NASCAR says it has no officiating problem, but eye test begs to differ

While delivering NASCAR’s annual State of the Sport address Friday afternoon, chief operating officer Steve O’Donnell said he doesn't believe the sport has an officiating problem.

A litany of controversial officiating decisions by the sanctioning body in recent weeks would beg to differ. 

O’Donnell’s comments come less than a week after teams and manufacturers attempted to manipulate the ending of the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville in order for William Byron and Christopher Bell to advance to the Championship Four. After a 27-minute deliberation by officials, Bell — who attempted a wall-ride in turns three and four — was disqualified, giving Byron the spot. 

In the Xfinity Series race at the Charlotte Roval on Oct. 12, Parker Kligerman was feet from his first career victory — until NASCAR threw a caution for a vehicle that had been stuck for over 20 seconds. If NASCAR had even waited just one more second to throw the yellow — which should’ve been thrown well before it was — Kligerman would’ve earned the win with no controversy. 

At Talladega on Oct. 6, controversy regarding the Damaged Vehicle Policy (DVP) ran rampant through the garage area after several drivers were unhappy that their cars were deemed out of the race rather than being towed back to the pits. 

If we listed every other controversial decision NASCAR officials have made this season, we’d be here until the 2025 Daytona 500. 

O’Donnell’s words are meant to save face and reassure fans that NASCAR isn’t having an issue when officiating races. It’s not a harmful statement on its own, but it’s an insult to fans who watch races and have rightfully called NASCAR out. 

O’Donnell also said that other sports leagues are criticized for their officiating, which is true. However, the overwhelming amount of times that officiating has been the main talking point after races makes this a moot point. 

When Elton Sawyer — a former driver turned NASCAR vice president of competition — is forced to speak after races and has to hold unscheduled Zoom meetings with the media corps, that’s not a sign that things are well in Race Control. 

In fact, the best sign for NASCAR officiating would be if fans didn’t even know Sawyer was at the track, rather than him becoming a household name for all the wrong reasons. 

As NASCAR comes off of its biggest race manipulation scandal in over a decade, O’Donnell’s comments that were meant to calm the fanbase instead serve as incendiary remarks that make fans wonder whether or not executives are truly in touch with what’s happening on the racetrack.