NASCAR fined Xfinity Series driver Joey Gase $5000 for walking down the track under caution at Richmond Raceway and tossing his rear bumper cover at Dawson Cram as he drove by.
NASCAR cited Section 8.8.8K of the Xfinity Series Rule Book.
“A safety violation may be imposed for any action or omission by a Competitor or vehicle that creates an unsafe environment or poses a threat to the safety of the Competitors, as determined by NASCAR.”
Contact from Cram behind him caused Gase to spin hard into the wall. The rear bumper cover was already dangling off the car when Gase climbed out. Gase pulled it off the car as Cram approached.
The penalty was foreshadowed on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on Tuesday by Elton Sawyer, NASCAR senior vice president of competition.
“I totally understand Joey’s position,” said Sawyer. “He was frustrated. He’s a car owner, so all that stuff is on him to get it repaired and fixed. I totally get that. … Where it kind of crossed the line was when you get down there (on track) — and this is strictly safety. You’ve got cars or trucks that are single file. The obvious things that come to mind are not good.”
Gase also addressed the matter later in the afternoon on SiriuxXM.
“When you’re in the moment, sometimes things happen,” Gase said. “Hopefully there’s no penalties that come from it.”
There was always going to be, but just a matter of how severe they would be. Part of Gase’s frustration stems from the fact that he is the driver-owner of a small budget team that just can’t afford frequent crash damage and that he felt he was unnecessarily crashed.
Cram has started selling shirts with the proceeds going to ‘Donate Life,’ a major Gase sponsor.
Three crew chiefs were also $5000 for missing or not secured lug nuts after the Xfinity Series race. They were Alex Yontz (No. 16, AJ Allmendinger), Seth Chavka (No. 19, Taylor Gray) and Kristoffer Bowen (No. 26, Corey Heim.)
Matt Weaver is a Motorsports Insider for Sportsnaut. Follow him on Twitter.