drivers do.
“Our guys have done a great job this year,” Sawyer said. “I just feel like it’s starting to get a little sloppy, so we need to clean things up before we get into the playoffs.”
All three national series are in action this weekend at Pocono Raceway.
