NASCAR still needs to examine radio communications from the ultimate laps of Sunday's race (it intends to accomplish that in the approaching week). And while Ryan Blaney walked away with the race win, strange things were happening everywhere in the field as Chevy and Toyota battled for the ultimate spot in Championship 4. But if we break down the communication ourselves, it becomes clear that manufacturer loyalty played a key role in what happened on Sunday at Martinsville Speedway.
Setting the “final” stage.
When the ultimate start got here with 87 laps remaining within the race, Christopher Bell was stuck one lap behind and unable to make any progress from nineteenth position. He was three points behind William Byron until the last transfer spot. Up front, Kyle Larson led the race and the Championship 4 until his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott took the lead with 25 laps remaining. But it was all to no avail as reigning NASCAR Cup champion Ryan Blaney passed them each in the next laps.
This did nothing to vary the situation for Bell and Byron, who were consistently fighting for the last transfer spot. When Austin Cindric and Denny Hamlin managed to pass Byron and the lead was suddenly one point. The math was easy: one item equals one point. With 12 laps remaining, the bleeding suddenly stopped for Hendrick's No. 24 Chevrolet as fellow Chevy driver Austin Dillon got here to the rear bumper.
Now let's take a better have a look at what the end-of-race radio communications between the manufacturer's allies reveal about that controversial finish that decided the 4th championship.
Dillon is following the number 24
Before the race even began, Dillon's No. 3 Chevy radio openly mentioned that he knew Hendrick's playoff drivers. This will not be unusual in playoff races, but when Dillon caught Byron within the closing laps, the team made it clear that there was just one priority – protecting Byron.
“24 is currently only two points behind, and they are two points apart,” crew chief Justin Alexander explained to observer Brandon Benesch. He then told Dillon concerning the scoring situation, and Alexander quickly added, “If we pass him, he's out of the game.”
Dillon desired to know who Byron was racing they usually flatly told him, “He just can't give up places.”
Does Chastain know the deal?
As Chastain within the No. 1 Chevrolet quickly approached, pulling up next to Dillon, the radio became more interesting. – Does he know the contract? asked crew chief 3. Benesch, atop the observer station, responded, “I'm trying to tell him. Justin, can you tell the crew chief?”
With 12 laps to go, the identical query got here on the radio again – but with more urgency – as Chastain rode alongside Dillon. “Does crew chief #1 know the contract?” Benes asked. “Yes, he should,” Alexander replied, but he didn't sound entirely sure.
Chastain's radio was much quieter. Observer Brandon McReynolds informed him of the scoring situation. However, there was some extent where the ever-aggressive Chastain was still outside of Byron with seven laps to go. His observer quickly turned on the microphone: “Nice and smart with 24 down there.” Chastain didn't answer, but he never dragged Byron again.
Dillon and Chastain were side by side for a lot of the final 10 laps, moving like a rolling roadblock that prevented anyone from getting near the No. 24 automobile. Right behind them, the sphere was filled with Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano and Carson Hocevar, all packed tightly together.
Wallace: “God forbid we don't help the damn JGR car”
While Byron couldn't afford to lose a single seat, Bell was desperate to achieve at the least one. He knew he would win in either additional time due to his second-place finish in Las Vegas two weeks earlier.
“God forbid if we don't help the damn JGR car,” Bubba Wallace radioed from 18th place. Crew chief Bootie Barker instructed observer Freddie Kraft to inform Wallace where Bell's No. 20 was positioned. piece. “Give this to him,” Barker said. “10-4, I'll do it. 24 is half the straight behind us,” Kraft replied.
They continued to provide Wallace updates on Bell's whereabouts, and with 10 laps to go, he was informed of the points situation. With five laps to go, something happened to the No. 23 Toyota. Entering Turn 3, Wallace went out of the groove. “I think my tire blew,” Wallace said. Barker told the observer to tell Wallace that his teammate, Tyler Reddick, “had a fire” consequently of the issue that had previously taken him out of the race. This can have been a solution to tie the issue to what was happening with number 23.
Just decelerate
On lap 495 of 500, Wallace's times dropped dramatically and he ran a full second slower than the previous lap. He gained about half a second of that figure on the subsequent lap before dropping sharply again. Bell was now gaining a couple of second per lap. The automobile would hit the marbles and decelerate as its lap times modified rapidly.
As he approached the white flag, he got in the best way of Byron's group and there was a tense moment with Chastain and Dillon. Chastain even bumped into Byron's back. Wallace slowed down enough for Bell to catch him as the sphere entered the ultimate activate the ultimate lap.
Bell drove deep into Turn 3 and flew past Wallace, but hit the wall as he slid down the track. At this point he began to step on the gas and rode the wall to the finish line. He didn’t gain any additional seats this fashion. It also looked like a slower, similar version of the now-banned Chastain wall move from two years ago.
Wallace's final lap was over three seconds slower and a couple of.3 seconds slower than his previous lap. Bell got the purpose he needed – he was within the Championship 4 – for 27 minutes.
On the cool-down lap, the team asked if Wallace needed a fireplace extinguisher, again linking it to the issue that had previously sidelined Reddick from the race.
“I think I'm OK,” Wallace replied.
“The tire looked up,” Kraft noted. “I looked like crap the last few laps. Just be careful when coming here. It can burn like number 45.” It wasn't burning.
Fall
In the background, Bell and Byron got out of their cars, but nobody was celebrated. NASCAR immediately moved to review the finish line, not taking into consideration the assists from Byron's fellow Chevrolets or Wallace's Toyota. Instead, they focused on wall riding. Although this didn’t gain Bell any spots, NASCAR deemed it a security violation and, in a shocking twist, removed Bell from the Championship 4 while Byron was reinstated. Authorities also informed Joe Gibbs Racing that they’d no right to appeal.
When NASCAR reviews its announcements this week, the conclusions still won't change the ultimate 4 drivers, however the No. 1, 3 and 23 teams could possibly be penalized, much like what happened two years ago when Cole Custer slowed a lap in the ultimate to assist a teammate Stewart-Haas Racing's Chase Briscoe to advance to Round 8. NASCAR fined Custer $100,000, suspended the crew chief and deducted 50 points from the team.
