In-car audio from Sunday’s Daytona 500 revealed that, on the final lap of the race, Cole Custer’s spotter lost track of the No. 41. This footage started an online debate as to whether or not it could have caused the race’s deciding last-lap crash.
Cole Custer, who is making his return to the Cup Series, had a rough week at Daytona. Though he seemed to have speed, some fans have considered him the cause of two of Sunday’s major incidents. The first accident saw Christopher Bell spin off the nose of No. 41. This caused a chain reaction resulting in Ryan Preece flipping his Ford heading into turn three.
This second accident, however, looks to be the result of an aggressive move from Custer. On the backstretch, Custer moved to the high side of leader Denny Hamlin. However, he had no one to push him after making this move. Custer then moved back towards the apron and was turned into Hamlin off the nose of Chase Briscoe’s No. 19.
However, following the race, Custer’s onboard camera and audio revealed to fans that his spotter lost track of the No. 41 during that final lap.
Custer’s spotter seemingly confused William Byron’s red No. 24 for the red No. 41.
This confusion appears to begin around the same time as the start of the accident. The spotter continued to spot the No. 24 following Custer’s collision with Hamlin. Some mash-ups of this footage suggest he even spotted the 24 until it was yards away from the finish line before he noticed.
While fans were already unhappy with Custer following the accident, this footage sparked another debate. Fans are now wondering when the spotter lost sight of No. 41 and whether this is what caused the race-ending accident.
Fans are divided on this issue. Some blame the spotter for the accident, and others do not.
Of course, those who blame the spotter for the accident are making memes and laughing about the situation. In contrast, others are quick to point out the wreck’s significance to Denny Hamlin’s shot at winning a fourth Daytona 500.
However, the stance that the accident was caused by the spotter seems unlikely, as the audio prior to the accident seems to indicate that he had a solid view of the No. 41, only losing the car at the start of the accident when Custer and Byron technically swapped places on track.
Others do not see any significance in this footage, as they feel that even if the spotter had seen Custer, it wouldn’t have changed his move.
Those defending the spotter in this debate have stated, for example, that if you listen to scanner audio, this happens quite often.
Some are also quick to point out that it wasn’t the spotter’s fault when Custer was involved in the accident with five to go.
Even a professional spotter, Freddie Kraft, who is a co-host of Dirty Mo Media’s Door, Bumper, Clear, joined in on the conversation.
While it doesn’t appear that the spotter is “responsible” for the final crash of the race, this slip-up on the grandest stage of NASCAR quickly caused a stir in the community. Now that this topic has entered the NASCAR echo chamber, fans will be keeping an eye out for moments like this throughout the season.
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