Josh Williams draws ire of NASCAR after parking car on track
NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Josh Williams will have to answer to NASCAR after defying orders from race officials and parking his car on the frontstretch.
Williams, who drives the No. 92 DGM Racing Chevrolet, saw his race come to an abrupt end on Saturday at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
The 29-year-old was involved in an early incident and suffered damage to the right-front fender. The team tried their best to repair the car, but tape flew off in the cold air temperatures as he exited the pits.
That forced yet another caution flag. As soon as parts flew off on the restart, NASCAR race control immediately told the No. 92 car to go to the garage for 'extending the caution' and they were done for the day.
Williams argued the order and race control warned that they had stopped scoring the team. He then pulled down the frontstretch and parked the car on the finish line.
He then exited the vehicle, waving to the crowd as he walked across the infield and pit road.
After being checked and released from the infield care center, he was whisked away to the NASCAR hauler before TV was able to interview him.
He, along with crew chief Bryan Berry and team owner Mario Gosselin were all summoned to meet with race officials.
Williams will likely face penalties for walking on a hot track and failure to follow a NASCAR directive next week.
He tweeted the following picture, showing his damaged car at the NASCAR hauler:
NASCAR Cup star Denny Hamlin came to Williams' defense, tweeting that he will 'pay your fine' in response to the above post.
Hamlin is currently appealing a penalty of his own, following contact with Ross Chastain during last weekend's Cup race at Phoenix. He was docked 25 driver points and fined $50,000 after admitting on his podcast that it was intentional.
Williams finally spoke with the media after his meeting with NASCAR, which you can read HERE.
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