William Byron locked himself into the Championship 4 race with a sixth place finish but the result was overshadowed by suggestions that Chevrolet drivers Austin Dillon and Ross Chastain stayed behind the #24 car on purpose in a bid to aid his title quest.
Dillon and Chastain effectively formed a blockage, which prevented RFK Racing driver Brad Keselowski from advancing his position.
Radio communication from Richard Childress Racing and Trackhouse Racing to their respective drivers suggested a level of coordination among the Chevrolet teams to benefit Byron and Hendrick Motorsports.
Dillon’s crew chief remarked “Does he know the deal?” in reference to a rapidly approaching Chastain, to which Dillon’s spotter replied, “Yeah he should.”
If there was some level of ambiguity that there had been a directive from Chevrolet, it was more overt from Kaulig Racing.
Midway through the race, Shane van Gisbergen copped a hit from eventual race winner Ryan Blaney. Radio communication suggested some form of retaliation was necessary.
“Don’t forget what the #12 did to you earlier, all right. That’s a message from Chevrolet,” said van Gisbergen’s crew chief.
Van Gisbergen laughed and replied, “Copy that.”
With Byron sixth, it put Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell in a do-or-die spot, and on the last lap divebombed a slowing Bubba Wallace who reported an issue with his Toyota Camry.
Bell slid up into the outside wall after locking his rear wheels before powering through the corner and riding the wall, for which he was penalised.
In the hours after the race, NASCAR senior vice president of competition Elton Sawyer confirmed the matter involving the Chevrolet teams would be investigated.
Just a couple guys missing a bow tie pic.twitter.com/KT44SK4NOO
— Christopher Bell (@CBellRacing) November 4, 2024
Taking to social media a day after the race, Bell made a pointed post of him and Joe Gibbs.
“Just a couple guys missing a bow tie,” he wrote.
In a post-race press conference, Hendrick Motorsports vice chairman Jeff Gordon said the #24 team was focused on its own race.
However, Gordon said Chevrolet teams supporting other Chevrolet teams was not uncommon.
“We really just focused on what we were doing. The #24 group was just laser-focused on finishing it out and not losing any more positions,” said the NASCAR legend.
This should be the last straw on the camel’s back for the playoffs. https://t.co/j4Z5MSGkjo
— Brad Keselowski (@keselowski) November 3, 2024
“I think that one thing that we do all year long, this is something that you build on year after year after year as an organisation with your teammates as well as your OEM and Chevy.
“It’s having these conversations about how do we work together? How do we not work against one another? How do we share information? And what do we do about being aware of one another on the race track, no matter what race it is all year long?
“But especially when you get into playoffs, that’s your job as a driver and as a team and as a crew chief is to be aware of what’s on the line – who’s in the championship hunt? Who has got a shot to transfer through if they win? Who is tied on points?
“And so that’s what you saw really play out yesterday was individuals out there on the track racing as hard as they could but also race in advance and racing to make sure you’re aware of what others are doing and what they have on the line.
“That means that you don’t go and wreck somebody or turn somebody. You just give them a bit more room and leniency, and I feel like that’s what I saw play out from the Chevy side.”
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