Williams, 29, was involved in a wreck on the track on Lap 27 of Saturday’s race and placed under NASCAR’s damaged vehicle policy.
On the ensuing restart, debris came off Williams’s No. 92 Chevrolet, which brought out another caution. Race control immediately ordered Williams to take his car to the garage for “extending the caution.”
The violation is found in the series rulebook and is issued at the discretion of the series director (as is the severity of penalty).
After arguing the call, Williams pulled down the frontstretch and parked the car on the finish line. He then exited the vehicle, waved and walked across the infield and pit road while the race remained under caution.
NASCAR ordered Williams, his crew chief Bryan Berry and team owner Mario Gosselin to immediately report to the NASCAR hauler, where they would meet with series officials after the race.
After waiting for the remainder of the race to finish, Williams then took part in a nearly 20-minute discussion with series director Wayne Auton and Elton Sawyer, NASCAR’s senior vice president of competition.
When Williams finally emerged from hauler, he was contrite.
Asked if he would you do it again, Williams said, “I don’t think so. Hopefully, we’re not put in that situation again.
“They still have to make a decision. I’m sure you’ll hear something Tuesday.”
Williams could be penalized for walking on a ‘hot’ track and failing to follow a NASCAR directive, among other issues.
Why he was upset
Asked what was going through his mind when he parked the car, he said, “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 fall 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.
“I just said I was a little bit frustrated, but it’s in the rulebook. 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 and everybody and we just move on and go to the next one.”
Suspended?
Williams admitted he wasn’t sure whether he faced a suspension for his actions.
“It’s up to Wayne and everybody at NASCAR. If that’s what the rule is and that’s what they decide to do, every action has a reaction,” he said. “It is what it is. It’s racing. You have bad days and good days.
“I didn’t do it to be spiteful or make a huge scene or cause everyone to stand out here (at the NASCAR hauler) but I just wanted to voice my opinion. I felt like it wasn’t right but it’s in the rulebook.
“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.”
