Ultimately, the only penalty that will come from the incident is a one-race probation to Thomas, including all NFRN Elite Cup Series races he may qualify for until the next NACS race, but how the league came to this conclusion is complex, according to Kris Neuert, NFRN's Director of Competition.
"We reviewed all the footage we had to try and figure out what we were dealing with," Neuert said. "In this situation, fault could be assigned to both drivers. On one hand, you have Van Arsdale too far forward from where he should be in line after taking the caution, and you have Thomas forcing a driver into a precarious position. Van Arsdale loses any chance of contending for positions, and Van Arsdale loses a potential victory. The leader should have the right of way, but there are times when you hit an extreme case, and I think that's what we have here." Van Arsdale is receiving no penalty from this instance, which Neuert explains is an ultimatum to a situation poorly handled by the league in season 1. "At Brooklands [Outer Circuit] last year, Van Arsdale was wrecked by the eventual winner of the race [Dajon Weeks] while he finished 42nd, and we had no penalty policy put in place to handle this," Neuert said. "Without that in consideration, we would likely hand a one-race probation to him as well, but due to what we overlooked last year, he will be let off with a warning." The probation is shorter than that handed to TJ Smith for a similar incident at Mirage Short Roval, and Neuert was questioned about that. "We have to consider the level of blatancy," Neuert said. "In that case, there's no number of excuses you can give to run into another car that many times, especially one that involved another driver who wasn't an issue to him all day."
"We absolutely deserved this one," #31 crew chief Burt Norwood said. "What happened at Columbia [International Speedway] didn't show what this team and what Jon was capable of. Each race we've been climbing and it shined through today."
Gilbert led the final 30 laps of the race after running behind Robert Harrison for the first 30. Pit strategy then came into play as four drivers tried to stretch their tires and fuel hoping for a caution while the rest of the field short-pitted. The first caution did come out as one of those drivers, current points leader Chris Harley, cut down toward pit road not knowing Justin Rodeback was on his inside. This crash brought a new potential for punishment for what would happen the lap after.
Both drivers were adamant the other was at fault.
"I had no idea who the leader was at the time," Van Arsdale said. "All I knew is that I was following the guy in front of me. I really don't think it's too much to ask to either slow down or speed to get clear of the car below and not ruin someone's day for no reason. I don't know what his motivation was there because any normal person would realize that there are brake pedals for a reason." Van Arsdale finished last in the race while Thomas finished 12th, but the cost for the #72 was a trip to the playoffs. "We nailed our strategy to perfection, and it all came crashing down thanks to someone who shouldn't have been where he was," Thomas said. "The video shows it perfectly, I was a mile ahead at the line, so there was no reason he should be anywhere close to me at the end of that turn. He's a lap down, and if I pit and he doesn't, get behind the pace car then." The incident was eerily similar to the one TJ Smith committed at Mirage Short Roval with Jek Porkins, although Smith was the one ending up in the wall. Smith would be under the microscope again after some contact with Jason Thales coming off of turn 2, wrecking Thales, Anthony Lopez, and Ryan Kendall, although none would drop out of the race. Smith was on the first race of three in his probation, but did not reference the incident in a post-race interview after finishing 36th. "With everyone using these odd strategies, as well as the wrecks, we just weren't able to gain any positions," Smith said. "Every time we had momentum, we got knocked right back down." At this time, the NFRN has not released a statement on any impending penalties, but that information is likely to come within the next couple days. As Gilbert made his way toward the top of the standing chart, big shifts allowed new drivers to enter the window to qualify for the next NFRN Elite Cup Series race at Green Valley Super Speed Ring. Craig Martin and Sparky the Sun Devil, both posting top-10 runs at Grand Detour, got themselves in at 10th and 14th in standings, respectively. Thomas, Kendall, and Jay Jefferson also put themselves in contention, all finishing higher than 16th in the race. "It was extremely exciting to post my first career top-10 finish," Martin said. "I didn't qualify our car well and started in the last row because I didn't know about the advantage in turns 3 and 4 until I went out with the other drivers. That new information helped me develop throughout the weekend and we had great circumstances in the closing laps." The next time the NACS takes the track is at Eight Bowl Superspeedway in a doubleheader with NECS in that series' 8th race. |
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