Late in the 2025 South Point 400, Ty Dillon came in off-cycle and decided to pit under green with about 31 laps remaining. To get the optimal entry to the pit lane, he was a half-lane off the bottom lane. Meanwhile, William Byron was running second behind him and had no idea of Dillon’s plan. With no caution, Byron slammed into the back of the Kaulig racing driver, wrecking both cars. Consequently, Kaulig Racing fired Dillon’s spotter, Joe White. But if his words are true, the crash wasn’t on him.

Choosing to clear the air about Sunday’s incident on X, the spotter put his foot down and said, “Just to be clear, here is the story of what happened last Sunday. I did in fact go down and tell the spotter of the 24 that we were pitting, and he misinterpreted the information. That’s what happened.”

White was fired with three races left in the season when the team arrived at Talladega. Whether it was miscommunication or just plain ol’ bad luck, Joe White was having none of it.

Dillon’s spotter claimed telling William Byron’s spotter, Branden Lines, about the pit stop. According to him, he could not find Lines on the spotter stand, so he went down and mouthed his intentions to Byron’s spotter, who was standing at least 4-5 people away from him.

However, the No. 24 team denies the claim. Post-race, Byron even mentioned, “Nobody said anything to my spotter, from what I know. I had zero idea. I never saw him wave. I didn’t see any indication that he was pitting.” Moreover, Byron’s crew chief, Rudy Fugle, also cleared the same in an appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio show.

But it isn’t just Joe White who’s clearing the air.

Dillon, who did not wave his hand because he thought Byron was too far behind to see him do so, stated, “Usually, I rely on the spotter to let everybody know, and my spotter said he let (Byron’s) spotter know.

“I don’t know if it’s a lack of information getting relayed, but that’s a quick amount of time for that to happen. I don’t think I did anything egregious getting on pit road. I hate it for them and hate that it took him out. He was lining up to have a really good day, but I don’t know who that is on or if I could do much different there.”

Kaulig Racing CEO Chris Rice made his feelings about the situation abundantly clear as well.  Speaking on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Rice said, “I hate it for everybody. But, I’m not going to take blame. If you’re sitting at a stop light and you get hit in the back-end, are you going to take blame that the car behind you hit you?”

Call it what you want, but it was a bitter pill to swallow for all parties involved.

White, who entered Cup spotting in 2018, knew he wouldn’t be spotting for Dillon next year. Kaulig had offered him a Truck Series position for 2026, but that role has since been revoked. Reportedly, his contract will be honored financially through the end of the year. In his place, NASCAR’s official portal shows Frank Deiny stepping in for the No. 10 Kaulig Chevrolet at Talladega, coming over from A.J. Allmendinger’s No. 16 team. T.J. Bell will fill the spot he leaves behind.

“Frank Deiny was going to do the 10 car in 2026, and T.J. Bell was going to do the 16 car in 2026,” Rice said. “We just decided to move forward with three races to go to get those guys used to each other. And that’s where we stand as Kaulig Racing.”

Still, White was expected to remain at Kaulig Racing in some capacity. But as soon as he landed in Talladega on Wednesday, Rice called him about the immediate spotter change. NASCAR’s Managing Director of Competition, Brad Moran, confirmed that the sanctioning body looked into this incident on Tuesday, and White was fired the very next day.

This crash-out may not have as much of an implication for Ty Dillon’s season, but it did for the regular-season points winner.

The Hendrick Motorsports driver entered the Round of 8 opener as an overwhelming favorite. However, with a devastating 36th-place finish, Byron’s chances of claiming his first title were derailed.

As things stand, he’s 15 points below the cut line with two races remaining to salvage his season. The No. 24 driver will have to hit the pedal to the metal and go all guns blazing at Talladega and Martinsville if he hopes to reach the Championship 4.

Now, NASCAR might want to turn its attention to new communication protocols, possibly enhanced spotter training, clearer pit indicators, or even the long-discussed AI-assisted spotting systems aimed at preventing future miscommunications.

For a sport where split-second radio calls make or break million-dollar races, this move sends a clear message: mistakes at this level come with consequences. It remains to be seen what will be White’s next steps.