MOORESVILLE, NC. – NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Josh Williams has been suspended from Saturday afternoon’s Pit Boss Grills 250 at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) because of his actions during last weekend’s RAPTOR King of Tough 250 at Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway.
The Port Charlotte, Fla. driver was penalized by the sanctioning body for a “behavioral” penalty falling under Sections 4.3.A; 4.4.B & D; 8.7.6 of the rule book: NASCAR Member Code of Conduct & In-race Violations (Disobeying a NASCAR request).
NASCAR officials ordered Williams to take his No. 92 DGM Racing Chevrolet to the garage after a piece of debris fell off his car following a lengthy third caution for a multi-car accident early in the race.
The flying debris triggered the fourth caution inside the first 32 laps of the race, NASCAR chose to end the team’s race instead of allowing them to fix their vehicle further.
Instead of driving his damaged vehicle back to the garage area, Williams parked his car at the start-finish line and walked along the frontstretch grass to the pit road.
He was then escorted to the NASCAR Xfinity hauler at the track where he met with Xfinity Series director Wayne Auton after the conclusion of the 2 hours, 44 minutes and 49-second race.
After a 20-minute conservation, Williams emerged from the hauler ready to face any consequences for his action.
Said Williams, “We all work really hard, right? We only run X amount of laps and then you have something like this – a piece of bare bond falls off – and put us out of the race.
“We’re a small team. We work really hard. We have to make our sponsors happy, right? It doesn’t do you any good sitting in the garage. It is what it is. We’ll learn from it and move on.”
Williams said Saturday night he understood that a suspension might be one of the consequences for his decision, but he doesn’t hold any grudges.
“It’s up to them (on the penalty). It’s their sandbox and we play in it. I enjoy the Xfinity Series and respect Wayne (Auton) and everybody and we just move on and go to the next one,” he continued on Saturday night.
“I was shocked how quick (they called the parking). We did lose a piece of bare bond. It’s cold and the stuff is hard to stick. What do you do?
“I’m a racer. I’ve been racing since I was four years old. I’ve been bad before. I’ve done things wrong – we’re all human, right? It’s just something I did and if I have to pay the price for it, it is what it is.”
Williams luckily did not suffer a monetary fine or the loss of Xfinity Series drivers and | or owner points for his decision.
DGM Racing announced shortly after the penalty was announced that longtime driver Alex Labbe will drive the No. 92 in a substitution role on Saturday afternoon.
Williams, 29, is scheduled to return to driving duties at Richmond (Va.) Raceway on April 1.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01 or email at: [email protected]
My statement following the announcement from @NASCAR. pic.twitter.com/aCJrg8EY4B
— Josh Williams (@Josh6williams) March 21, 2023
Go kick some ass @AlexLabbe36 🫶 https://t.co/feRvyTIX4p
— Josh Williams (@Josh6williams) March 21, 2023
