The Tickford Racing Supercars pilot had an exchange in pit lane with fellow Ford driver Layne Riggs, who had finished one position ahead of Waters after the 134-lap encounter.
Replays showed that Waters got loose and slid into the side of the #38 Ford on the final lap.
Post-race, he walked over to Riggs, possibly to apologise, although the Front Row Motorsports driver was having none of that based on how he gesticulated back.
Waters looked unperturbed as he continued to undo his helmet, before one of his ThorSport Racing crew members stepped in to have words to Riggs.
READ MORE: Waters: Riggs probably “shitty” after being “slow all night”
Driving the #66 ThorSport Ford F-150, the two-time Bathurst 1000 pole-sitter took the chequered flag one position ahead of where he had qualified, albeit one lap down, after taking 22nd in practice earlier in the day.
A conversation is being had on pit road between @LayneRiggs99 and Cam Waters. pic.twitter.com/wh2oKIz2lf
— NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks (@NASCAR_Trucks) May 5, 2024
Corey Heim drove his #11 Toyota Tundra to victory in a 134-lap race which ran green except for a Lap 2 Caution and the two stage breaks.
Waters had been holding 20th when said Caution was called due to front row starter Ty Majeski hitting the wall at Turn 1 after a left-front tyre failure on the #98 Ford, with pole-sitter Chase Purdy (#77 Chevrolet) leading.
Upon the Lap 7 restart, Purdy took the lead thanks to a push from Zane Smith (#91 Chevrolet), while Waters gradually slipped as far back as 28th before settling into 27th position on Lap 14.
Meanwhile, Heim had wrested the lead from Smith on Lap 14 after both went under Purdy, on Laps 8 and 10.
Waters climbed back to 25th on Lap 25 and was still there when the green-and-white chequered flag flew won Lap 30, with Heim clinching Stage 1 honours by 1.232s over Smith.
Once everyone pitted in the break, Waters was 26th while Christian Eckes (#19 Chevrolet) assumed the lead, from Kaden Honeycutt (#45 Chevrolet), Smith, and Heim.
Smith reclaimed the lead when he went under Eckes just over three miles after the Lap 38 restart at the 1.5-mile venue.
Waters, who briefly ran 24th after the race went green again, was circulating in 26th at the time.
He had crept back up to 22nd by the end of Lap 54, by which time Heim had passed Eckes for second but Smith was edging away at the head of the field.
Waters was back in the top 20 on the penultimate lap of Stage 2, which was won by Smith by a margin of 1.232s over Heim after 60 laps.
Eckes won the race off pit road in the stage break with Heim second, and Smith all the way back in eighth after some adjustments and a delay exiting his box.
Waters had gained two positions in the stops, to sit 18th when the field took the green for the start of Stage 3 on Lap 68.
The Milduran dropped to 25th in four laps, by which time Heim had made his way back to the front, Honeycutt was second, and third was a battle between Eckes and Smith.
Waters was back up to 23rd when Heim pitted from a second-plus lead on Lap 95 and was followed into the lane by Smith.
Once that all shook out with about 30 laps to go, Waters was 25th but last of a handful running one lap down, with Heim leading by more than two seconds over Smith, then Eckes third and Honeycutt fourth.
The Tickford pilot inherited 21st when Taylor Gray lost a right-front tyre after contact with the wall, but a Caution was prevented when he got the #17 Toyota back to pit lane.
With just under 10 laps to go, Waters was back up to 19th, albeit still several spots away from the free pass position, while Smith was back within two seconds of leader Heim.
Heim cruised to a 1.088s win over Smith, with Eckes third and Honeycutt fourth.
The top 14 finished on the lead lap, with Riggs (#38 Ford) 18th and Waters 19th.
Discussion about this post