By Caleb Whisler, Staff Writer
It was a daring move on the last lap coming off of Turn 4 for Justin Haley to grab his first NASCAR Xfinity Series win in just two starts, but a rule violation set up for an 18th place finish.
Coming to the checkered flag, Haley was running in the third position. As the field was about to enter the tri-oval, he made a dashing move to the bottom line. However, the “yellow line rule” came into effect.
Because he was deemed as advancing his position, Haley lost out on his first career NXS win and was scored at the end of the cars on the lead lap.
After the race, Haley did not believe that he was going to get an explanation about the penalty. However, he was glad that he had the opportunity to race in NXS.
“I don’t think I am going to get an explanation. I think that is how NASCAR works. It’s all fly by the wire calls. I don’t think anyone really agrees with it except Kyle. I am just extremely grateful to be out there,” Haley said.
Despite the disappointing finish, many crew guys came up and congratulated Haley on the move and his performance during the event.
Wayne Auton, managing director of the series, was made available to help explain the call made by the sanctioning body on the last lap.
“The 24 made a bold move to win the race, which is what you are supposed to do. After looking at all the video that we can, we saw, as the rule states, that the left side tires left of the inside line that separated the apron and the racetrack. The 24 car’s left sides were clearly inside the lines,” Auton said post-race.
“That is clearly defined on the video in the driver’s meeting. Plus, all the drivers have been informed of that for a long time here at Daytona and Talladega. Unfortunately, the 24 car got caught up in it. None of us want to make that call, but we also have asked the drivers, if you think you are put into that position to throttle back to not advance your position.”
— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) July 7, 2018
According to Auton, Haley was in the process of advancing his position, whether the nose was an inch or a foot out front.
Mike Beam, general manager for GMS, and Kevin Bellicourt agreed the right call was made by the sanctioning body, despite being unhappy.