NASCAR on Ware’s Chicago Crash: “If We Would Have Had the Shot, the Caution Would Have Come Out Immediately”

What’s Happening?

There were a number of controversial officiating moments during Sunday’s Chicago Street Race, specifically regarding delayed cautions. Perhaps one of the more controversial moments was at the very end of the race. With two laps to go, a half a lap before the leader, Shane van Gisbergen took the white flag, there was a brutal wreck involving Cody Ware plowing head-first into the tire barrier. The incident was due to a brake failure. After the wreck, many fans waited for NASCAR to throw the caution flag. However, that didn’t happen for over 45 seconds later, after SVG took the white flag.

This led to many fans and media personnel alike to question NASCAR’s motives in delaying the caution. Was it just because they wanted the race over with, considering the impending weather? Well, NASCAR’s Managing Director, Brad Moran, went on SiriusXM NASCAR radio to explain that the delayed reaction was because officials didn’t see the wreck happen. Apparently, in the officiating truck, they didn’t have a shot of the incident. So, they let the race go green until they realized it, after SVG took the white flag.

• Moran explained in this video that if they had the shot in the officiating truck, the caution would have come out immediately. He seemed to show some remorse over the oversight in the interview.
• He also stated that if NASCAR returned to Chicago next year, they’d put forth the effort to get better camera angles in troublesome portions of the racetrack.
• While this might seem like a one-off boo-boo, there was another lengthy delayed reaction to throw a yellow earlier in the race. This was when Austin Cindric spun around, and his car stalled. NASCAR waited nearly a full lap, almost 90 seconds, before throwing the caution flag.

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